four o'clocks

I threw out some old four o'clock seeds in my garden, thinking that they would not come up. However, they have and they are beautiful. But they are top heavy and are tilting over. Do they need something to run on? Like a fence ect. I am going to have to move them as they are in the front of the bed and are getting very tall and bushy. When is the best time to move them? i am new but do not know how to change it just yet

This message was edited Aug 5, 2007 8:40 AM

They do get about 2-3 ft tall. Is there some way you can prop them up with a stake for this year?
If they are tall enough to be flopping over, they may be too big to move now. You could move one and see how it goes.

I have read that they can be perennial in that they form a tuber underground. So, if you are unable to move them at this time, you can dig up the tuber and move it after they die back this fall, assuming it doesn't get too cold in your zone for it to winter over. You will certainly get lots of seeds for next year from them.

Karen

They won't climb or run like a vine, like stated above, some support such as short wire fencing or small branches stuck in the ground around them is best.

They won't take kindly to moving right now, you'll probably lose them if you do. Just give them as best support as you can, and wait until frost kills the tops. Then move the roots (tubers) to where you want them to live.

Mine were 3 and 4 feet tall and fell over the other night. The taller ones were tied to the banister using legs cut from panty hose. The shorter ones were tied to a stake using the waist band from the panty hose. Sorry this isn't a very good pic but you get the idea.

when my 4o'clocks also got top heavy I just cut the longest parts off. They were very full and busy all around so I figured I'd just lop off the parts that were extending above the whole bush. I started growing them in a corner of my yard but not right up to the fence line. I figured they would fill out and I wanted to be able to get in behind them to allow me to keep them trim and neat. I agree with the suggestion to wait till the winter to move them. Just be sure to search the area they are growing in very well cuz those tubers really spread.

mine fall over every year with high winds or heavy rains.
I will just snap off the branch that falls over.

my brother and SIL 'bungie' them to a fence to keep them up.

i have one this year - and i didn't plan it this way... but i planted Morning Glories behind it, and the vines from the MG's are actually holding it up.

i need to get a pic of that. it worked out pretty well.

>>When is the best time to move them?

they really do not transplant well at all.
I will have many (50-100 seedlings) that i will pull just because i have way too many (i dont even plant seeds anymore)
and a few of them will survive if i move them when they are very small, but it does seem it 'stunts their growth' as they dont get as big... maybe 18-24" instead of 30+".

I did move 2 big ones.. they were smothering my rose bushes, so i yanked them and just dug holes and stuck them in a field... they fell over, but with watering them a lot, they bloomed... they never 'stood up' though.

I did transplant a bunch of seedlings from seeds that fell from the original plants and at the beginning they did flop over. Eventually the majority of them did stand up and this year they are extending out just like the original ones have done. Now not only are they in the corner but they have spread out along the fence line but again not right up on the fence. Most of the time the cardinals in the neighborhood help out keeping the seeds from falling but if some do develop into seedlings I just pull them up around the base of the larger plants. I keep the bushes pretty much in check this way and by mulching also.

>>cardinals in the neighborhood help out keeping the seeds from falling

I've read that the seeds are poisonous
you get birds eating them?

Thank goodness that mine self seed every year in the narrow space between the chainlink fence and driveway because they add such color and thrive in the heat and drought while everything else looks fried. I don't have a problem with JP beetles anymore because the beetles love feeding on 4 o'clocks and then die -- yeah, the plants are toxic to JP's too. The fence must keep my plants up. Anyway, someone is always asking me to save seeds for them and the plants produce plenty. I've never tried transplanting them.

I wasnt aware that they were but if they are the birds sure dont act like it. Both early in the morning and at dusk you can see the female bird come to see if the coast is clear. Then the bright red male will come and they all sit and pick at the branches. If the seeds are toxic the birds must be dying somewhere else cuz they dont die here. I hope that isnt the case it seemed they were enjoying them.

Not to worry. Lot of things in nature that are poisonous to humans aren't to birds and butterflies.