FlowerRose
Dwarf Evening Primrose
Dwarf Evening Primrose is a low-growing perennial native to Missouri's limestone glades and rocky prairies, selected for its compact form and luminous yellow flowers. This cultivar reaches just 3 to 6 inches tall but spreads 12 to 18 inches wide, making it exceptionally useful for rock gardens, border edges, and drought-prone spaces. The variety produces large, fragrant, bright yellow flowers from May through August that open in the late afternoon and close by morning, a charming daily ritual. Extremely hardy in zones 4 through 8, it tolerates poor soils, limestone, and drought with remarkable ease, asking little in return except full sun and well-drained soil.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
4-8
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Sandy Or Gravelly Loam; Drought-tolerant
Growth Stats
6 in
Height
18 in
Width
Spacing
18
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
4-8
Size
6in H x 18in W
Growth
—
Care
Low
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
Large, solitary yellow flowers reach 3 to 5 inches across on a plant that barely tops 6 inches tall, creating an outsized visual impact in miniature. The sprawling, ground-hugging habit combined with drought tolerance and low-maintenance nature makes this cultivar exceptionally reliable in difficult growing spots where other perennials struggle. It handles clay, shallow rocky soil, and dry conditions without complaint, yet produces reliably showy blooms month after month.
Common Uses
Dwarf Evening Primrose serves as a groundcover and edging plant, particularly suited to rock gardens, alpine troughs, dry banks, and xeriscaping schemes. Its low stature and spreading habit make it excellent for softening hardscape edges and filling gaps between stepping stones or in gravel beds where its self-seeding tendency becomes an asset rather than a problem.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seed on the soil surface or press lightly into seed-starting mix; germinate at 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in light conditions. Seeds typically germinate in 10 to 20 days.
Transplant Outdoors
Harden off seedlings gradually over 7 to 10 days before moving outdoors. Transplant after the last frost date when soil has warmed and nighttime temperatures remain above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart to allow room for their mature width.
Direct Sow
Direct sow seed outdoors in late spring after frost danger has passed, pressing seed lightly into prepared, well-drained soil in full sun. Keep soil consistently moist until seedlings emerge; once established, reduce watering. This plant will self-seed under optimum growing conditions if flowers are left to mature.
Growing Calendar
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Drought Tolerant
Bloom Time
May To August
Tolerances
Clay SoilDroughtDry SoilShallow-rocky Soil
Scientific Classification
Oenothera macrocarpa 'Dwarf Silver'
Family
Onagraceae
Genus
Oenothera
Native Status
L48 (N)
History & Origin
“Oenothera macrocarpa, commonly known as Missouri evening primrose, is native to the Ozark region south of the Missouri River, where it naturally colonizes limestone glades, bluffs, and rocky prairies. The 'Dwarf Silver' cultivar represents a selected, compact form of this species, bred to bring the parent plant's vigor and flower power into a more garden-friendly size. The species has long been valued by native plant enthusiasts and gardeners seeking resilient, low-input perennials that thrive in poor soils where many ornamentals fail.”