Multiple flower colors on same plant
A staple in the gardens of our grandparents, Four O’Clocks are worthy of a place in our gardens. Four O’Clocks are members of the Nyctaginaceae family with the Latin name Mirabilis jalapa. Native to the mountains of South America, they are also known as “Marvel of Peru.”
They’re commonly called Four O’Clocks because the blooms open in late afternoon and stay open all night. A couple hours after opening they begin to emit a sweet, heady fragrance that makes them a favorite near entrances and patios or potted on decks.
Four O’Clocks are actually perennials grown as annuals in the northern part of the United States. Due to their long tap root and prolific reseeding they can be considered invasive in the south. Four O’Clocks are tough resilient plants that handle drought and poor soils as well as pollution, fumes, and smoke. They will bloom in sun or shade and produce seeds that often germinate and bloom before frost in warmer zones.
As dependable as they are at producing seed, northern gardeners will get earlier blooms if they dig the tubers in fall and store in damp sand or peat moss in conditions similar to a root cellar. Plant outside in late spring about the time you set out your tomatoes.
The leaves of Four O’Clocks lure Japanese beetles in a kind of “fatal attraction.” The Japanese beetles are drawn by the scent and poisoned by the leaves. Some claim Four O’Clocks are effective as a deer repellent or at the very least deer resistant. Hummingbirds like them and dive deeply into the elongated flowers searching for nectar.
Four O’Clocks are available in red, magenta, pink, yellow, white or striped flowers and have the unusual trait of producing flowers of more than one color on the same plant. They grow to about three feet high but can grow much taller in long season areas. In the south they die down to the roots when cold weather arrives.
There is a wild variety native to the Dakota prairie called Mirabilis nyctaginea. It was discovered by French botanist Andre Michaux in 1792. Native Americans used the plant to make a tea for colic, eye infections, sore muscles, swellings, rheumatism and indigestion. Some say the plant has sedative properties and several native tribes smoked the dried leaves. In South America Mirabilis jalapa was used as a hallucinogen.
The seeds of Four O’Clocks are poisonous. If you’re plotting a mystery novel add motive and opportunity.
And an alibi.
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