„Does Gaura need winter protection and if so, how should it look?“ Is a frequently asked question in gardening groups. In my experience, Gaura’s winter hardiness depends on three factors:
- The site. Magnificent candles are prairie perennials that love dry, sunny locations and need them to survive. The soil must be very well drained. Waterlogging is not tolerated. In summer Gaura does not need any additional watering, nor is it fertilized, otherwise its long flower stems will fall over. In this regard, the magnificent candle behaves like lavender .
- The variety. White splendor candles are much more robust than gauras with pink or red flowers. Newer varieties also seem to be more frost-tolerant in this regard.
- The cut. Gaura blooms tirelessly until frost, but that’s not good. Why? Because Gaura Gaura can flower itself to death. Therefore, cut the perennial to the ground as early as the end of October. Then the wet shoots do not lie over paths and beds and rot there.
Conclusion: It is true that Gaura Lindheimerii doesn’t like wet and cold winters , but she provides enough offspring herself and appears in the garden every year.
Gaura winter protection candle? No! Location, variety and cut are much more important.
But don’t worry: If the location of your Gaura is not so ideal and the winter has been long, wet and cold: The splendid candle sows reliably and is preserved in the garden.
Find out in the sister blog Where flower pictures grow
- how the beautiful candles survive cold wet winters
- when seedlings of the splendor candle appear
- how you can reliably recognize Gaura’s offspring
- What you absolutely have to pay attention to when moving the seedlings.
This is how Gaura survived cold wet winters .
