Evening primrose is a biennial plant that forms a flat rosette in the first year and a 6-inch tall stem bearing flowers and seed pods in the second year. The yellow flowers bear both male and female reproductive structures and are open from evening until the following midday.

It grows in full snu with moderate water conditions but is extremely adaptable and capable of colonizing other areas. At the end of the second season, the plant may become weedy and untidy. Although the plant dies after setting setting seed, evening primrose will readily self-seed in most conditions.

As a native plant, th evening primrose is host to wide range of native species. Butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers, caterpillars and beetles are attracted to the leaves, and goldfinches eat the seeds.