Although it produces semi-woody stems during the growing season, Gaura is considered an herbaceous perennial and will typically dieback to the root crown or a basal rosette of foliage in winter. It is very particular about drainage and heavy or very damp soils in winter can result in it not reappearing again in spring. Otherwise, it is moderately cold hardy - zone 5.

For what it's worth -- I have a massive amount of red twig dogwood growing on my property. The tallest is a good eight feet. A lot of it is concentrated along a natural drainage ditch that leads to a pond on my property and from that fact I conclude that it must not mind being wet and seems in fact to prefer the wet ground. But I also have some growing closer to the house on a well-drained slope. I therefore conclude that it isn't all that fussy about moisture. The very uppermost branches of my tallest red twig dogwood shrubs are just as richly blood red as the rest of the shrub. I could just be fortunate in the strain I have growing here though. This shrub is also well loved by birds; they strip the berries as soon as they ripen. A warning -- it does get very shaggy and will need a good hard pruning every year but in my opinion this is only for the purpose of having it appear to be well maintained and not for any other particular reason that I have found. Oh -- and it is extremely easy to propogate. In early spring (April) when the soil is mushy I just chop off a foot or two and put it in the ground where I want it to grow next. No rooting hormone is required for it to succeed wherever I put it.

Carissa - Natal Plum

there is a thing called rejuvenation pruning ... where you remove 1/3 of the plant to about 6 inches ... once per year ... thereby keeping the shrub young and smaller ... you do NOT remove one third of the canopy ... at height .... like a bad haircut ... that said.. i agree with flora.. but my term is.. run it over with the truck shrub ... if you can figure out how to kill this thing ... let me know.. and ill stop running mine over with the truck every now and then .. do whatever you want.. and if you dont like what you end up with.. do it again .. and again ... and again ... since you are in new england ... and im thinking colder short season NE ... then you wont get as much regrowth in one summer ... as warmer longer season climes ... but dont worry.. it will be soon enough.. you are looking at while sitting in in your truck thinking.. i need to teach that thing a lesson ... lol .. ken