I'll keep my tubers over winter so I won't have to start over next year

What hardiness zone are you in 'rob'?

Approximately how long after you plant the tuber in the spring do you get flowers?

(For me with seeds it is about 10 weeks).

I'm zone 7. This will be my first winter, so I can't say. I hope it will be earlier.

Here are some of my pink ones at night. I also have yellow. Mine have been here when we bought the house 25 years ago. There are a lot more now. How hardy are they supposed to be? Never did anything to protect them in winter.

Sphinx Moth's love Four O'clocks & Moonflowers. I posted the picture I took last night on one of my plants, White-lined Sphinx Moth. I had no idea some have pink on them!

I'm in z7 and here's a good example of how you need to do nothing to the plants over winter. Just let them die off and they'll come back in droves, ice and all.

Years ago I planted a small patch in front of the house. Years later we added-on to the house which covered the original 4 o'clock bed.

Here they are growing wild, I didn't plant them. These pictures don't do them justice, except the one with the Moth. I neglected them badly this year and finally got around to watering them yesterday and they are about to explode with pink blooms.

I am glad they came up where no one can see them except us because there aren't any flowers until dusk.

I had to pull up a lot of them to keep the "hedge" in order.

BTW, same thing happened to our Moonflowers. Planted them in one spot and now they're all over the place!

Moth

South side. We have a big yard so it's an organized jungle next to the house. Cats love to hunt there.

Had to pull them away from our dog fence, the gate wouldn't open because of them!

Thanks other zone 7ers, sounds great! I guess I'll get them where they belong and leave them :)

P.S. I was told they were hardy only to zone 8 (not the only site to say so).

Rob, mine get covered in ice for days and they come up like weeds, and I'm in zone 7.

We got a lot of rain the past week (they love water!) and here's what they look like now.

Remember, we didn't plant these either, the seeds must have blown and/or moved when we built onto the house.

Bad quality pictures, the flowers are very prominent.

Four o'clocks "Orange Crush"

Pink and white marbled ones close earlier.

Love the orange ones. So bright and pretty!

If you overwinter the tubers, the plant will be much larger than planting from seed in the Spring...just be careful when you lift them because the roots can snap in pieces. After digging up, I let them dry a bit and then pack in vermiculite for winter storage. I start them in pots under grow lights at the same time I do the dahlias and callas. Label them if you want to keep track of colour but I can tell which are going to be pink because the stem is pinkish.