The 4 O’clock flower, Mirabilis jalapa earned its name because the flowers open around late afternoon each day, and the blooms close and die come morning.

Because four o’clock plants bloom in the late afternoon and evening, it’s best to plant them where you’re sure to see them and catch a whiff of their fragrance, such as around a patio. They grow well in garden beds or in container plantings, and they mingle and grow through other plants nicely, making a pretty underplanting.

Four o’clock plant maintenance is fairly simple. Expect to water your plants fairly regularly if you don’t have rainfall, and feed them throughout the growing season.

Mirabilis jalapa, the marvel of Peru or four o’clock flower, is the most commonly grown ornamental species of Mirabilis plant, and is available in a range of colours. Mirabilis in Latin means wonderful and Jalapa (or Xalapa) is the state capital of Veracruz in México.

The flowers usually open from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o’clock), giving rise to one of its common names. 

Flowers then produce a strong, sweet-smelling fragrance throughout the night, then close for good in the morning. New flowers open the following day. It arrived in Europe in 1525. 

Today, it is common in many tropical regions and is also valued in Europe as a (not hardy) ornamental plant. It is the children’s state flower of Connecticut under the name of Michaela Petit’s Four O’Clocks