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Red Four O'Clock Seeds
Mirabilis jalapa
Regular price
$7.95
Sale price
$7.95
Regular price
$0.00
per 1/4 Pound
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Zones
1-10
ZONES
1-10
|
Good to grow! Zone
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Description
For a blaze of beautiful reds ever afternoon, plant this one. When frost threatens, you can dig the bulbous roots that will have formed, and save them (like dahlias or glads) for next spring.
About the Four O'Clocks or the "Marvel of Peru." This wonderful tropical wildflower has been gracing gardens for centuries. Your grandmother probably grew it, and knew the big secret of the older seeds. They are famous for rapid growth and producing glossy-leaved plants having flowers in several colors--on the same plant!
The names tell the story. The blooms open in the afternoon, thus the common name "Four O'Clock." And the botanical name, Mirabilis jalapa should tell you the plant comes from a Spanish-speaking area. "Mirabilis" means "wonderful" in Latin, and the Spanish-appearing "Jalapa" (the j is pronounced as an "h" in Spanish) is a town in Mexico.
Then there's that other common name: "Marvel of Peru." This exotic descriptive name tells you the plants grow wild in the Andes, and the "Marvel" part refers to the fact that they do produce flowers in several colors on the same plant. Seeds were sent to Europe by Spanish explorers in the 1500's.
In your garden, you have a choice of which color(s) you want to grow. Yes, the wild plants do have flowers in several colors, but they're rangy, somewhat weedy plants, too. The hybrids we plant today are organized by color and make neat, bushy growth, rarely over about 24."
The bulbous roots. Four O'clocks grow rapidly from seed, and another curious thing about this annual is that they quickly form a bulbous root, much like the common potato. In frost-free places (like Miami), they can be left in the ground year-round, and these big roots simply grow larger and larger over the years. Where there are freezes, the "bulbs" can be lifted in fall, and replanted in spring, giving you large, rapidly developing plants and lots of quick color.
Planting & Care
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Key Features
Light Requirements
Bloom Time
Life Cycle
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Additional information
Seed Coverage
Mature Height
Soil Type
Soil Moisture
Plant Classification
Native To
Life Cycle
Growing Zones
Ideal Region
Neonicotinoid Free
Overall rating: 4.8 / 5 from 5 reviews.
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Reviews
Love These!
"I scatter the seeds in early spring on a barren difficult spot in my yard and give them plenty of water. They are just starting to flower now, and they provide a bright spot of color. Many of them reseeded themselves from last year after I mowed them down in the fall. Great value for little effort!"
Very pretty
"These were very pretty. I planted in two full-sun areas. The germination wasn't the greatest, but each seed grew into a large bushy plant that was more than a foot across, so it is probably best that they didn't all grow. The flowers open in the late afternoon and are very pretty. There were lots of flowers on each plant. They grew in full unrelenting sun, and I didn't water some of them often yet they still bloomed heavily. I dug up the corms and will replant them this summer."
Reseeds in zone 4.
"I was given these seeds four or fine years ago. Planted them where the large group is shown. They have reseeded themselves every year and spread almost the length of the bed. I get a lot of very positive comments about the beautiful vivid colors."
Beautiful. Enough to share with neighbor
"Beautiful bright red. Hummingbirds love them. Continues to bloom for months."
Great results, beautiful color
"I got alot of flowers growing out of this seed, it was wonderful. I've never gotten such good results from seed. They bloomed and grew very well in both containers and plots."