Four o’clock flowers grow and bloom abundantly in the summer garden. Blooms open in the late afternoon and evening, hence the common name “four o’clocks.” Highly fragrant in a range of colors, the four o’clock plant sports attractive flowers that attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Four O’clock Flowers Four o’clock flowers, Mirabilis jalapa, were originally found in the Andes Mountains of South America. The Mirabilis part of the Latin name means “wonderful” and is an accurate description of the hardy four o’clock plant. Grow four o’clocks in poor to average soil for the most abundant production of four o’clock flowers.
By now you may wonder what four o’clock flowers look like. They are tubular-shaped blooms in colors of white, pink, purple, red, and yellow that grow on erect to trailing green stems. Different flower colors can appear on a single stem in some varieties. Bi-color flowers are common, such as a white flower with red markings on the throat.
