How to Prune White Gaura
A native wildflower perennial native to eastern Texas and Louisiana, white gaura or beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri) becomes a bushy, clump-forming plant up to 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. The plant leafs out when its 2-foot-long flower stems rise up in late spring or early summer. The wispy stems bear four- or five-petaled, white to pink blossoms. Although this is an herbaceous plant that dies back partially in winter cold, pruning it encourages rejuvenation and possible, repeat blooms. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Trim back any wiry flower stems that no longer have any flowers or upcoming flower buds. Trace the stem back with your hand to find its origin on the bushy plant. Make the pruning cut 1/4-inch above a cluster of leaves. White gaura will continue to produce flower stems anytime, from late spring to early autumn, so weekly trimming of old flowers -- called deadheading -- is needed.
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Wait until after the initial flowering season ends before conducting widespread pruning on your white gaura. By midsummer, the plant tends to reduce its production of new flower stems. Rejuvenate the plant with a uniform trimming.
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Cut back all remaining flower stems and upper portions of the leafy stems on your white gaura. Cut the entire plant back, reducing its height so that each stem is 6 to 12 inches tall. Make the pruning cuts just above a leaf on the stem. New leaf and flower shoots will then develop from the base of this leaf after pruning. Another flowering display should follow four to six weeks later in the comfortably warm weather of late summer or early fall.
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Trim back any winter-killed, above-ground portions of your white gaura in late winter. New green leaves should sprout from the stem bases, helping to reveal which brown stems to prune away. Complete this trimming maintenance before the new growth from the lower stem bases is taller than 4 inches. Removing the lanky, dead stems increases air flow and sunlight for the fresh new leaves and stems.
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Tips & Warnings
You may opt to prune earlier in summer if you garden in a mild winter region. White gaura may begin to bloom prolifically in March to May, so the first pruning should be done by Memorial Day.
In subtropical regions where white gaura is nearly evergreen year-round, prune it twice a year: once in midwinter and again in the heat of midsummer.
Trimming off old flower stems decreases the spread of seeds in the garden. Otherwise, seedlings will pop up all over, requiring weeding out volunteer white gaura plants.
Do not prune white gaura within 50 days of the expected first fall frost date. While the plant will grow just fine with lots of new leaves, there won't be enough time for the repeat flowering season to really reach its peak.
References
- "Herbaceous Perennial Plants"; Allan M. Armitage; 1989
