Mirabilis jalapa

Hb, they are known as the four o'clock flower as they open in late afternoon and, allegedly, have a pleasant scent. Now you know what to do around 4pm tomorrow, go sniff!

Thats really pretty Homebird not seen one before you ll have to let us know what the aroma smells like.

Lovely four o'clocks! they come is so many interesting colours... solids and speckles and splashes. They do smell lovely and seed prolifically... you'll have them forever if you save the seed. They're Peruvian. They grow very bushy and I always liked to plant them under a window along with saponaria.

I could be wrong, but I think you get different coloured flowers on the same plant? I'm fairly sure I had a Mirabilis once, with pink, yellow, red and mauve flowers . . . :)

...I've never experienced the variety of colours on one plant, Sheila, but I have found that they seed so well that you will get many colours of flowers from the seed of one plant. Mirabilis is right! The flowers die off after one night's bloom and the plants can look a bit ragged as the flower trumpet doesn't shed readily and they dry on the plant. I guess it depends on the neatness factor. I never found them very tidy... always messy..and when the seed drops you will be amazed at the quantity. seeds are large and shaped like ginger jars!