Hailing from the tropical regions of South America, the Four O’Clock flower absolutely loves our warm summer months. These beauties are a total game-changer for any perennial bed, offering a long-lasting, multicolored, and wonderfully fragrant display.
Sowing or Planting Your Four O’Clocks
If you want a head start, you can begin sowing seeds indoors as early as February in a bright, warm spot. After about two weeks of germination, keep those young seedlings inside until mid-May. Once the threat of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up, they’re ready to go into the ground. You’ll follow the same timing for any tubers you overwintered indoors. To give them the best start, toss a little compost or horn meal into the planting hole.
When Do They Bloom?
From June all the way through October, Four O’Clocks put on a show with countless small flowers—sometimes up to seven on a single cluster! The colors are stunning, ranging from vibrant reds and pinks to crisp whites and yellows. You’ll even see some cool bicolor blooms in the mix.
The flowers typically open in the late afternoon, which is exactly how they got the name “Four O’Clock.” Others call them “Beauty of the Night” because they stay open all night long, only closing and wilting in the early morning. But don’t worry—there’s always a fresh bud ready to take its place. This means your plant will be in constant bloom throughout the entire season.
Care During the Blooming Season
Four O’Clocks are thirsty plants, especially when they’re flowering. On hot summer days, make sure to give them a good soak early in the morning and again late in the evening. I recommend adding a bit of liquid fertilizer to your watering can every two weeks. Just be sure to stop fertilizing toward the end of September so the plant can start prepping for winter.
Since each individual flower only lasts for one night, you’ll notice quite a few wilted blooms every morning. It’s a good idea to spend a few minutes each forenoon deadheading (removing the spent flowers) to make room for the new buds waiting to pop. Keeping up with this little chore will really boost the flower production, leaving you with a lush bush that seems to bloom forever.
Seeds and Fruit
If you want to propagate your Four O’Clocks from seed, just leave a few spent flowers on the bush in the fall so the seeds can ripen. Inside the dried petals, you’ll find small, pea-sized black seeds. Collect these and keep them in a dry place until you’re ready to plant next spring. Just a heads-up: be careful when handling them, as the seeds are quite poisonous.
