longiflora, a creamy-white flowering species native to West Texas and Mexico. Thomas Jefferson grew what he referred to as the 'fragrant Marvel of Peru' at Monticello, where he also cultivated M. They had escaped the small fenced area under a great live oak tree and were happily flowering in profusion during the hottest time of our summer. I remember visiting a cemetery on a ranch near Yoakum, Texas, where four-0'clocks were the only reminder of a once well-tended plot. They flower well in the sun or fairly dense shade. They also attract hummingbirds and moths to the garden.ДЇour-o'clocks are very heat and drought tolerant. The fragrance of four-o'clocks is appealing, and is a major reason for their popularity. Their name derives from the fact that their flowers open in the late afternoon and stay open until the next morning, except on cloudy days when they open earlier.

The tubular flowers bloom in irridescent purple, white, red, yellow and striped. Although often found in Mexico and the South on old garden sites, this species is no longer found in the wild in Mexico.ДЇour-o'clocks are lush and bushy to four feet. The specimens he described were those of cultivated plants. The plant had been in cultivation in Europe for about 200 years before Linnaeus first described the species in 1753. They were sent to Spain from Mexico in the 1500's and to England within 75 years. Alice Le Duc, now at Duke University, did her doctoral thesis on four-o'clocks and found that they were cultivated and selected for various colors by the Aztecs many years prior to the Spanish Conquest. Hortus Third says that these tubers can weigh as much as 40 pounds in warm climates.Дr. Welch, Landscape Horticulturist,ДЇelder Rushing, coauthor of Passalong Plants, says that four-o-clocks are a 'can't fail perennial.' Gardeners in colder climates utilize them as annuals, but in most of the South they develop fleshy tubers that seem to last forever. Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasД«y Dr.

4 o clock flowers