I totally ignore mine. This spring some popped up from last year. They were bathed in engine oil during a spring rain when hubby forgot to keep a lid on the oil barrel. The boys drug wood over them. I thought they were goners. We had cleaned up and burned leaves and so forth so to my surprise I see this little plant growing a couple of weeks later. It was a four o clock. I'm sure a seed became airborne somehow and embedded in the dirt. Now that thing is out of control. We did this in July as well. I have it planted on the east side of my property. It is planted in an area that has never been amended. Just dirt. It doesn't get water unless mother nature provides it.

A few years ago I was able to start them in a container and plant them where I wanted them. They survived until my husband went into a cleaning mode and took them out.

Mine seem to do better when they seed themselves. I've w/s some with no problem. I think they like that cold, moist, stratification.

I've had a few and they've done better with neglect as well. Has anyone ever dug up the roots and overwintered the tuber inside? I was considering trying it this year.

I received a Ziploc bag full of four o'clock seeds from a lady who is strictly a "throw and grow" gardener. She literally throws the seeds on the ground, some in the fall and some in the spring. Her theory is that's how nature does it. She doesn't amend the soil or anything. Her four o'clocks do great.

That's my kind of gardening!

Oddly, though they are always touted as being so drought tolerant, the loveliest patch of 4 O' Clocks that I've seen around here were growing in a moist ditch by the road in front of someone's house. It might be worth an experiment.

KelliW said:I've had a few and they've done better with neglect as well. Has anyone ever dug up the roots and overwintered the tuber inside? I was considering trying it this year.

I've overwintered tubers: I put them in a large dark plastic bag, zip tie the top and poke some holes in the sides. I store mine under the greenhouse benches (temp around 45-50 all winter), but I suppose a cool cellar would work, too. I didn't take a pic last year, but here's one from 2015:

Wow Janine, are those just from one years growth? Or are your feet really tiny? I am going out to dig one of mine up now just to see how big they are. I do not need to over winter tubers here but am now just curious what some of mine are doing under the soil line.

Audrey,
Please post pics of yours too!

Those are 2nd year tubers...foot is size 7! I got the seeds originally from ronnie17 on GW/ @luvsgrtdanes and the flowers are an unusual shape and color, orangey/peachy/pinkish (the pic doesn't do it justice).

Those are glorious Janine! I don't dig tubers as they come back reliably, unless something comes along I want to put somewhere else.
But they just don't do as well as they did a few years ago. Maybe I should move them? I did not think they would suffer from soil depletion, but maybe...

Here's another pic of 2nd year plants. Not nearly as big as Janine's! In the years I'm organized I dig them and store them in the basement (50-60 degrees) in a plastic grocery sack. The last few years, though, the plants have declined. I thought it was because I haven't been good about keeping the competition from the volunteer kale and Cosmos under control. I didn't think about soil depletion, though. It might be time to rework that bed.

Wow! Those are tubers are huge! Thanks so much for sharing pics and all of the information about the process. Its my first year in a frost zone and I'm so scared to lose stuff. I've been carrying many plants inside every night. The four o'clocks don't really seem to mind the frost yet, but I'm ready to dig them up now when it finally does get them. There's so many great ones for up trade already, hopefully i'll have a chance at a few!

Lalambchop1 said:Audrey,
Please post pics of yours too!

Will do!

I think mine got so big from being grown in the vegetable garden. Manure works wonders! I've got (vegetable garden grown) dahlia tubers that are pretty large, too.

Ah, yes. I miss using manure. We don't have cows anymore, and I got carried away 6 or 7 years ago when our friend offered up all the sheep manure and bedding we wanted. I got the EC so high it was two years before I could grow carrots again I'm sticking to overdoing it with leaves for now

I got some lovely ones from last years swap - Marrakesh. I threw the seeds in my Pole Bean bed in early May & ignored them. They have done extremely well. I find that they self seed easily (Ontario Canada 5b). I saved seeds & will post soon .

My wild four o'clocks (Mirabilis longiflora) return for me every year here in zone 5. They emerge so late, however, that I sometimes forget they are there and plant something too close to them--which generally doesn't work out well!

I love them because they are so graceful. Colorful M. jalapa are the flashy salsa dancers while M. longiflora are elegant ice dancers.

Tom Petty is dead. I can't believe it.