Mirabilis

These are tender perennial, herbaceous plants that are found wild in tropical America and North America. They are erect and branching and can grow up to 4 feet high. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate to heart shaped and grow up to 3 inches long. The long, tubular, fragrant flowers have five lobes and are 1 to 2 inches across. They open in the afternoon, thus the common name "Four-o'clock" and come in white, red, rose, pink, salmon, or yellow and are often mottled with a second color.

Pot Cultivation

These plants need light, well-drained soil and a sunny position. Although these plants are treated as annuals, they may be kept for many years if the tubers are lifted and dried in the fall and stored in a frost proof place for the winter. The clumps of tubers are divided and planted outside in May.

Propagation

Chill the seeds in the refrigerator for a week before planting. Start them inside at a 70- to 75-degree temperature, 6 to 8 weeks before it's safe for them to be planted outside, in pots filled with light, sandy soil; cover them with a thin layer of fine soil. They can also be sown outside as soon as the soil is warm.

M. longiflora

VARIETIES

• M. Jalapa (Marvel-of-Peru or Four-o'clock);
• M. longiflora;
• M. multiflora.