Gaura, often known as “Whirling Butterflies” due to its delicate, airy blooms, is a popular ornamental plant. Its graceful appearance and extended flowering season make it a favored choice for many gardeners. This guide provides practical guidance for successfully cultivating Gaura in containers.
Why Grow Gaura in Containers?
Growing Gaura in containers offers several advantages. Pots provide mobility, allowing gardeners to easily move plants to optimize sun exposure, provide shelter from harsh weather, or rearrange for aesthetic purposes. This portability is especially beneficial in cold winter regions, as container-grown Gaura can be moved indoors for overwintering.
Container cultivation also provides precise control over soil conditions, crucial for Gaura’s needs. Gardeners can tailor the potting mix to ensure excellent drainage and aeration, preventing issues like root rot common in heavy garden soils. This method is also ideal for small spaces, transforming balconies, patios, or compact yards into vibrant displays, and allows for curated aesthetic arrangements.
Choosing the Right Gaura Varieties
Selecting appropriate Gaura varieties is important for successful container cultivation, with compact or upright forms generally performing best. ‘Whirling Butterflies’ produces crisp white flowers on reddish stems, forming a vase-shaped clump typically 2-3 feet tall, suitable for larger containers. Its flowers appear from early summer into fall.
‘Siskiyou Pink’ offers showy rose-pink flowers that bloom from spring through fall, reaching about 2-3 feet tall and wide, forming a bushy habit with arching flower stalks. For pure white blooms, ‘Belleza White’ is a compact, strong-branching cultivar growing 12-24 inches tall, producing abundant white flowers from spring through early fall.
‘Stratosphere White’ is another compact, upright option, typically growing 12-24 inches tall with white flowers that can fade to pink, blooming from mid-spring to fall. ‘Sparkle White,’ an All-America Selections winner, is noted for its naturally compact habit, reaching 12-24 inches tall and 12-20 inches wide. It features dainty white flowers tinged with pink, blooming from late spring to frost, and is durable and drought-tolerant.
Essential Container Considerations
Proper container selection and growing medium preparation are key before planting Gaura. Containers should be adequately sized to support root growth, with a minimum diameter of 10-12 inches for smaller varieties. Material choice impacts watering frequency; terracotta pots are porous and promote evaporation, while plastic or glazed ceramic containers retain moisture longer. Regardless of material, drainage holes are crucial to prevent waterlogging and root rot.
A well-draining potting mix is essential for container-grown Gaura. An ideal mix often includes peat moss or coco coir, perlite or vermiculite for aeration, and a small amount of compost for nutrients. This combination provides necessary drainage while retaining sufficient moisture for healthy root development.
Planting and Ongoing Care for Container Gaura
To plant Gaura, fill a pot with a well-draining potting mix. Carefully remove the plant from its nursery container, gently loosen any circling roots, and place it so the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. Fill around the root ball with more potting mix, lightly firming it to remove air pockets, and water thoroughly to settle the soil.
Watering frequency depends on weather, container size, and soil type. Allow the top inch or two of soil to dry out before watering again, typically every few days during warm, dry periods. Wilting foliage indicates thirst and usually recovers quickly after watering. While established Gaura tolerates some drought, container plants dry out faster and require more regular moisture.
Containerized Gaura benefits from regular, but not excessive, fertilization. Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer, diluted to half strength, every 2-4 weeks during the active growing season (spring through early fall). Alternatively, incorporate a slow-release granular fertilizer into the potting mix at planting. Avoid over-fertilizing, which can lead to lush foliage at the expense of flowers.
Pruning maintains plant vigor and promotes continuous blooming. Deadhead spent flowers regularly by snipping off individual stalks to encourage more blooms. For shaping or to prevent legginess, a light trim of the entire plant can be done in mid-summer, cutting back by about one-third. This encourages new, bushier growth and a fresh flush of flowers.
In colder climates (USDA Zones 5 and below), container Gaura may require overwintering protection. In mild winter areas, a thick layer of mulch around the plant’s base might suffice. For colder regions, move the container to a protected, unheated space like a garage or shed before the first hard frost. Reduce watering significantly during this dormant period, providing just enough moisture to prevent the soil from completely drying out.
Creative Gaura Container Designs
Gaura’s airy texture and delicate flowers make it an excellent choice for creative container designs, whether as a standalone specimen or in mixed arrangements. Its wispy stems and blooms provide a “filler” or “thriller” element, adding vertical interest and movement. When combining Gaura with other plants, select companions that share similar light and water requirements, primarily full sun and well-drained soil.
Suitable companion plants include those with contrasting forms or colors that highlight Gaura’s graceful habit. Petunias or calibrachoa can provide a cascading “spiller” element with continuous blooms, while verbena offers clusters of vibrant color. Dusty miller contributes silvery foliage, and sedum varieties add succulent texture. Arranging plants using the “thriller, filler, spiller” concept creates a balanced and visually appealing display. A taller Gaura can serve as the thriller, surrounded by mounding fillers like petunias, with trailing spillers flowing over the container’s edge. Varying container shapes and heights in a grouping can also create dynamic and layered garden vignettes.