Four O' Clocks: Red (Mirabilis jalapa)
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Named for its characteristic of blooming after 4pm, four o’clock flourishes almost anywhere including hot, windy spots. Excellent as an annual hedge. Perennial in USDA zones 9–11, otherwise grown as an annual. Reseeds freely. Wonderful in barrels, tubs, or other large containers. Drought tolerant. Deer resistant.
Scientific Name: Mirabilis jalapa
Grown as: Perennial: 9a-11
Annual: 3a-8b
Maturity (Blooms): Summer to Fall
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water: Medium
Soil Moisture: Medium
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Attracts a number of important pollinators, including a variety of native bees and several types of butterfly, including the Monarch butterfly. Locate this towering plant behind shorter wildflowers.
Containers?: Yes. You can plant four-o-clocks in 1 to 5 gallon-sized pots growing 2 to 5 plants per pot depending on the pot size.
Height: 24-36"
Spacing: 12-24”
Sow Depth: 1/8"
USDA Zone: 3a-11
Produces: fragrant two-inch funnel-shaped red blossoms.
Grown as: Perennial: 9a-11
Annual: 3a-8b
Maturity (Blooms): Summer to Fall
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water: Medium
Soil Moisture: Medium
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes. Attracts a number of important pollinators, including a variety of native bees and several types of butterfly, including the Monarch butterfly. Locate this towering plant behind shorter wildflowers.
Containers?: Yes. You can plant four-o-clocks in 1 to 5 gallon-sized pots growing 2 to 5 plants per pot depending on the pot size.
Height: 24-36"
Spacing: 12-24”
Sow Depth: 1/8"
USDA Zone: 3a-11
Produces: fragrant two-inch funnel-shaped red blossoms.
No pre-treatment needed. Sow seeds indoors under grow lights 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date and transplant seedlings into the garden as well. Transplants will bloom earlier than direct seeded plants.
The easiest method is to direct seed them outdoors, just before your last frost date. Soaking the seeds over night, before planting, can speed germination, but the seeds germinate almost as quickly as they grow. Chances are good that if you allow your plants to go to seed in the fall, they will self-seed in the garden. Seedlings can be easily pulled and moved to another section.
Plant in a full sun or part shaded bed in well-drained, compost-amended soil. Sow seeds or transplant seedlings 1 to 2 feet apart. You can also plant four-o-clocks in 1 to 5 gallon-sized pots growing 2 to 5 plants per pot depending on the pot size. Keep the containers well watered and fertilized monthly.
Plant in a full sun or part shaded bed in well-drained, compost-amended soil. Sow seeds or transplant seedlings 1 to 2 feet apart. You can also plant four-o-clocks in 1 to 5 gallon-sized pots growing 2 to 5 plants per pot depending on the pot size. Keep the containers well watered and fertilized monthly.
Keep plants well watered and weeded. Fertilize in mid summer with an organic plant food to spur more growth and flowering. Fertilize more often for plants growing in container.
Select a healthy four o'clock plant that is blooming well. Monitor the flowers on the selected plants and begin checking for seeds once the petals fall off naturally.
Separate the green leaves that were around the base of each flower before the petals fell. Locate the large black seed nestled in the center of the old flower.
Slip the seed out of the center of each dead flower with your thumb. Alternatively, snip off the old flower heads then remove the seeds from the old flower heads.
Spread the seeds out on a paper plate in a single layer. Dry them in a low-moisture, warm area out of direct sunlight for five to seven days.
Store the seeds in a tightly sealed jar or container in a cool, dark area until planting. Label the container with the four o'clock variety and year harvested.
Separate the green leaves that were around the base of each flower before the petals fell. Locate the large black seed nestled in the center of the old flower.
Slip the seed out of the center of each dead flower with your thumb. Alternatively, snip off the old flower heads then remove the seeds from the old flower heads.
Spread the seeds out on a paper plate in a single layer. Dry them in a low-moisture, warm area out of direct sunlight for five to seven days.
Store the seeds in a tightly sealed jar or container in a cool, dark area until planting. Label the container with the four o'clock variety and year harvested.
The four o’clock flower was cultivated by the Aztecs for medicinal and ornamental purposes. It is also said to have been exported from the Peruvian Andes in 1540. It has become naturalized in many parts of the Southern U.S. and was introduced into Europe by the Spaniards in 1596.
In herbal medicine, parts of the plant may be used as a purgative, diuretic and for wound healing purposes. The leaf juice is used to treat wounds. The leaves are diuretic, while a decoction is used to treat abscesses. They are used to reduce inflammation.
The root is considered a diuretic as well as an aphrodisiac and purgative. It is used in the treatment of dropsy. A paste of the root is applied as a poultice to treat muscular swellings and scabies. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of diarrhea, fever, and indigestion. The powdered root, mixed with corn flour (Zea mays) is baked and used in the treatment of menstrual disorders.
In herbal medicine, parts of the plant may be used as a purgative, diuretic and for wound healing purposes. The leaf juice is used to treat wounds. The leaves are diuretic, while a decoction is used to treat abscesses. They are used to reduce inflammation.
The root is considered a diuretic as well as an aphrodisiac and purgative. It is used in the treatment of dropsy. A paste of the root is applied as a poultice to treat muscular swellings and scabies. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of diarrhea, fever, and indigestion. The powdered root, mixed with corn flour (Zea mays) is baked and used in the treatment of menstrual disorders.
