What Is A 4 Oclock Plant. Mirabilis in Latin means wonderful and Jalapa or Xalapa is the state capital of Veracruz in Mxico. Although grown as an annual in cold climates four oclocks are perennials in US.
Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11 and they may also overwinter successfully with protection in USDA zones 7 through 9. The roots form tubers that may be dug up and stored over the winter. The Aztecs grew them for medicinal purposes as well as for their beauty.
Four oclock is a garden flower that also grows wild in some parts of southwestern United States.
You can plant them in. Botanically known as Mirabilis jalapa and also known as Pride of Peru this South American opens its flowers in the late afternoon hence four oclock plant. Most symptoms are limited to vomiting and diarrhea as well as topical skin irritation. Frosts kill these bushy plants to the ground but in mild-winter areas theyll resprout from large tuberous roots the following spring.