Night-blooming plants are the perfect way to enhance any garden by engaging your senses into the evening hours. The plants often have white flowers, which reflect light from the moon and landscape lighting, so they are good choices for moon gardens. Many night-blooming flowers also have a strong fragrance and attract nocturnal pollinators. Whether you're sitting on a patio at the end of the day or entertaining guests in the evening, the following night-blooming plants will help create a magical atmosphere.
Flowering Tobacco
Blooming from June to frost, flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) is usually grown as an annual in gardens and pots in northern zones. It needs some afternoon shade in hot, sunny climates. The flowers are sweetly fragrant at night, and the white-flowered varieties almost seem to glow in moonlight.
Growing Conditions: Consistently moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade
Size: 3 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Zones: 10-11
Evening Primrose
Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a night-blooming plant that's native to most of North America. It is a biennial that blooms in its second year and then dies after setting seed. The yellow blooms open at dusk and close again in the morning when hit by sun, giving the plant the common name of evening primrose. The flowers appear from June to September. They are pollinated by night-flying moths, which are attracted by the mild lemony fragrance, and by bees in the early morning before closing up.
Growing Condition: Average, medium moisture well-drained soils in full sun.
Size: 3 to 5 feet high, 2 to 3 feet wide
Zones: 4 to 9
Use evening primrose in wildflower and cottage gardens. The yellow flowers on these medium-size plants can be seen from a distance and work well at the back of a border garden and in naturalized plantings.
Evening Stock
Evening stock (Matthiola longipetala) is a hardy annual or short-lived perennial for cottage gardens, borders, and pots. These night blooming flowers release a strong, sweet fragrance in late evening and attract night-flying moths. The edible four-petalled flowers are white, lilac, or pink.
Growing Condition: Well-drained soils in full sun.
Size: 18 to 24 inches high and wide
Zones: 7 to 10
Foamflower
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is a native perennial that gets its name from its frothy white flowers that bloom from the bottom to the top of short spikes in spring and early summer. The lightly fragrant flowers stay open day and night, and especially seem to glow in moonlight when grown in larger groups. Rabbits and deer generally don't bother these low-maintenance perennials.
Growing Conditions: Neutral, rich, moisture retentive soils in part to full shade
Size: To 1 foot tall and wide
Zones: 4-9
Four O’Clock
A tuberous rooted tender perennial, four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa) blooms from June to frost in pink, rose, red magenta, yellow, and white. The fragrant funnel-shaped flowers open in late afternoon and stay open until the next morning. Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to its blossoms.
Growing Conditions: Average, consistently moist well-drained soils in sun to part shade
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 9-11
All parts of the plant are toxic if eaten, and can cause contact dermatitis.
Gardenia
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides) is an evergreen shrub with thick, glossy, dark green leaves. The intensely fragrant, white flowers bloom throughout the year in warm climates. In cooler climates, the gardenia blooms in spring and early summer. Although this is a high-maintenance plant, the sweet scent of the flowers makes the extra effort worth it.
Growing Condition: Average well-drained soil in full sun to part shade
Size: 5 to 6 feet high and wide
Zones: 8 to 11
Moonflower Vine
Moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) is a popular night-blooming plant with large, fragrant white flowers. Its flowers open up at dusk from mid-summer into fall, and then close before noon the next day. The vining plants need a structure such as a fence or trellis for support.
Growing Condition: Well-drained soils in full sun.
Size: 10 to 15 feet high, 3 to 6 feet wide
Zones: 10 to 12
Moonflower is also the common name for a different species (Datura spp.) of night-blooming plant with large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers. Datura is highly toxic if ingested and should never be planted where small children or pets spend time.
Tuberose
Native to Mexico, tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is a night-blooming plant with an inviting scent. It produces a long-flowering spike that can reach four feet tall, covered with white, waxy, fragrant blossoms. Its flowers attract as much attention for the way they reflect the moonlight on summer evenings as they do for their exceptional aroma.
Growing Condition: Well-drained soils in full sun
Size: 2 to 3 feet high, 2 to 2.5 feet wide
Zones: 7 to 10
Casa Blanca Lily
While there are several white varieties of lilies, 'Casa Blanca' lily is particularly striking for moon gardens. The 6- to 8-inch, pure white flowers of this Oriental lily almost light up gardens at night as they reflect moonlight, and they are intensely fragrant. After it blooms in June and July, be sure to leave the stems and foliage in place until the end of the season to ensure your lily bulb has the energy it needs to come back in the spring.
Growing Condition: Well-drained, slightly acidic, or neutral soils in full sun to light shade.
Size: 3 to 4 feet high, to 1 foot wide
Zones: 5 to 8
All parts of lilies are toxic to cats and dogs if ingested.
Night Phlox
Night phlox (Zaluzianskya ovata), a South African native, blooms with a honey-almond and vanilla fragrance during the summer. The small white blooms open up in the evening, and close during the day, showing off their purplish red backs. Use in flower beds, containers, and rock gardens near outdoor seating to enjoy the sweet scent.
Growing Condition: Moist well-drained soil in full sun
Size: 12 inches high and 2 to 3 feet wide
Zones: 9 to 10
Mock Orange
Mock orange (Philadelphus x virginalis) is a low-maintenance shrub with an upright arching growth habit. The common name comes from the sweet scent of the flowers, which resembles that of orange blossoms. Flowers appear in late spring on the prior year’s growth, so prune immediately after flowering. The blooms reflect moonlight, and their fragrance is stronger at night.
Growing Condition: Well-drained, rich, acidic soil in part shade
Size: 5 to 10 feet high and wide
Zones: 5 to 8
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