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Four o’clock flower Seeds
25 seeds for $2.00..
ANNUALS
Colors: mixed solid colors
Four o’clock flowers
grow and bloom abundantly in the summer garden. Blooms
open in the late afternoon and evening, hence the common
name four o’clocks. Highly fragrant, in a range of
colors, the four o’clock plant sports attractive flowers
that attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Four
O’clock Flowers Four o’clock flowers, Mirabilis jalapa,
were originally found in the Andes Mountains of South
America. The Mirabilis part of the Latin name means
“wonderful” and is an accurate description of the hardy
four o’clock plant. Grow four o’clocks in poor to
average soil for the most abundant production of four
o’clock flowers. Many varieties of the flower exist,
including some that are native to the United States.
Native Americans grew the plant for medicinal
properties. Mirabilis multiflora is called the Colorado
four o’clock. By now you may wonder what four o’clock
flowers look like. They are tubular shaped blooms in
colors of white, pink, purple, red and yellow that grow
on erect to trailing green stems. Different flower
colors can appear on a single stem, in some varieties.
Bi-color flowers are common, such as a white flower with
red markings on the throat. How to Grow Four O’clocks It
is easy to grow four o’clocks in the garden or natural
area. Four o’clock flowers grow from seeds or division
of the roots. Once planted, collect four o’clocks hard,
black seeds for planting in other areas. Four o’clocks
flourish in a full sun to part sun area and are best
planted where you can enjoy the heady fragrance. It is
helpful to soak or nick the seed coat before planting. A
low maintenance bloom, this reliable flower needs only
occasional watering and is somewhat drought resistant.
If seeds are not collected when they form near the end
of the bloom season, expect numerous four o’clocks to
sprout next summer. These can be removed if coming up
too thickly or in an unwanted area. Plants can be
limited by growing in containers, where they will often
take a cascading form. This herbaceous perennial dies
back to the ground after frost to again return in late
spring when soil temperatures have warmed. Add the
“wonderful” four o’clock to your garden for fragrance
and bountiful, evening blooms.
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