The Enchanting Beauty of Four O'Clock Flowers

The Marvel-of-Peru, also known as the Four O’Clock flower or Mirabilis jalapa, is a fascinating bloom that delights gardeners and flower lovers around the world. Known for its vibrant colors and curious blooming habit, this flower is not just beautiful it’s full of surprises. Native to tropical South America, it has now found a home in gardens across the globe, thriving in warm climates and admired for its resilience and charm.One of the most intriguing traits of the Marvel-of-Peru is its blooming schedule. As its nickname Four O’Clock flower suggests, the blossoms typically open in the late afternoon, around 4 PM, and remain open through the night, closing again in the early morning. This nocturnal blooming behavior makes it especially attractive to moths and other night-time pollinators.

Marvel-of-Peru is a master of disguise. Its trumpet-shaped flowers come in a dazzling variety of colors from pink, red, yellow, and white to variegated mixtures of two or more hues on the same plant. In fact, a single plant can bear flowers of different colors simultaneously, and sometimes even one flower will show a blend of stripes or speckles. This colorful unpredictability adds to its unique garden appeal.