I love 4 o'clocks, but never detected a scent from ones I grew...do you get scent from your, Stan?

I remember those from when I was a kid. Nice drought tolerant plant. Thanks for the reminder.

Never noticed any WC.

Thanks, it's not just me then....others rave about the scent...

wcgypsy, there is a white flowered variety that smells really, really sweet. It's a taller plant though, and the leaves aren't as glossy as mirabilis jalapa. I believe it's mirabilis longiflora.

Thank you, Josue. Maybe that's the only one that is scented. I'd gotten a bunch of those started from seed and set out on the property we sold in SoCal, but did not get to see them flowering...hoping they were established enough to live even though the new owner was far from being any kind of gardener. I will have to see if they will grow up here in our soggy northwest corner....where it is apparently already Winter and pouring today...don't get me wrong, I appreciate the rain...LOL..

Yes! I remember seeing them at Annies at one point. Do you mean you're in the PNW or NW California? We're getting rain today in the Central Valley as far south as Fresno (at least - perhaps further south too).

Crescent City, 20 miles south of the Oregon border...considered part of the PNW really due to our climate. Yep, The San Joaquin could use some rain, I'm sure.....friends as far south as Santa Ana say they've gotten some also...cause for celebration...here, not so much....LOL..

Oh yeah, those thick roots are tough. One of the best low care flowers for half day sun.

i didn't know about shearing them back... ours get 3-4' tall and scraggly. love them though they're "broken colors" mix

Oh sure Mellow. When they start looking bad? Don't put up with that!..cut them to the ground,sweep up those seeds. In a few weeks,they start up again from tubers..and the seedling that finds a spot.

When I lived in San Francisco and visited the Yucatan, I found Four O'clocks blooming along the road and noticed a pleasant scent that was noticeable only at dusk, and so I thought it was from the 4 o'clocks. Therefore I collected some seeds and grew them in pots when I got back to SF, but they had no fragrance. Then I went back to the Yucatan (I used to go there every winter, to escape the cold of SF) and noticed that there were citrus groves next to where I found the 4 o'clocks, and the scent that I detected was from the citrus instead of the 4 o'clocks. The fragrance of the citrus coincided with the blooming of the 4 o'clocks and was not noticeable during the day or in the morning.

I never have picked up a scent from them. Our dry air climate doesn't help much for plants people rave as scented. Stephanotis? If you put your nose into it. Only Charles Grimaldi Brugmansia,Citrus,Pittosporum tobira (off the top of my head)...can waft strong.