Gardener stalks flower
Last year I received some seeds from City Gardener in Greece. They are Mirabilis jalapa, otherwise known as ‘Four o’clocks’ because they open in the late afternoon. The seeds germinated easily and I planted them in pots as they aren’t hardy here. Last week flower buds appeared.
Mirabilis jalapa buds
Each day for a week I trotted outside after 4 o’ clock to see the opening flowers. I see flowers but they look like they have their eyes closed. Surely I can’t have missed them. It is very odd. I must be a bit dim if I am being outwitted by a flower!
Flowered already?
Today I go out at 8.30am and find…..
Mirabilis jalapa in flower
….Hmmmm. This is nowhere near four o’ clock in the afternoon. Are these ‘Eight am o’clocks’? I think they originated in South America. Perhaps their time keeping goes all awry in the UK.
I’m sure these are common flowers to some of you but I am pleased to have discovered them. The flowers have an amazingly rich fragrance especially in the evening. There is also a yellow flowered one which I must track down.
I am now wondering if my morning flower had been open all night and was late going to bed. I have put the pots near the conservatory door where I can keep an eye on it and catch the perfume!
Mirabilis jalapa in pot
Sure enough they opened around 7pm. Their timing is only a little out!
9 comments
Heh heh! Another example of plants not reading the manual
VP: Quite!
They open in the evening and are still open in the morning. Sometimes they open because it is cloudy. I have a lot of them and hummingbirds love them.
Donna
Donna: Thanks for the info. That explains a lot!
You must really have a green thumb. I tried to germinate 4 oclocks this year (i am not sure of the species0 and had only one plant from the whole pack. i soaked and nicked them but all to no avail. I would love to know the trick.
Karen: Pure luck! I’m not very patient with seed sowing so they knew this was their only chance. I didn’t soak them
Someone should get those plants a watch. But I think it’s very sophisticated of them to arrive fashionably late.
Megan: I wish they had told me first!
Four o’clocks are very common here but oooh, I love them!! They open when the temperature cools down and remain so throughout the night. If it’s cloudy, like Donna said, they remain awake well past their ‘bed-time’. My yellow ones are about to bloom and and I just can’t wait to photograph the grand opening:)
Kanak: I look forward to your pictures of the yellow ones
Oh there are lots of them here, they just seem to pop up. Seen pink and yellow ones and we also have random strippey ones too.
Judith: Oh stripey ones would be good. I will have to look out for some seed!
How peculiar – flowers with er jet lag?!
Glad to also find another fellow Fairport fan! 
xxx
I remember my mom growing them by our back door. I really liked them. I have a little patch of them near my veggie garden, and they seed themselves, so they come up every year. I may try putting some spent flowers in my front yard so they grow there. It seems they come up late, so they could fill in an area where I could plant some bulbs.
I’m glad you are enjoying yours, too.
They look so beautiful! Great job
In Greece we call them “Nightflowers”. The “4 o’clock” name it’s not familiar for me so we wait the open flowers in evening until morning.
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