Oenothera speciosa var. speciosa (pinkladies)

Japanese name: ヒルザキツキミソウ（狭義） （昼咲月見草）
Scientific name: Oenothera speciosa var. speciosa

[Overview]
A perennial 30–60 cm tall, found in its native range in rocky grasslands, along roadsides and in pastures.
It spreads by sending out stolons.
The whole plant is covered with short white hairs.
The stem branches freely.
There are basal leaves and leaves alternate on the stem, oblanceolate to elliptic, with wavy or toothed serrations on the margin.
The flowers are borne in racemes at the stem tips and are white with 4 petals, about 2.5–6 cm across, taking on a pale pink tinge as they fade.
The flowers open before dawn and remain unwilted during the day.
The stigma of the pistil is cross-shaped.
The fruit is a club-shaped capsule with 8 ridges.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by stem cuttings.
It dislikes being transplanted, so sow directly where it is to be planted, or sow in pots and transplant while the seedlings are young.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Too much fertilizer produces only leaves, so use it sparingly; for potted plants, in addition to base fertilizer, place a small amount of slow-release fertilizer on the soil in spring.
Plants in the ground need no particular fertilizing.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
Without dividing by flower color, it is often treated together with Momoiro-hiruzaki-tsukimiso (Oenothera speciosa var. childsii) as the broad-sense Hiruzaki-tsukimiso (Oenothera speciosa).

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