Texas Gardening: Gardening with Texas Native plants & Wildflowers. Part 5, 1 by frostweed

frostweed wrote:
These are some very interesting Four O'clocks ( Mirabilis jalapa ) growing in my garden.
All the different colors are on one plant, and it evolved by itself, this is the first year that I have had so many colors on one plant.
Four O'clocks are an adapted species from South America.
They are tender perennials in this area, they die to the ground in the winter and come back from the tuberous roots, which get bigger every year. The flowers are very fragrant, and open in the evening when the temperature goes down and remain open till about 10 the next morning.