Project Purity Seeds can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Four o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) are bushy and fragrant annuals often growing over 2 feet high and wide. They can bring a lot of color to the vegetable garden and are reported to draw away Japanese beetles. Reports suggest that the leaves of four o'clocks are poisonous to these noxious insects, killing them before they attack nearby vegetable crops. Four o'clocks often self-seed, making them an extremely easy partner in the garden.
Some gardeners plant Chinese Southern giant mustard (Brassica juncea) in borders to divert flea beetles from their cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, mustard and collard greens). Four o’clock (Mirabilis), which attracts Japanese beetles, then poisons them with a toxin in its foliage is another good companion.
Some gardeners plant Chinese Southern giant mustard (Brassica juncea) in borders to divert flea beetles from their cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, mustard and collard greens). Four o’clock (Mirabilis), which attracts Japanese beetles, then poisons them with a toxin in its foliage is another good companion.
Suggested Varieties
Broccoli: Green Sprouting Calabrese (Organic) (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
$1.00 - $5.60
Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli is an Italian Heirloom that was named after Calabria (a region in southern Italy). It is known as the most favorable broccoli due to its ability to produce a larger number of heads on lots of thin stalks.
Broccoli: Purple Sprouting (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
$1.00 - $5.60
Though this extremely cold hardy Purple Sprouting broccoli was bred in England, the plant from which modern broccoli is derived first grew in the wild in the Mediterranean region and in Asia Minor. The Italians appreciated it so much that it got the name "Italian asparagus." Broccoli gradually spread to the rest of Europe and to the New World, where Thomas Jefferson included this strange new vegetable in his experimental garden.
Broccoli: Waltham 29 (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
$1.00 - $5.60
The heirloom broccoli variety Waltham 29 is named for Waltham, MA, where researchers at the University of Massachusetts developed it in 1950. However, the plant from which modern broccoli is derived first grew in the wild in the Mediterranean region and in Asia Minor. Broccoli gradually spread to the rest of Europe and to the New World, where Thomas Jefferson included this strange new vegetable in his experimental garden. The Italians appreciated it so much that it got the name "Italian asparagus." After World War I, Italian brothers Stefano and Andrea D'Arrigo brought their Sicilian variety of broccoli and began growing it in San Jose, Calfornia; they later shipped it to Boston's North End, where it established a quickly expanding market.
Cabbage: Early Jersey Wakefield (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
$1.00 - $5.60
Only a few left!
The first Early Jersey Wakefield cabbages were raised in 1840 by a man named Francis Brill of Jersey City, New Jersey. Thirty years later, seed companies all over the region offered this seed for sale; growers appreciated its early harvest and small, tender heads.
Cabbage: Late Flat Dutch (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
$1.00 - $5.60
Late Flat Dutch cabbage can be traced back to 1840, when the earliest mention of this variety is found in the seed records of the Netherlands. German immigrants carried the seed with them to America, where it spread; by 1924, it could be found in local seed catalogs such as D. M. Ferry & Company.
Cabbage: Red Acre (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
$1.00 - $5.60
Cabbage is considered one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, since historians trace it back to 4,000 BC in China. The Romans also cultivated it and praised it for its healing qualities; philosophers Pythagoras and Cato both made the lowly cabbage the subject of a book. Jacques Cartier brought the first cabbage to America in 1536. Cabbages were quite popular in colonial America, being pickled and preserved in every possible way to provide food for the winter.
Cabbage, Chinese: Pak Choi (Heirloom) (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
$1.00 - $5.60
Chinese cabbage dates back to the 15th century in China, when a pharmacologist of the Ming Dynasty considered it nutritionally beneficial. Later it became the main ingredient in kim chi, the national dish of Korea; Japanese soldiers also discovered Chinese cabbage and took it home with them after the war. Americans became familiar with this vegetable in the late 19th century.
Mustard: Red Giant (Heirloom) (Brassica juncea)
$1.00 - $5.60
Mustard greens originated near the Himalayan region of northern India, where they have been growing for thousands of years. Chinese, Japanese, and African cuisine also make use of this peppery vegetable. Though not particularly well known in most parts of the United States, mustard greens are a traditional part of culture in the southern region.
Mustard: Tendergreen (Heirloom) (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)
$1.00 - $5.60
Mustard greens originated near the Himalayan region of northern India, where they have been growing for thousands of years. Chinese, Japanese, and African cuisine also make use of this peppery vegetable. Though not particularly well known in most parts of the United States, mustard greens are a traditional part of culture in the southern region.
Collards: Vates (Heirloom) (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
$1.00 - $5.60
Collard, sometimes known as wild or non-heading cabbage, probably originated in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean region. Europe eventually became familiar with this vegetable, though historians disagree as to whether it was introduced there by the Romans or the Celts. Collard became a valuable part of the traditional cuisine of the American South through the slave trade, when the slaves began preparing this inexpensive vegetable with scraps of meat for flavoring. This unique vegetable has become a unique symbol of Southern culture and tradition. The Vates type of collard derives its name from an acronym for Virginia Truck Experiment Station, a research effort that was conducted from 1909-1960.