How to plant four o'clock flower seeds? What month is the best time to sow

When it comes to the four o'clock flower (Mirabilis jalapa), everyone is surely very familiar with it, because it is extremely common in our daily lives, and its figure can even be seen along mountain paths and roadsides. When the hot summer days arrive, the four o'clock flower quietly blooms its beautiful flowers, adding a splash of vivid color to summer. Many people like to plant four o'clock flowers in their own courtyards, so do you know how to plant four o'clock flowers?

How to plant four o'clock flower seeds

1. Collect seeds: This is fairly simple. Just choose those black seeds that do not feel soft when touched and harvest them. However, they cannot be used immediately after collection; they should first be stored in a shaded, ventilated place for a period of time. Around the end of April or the beginning of May of the following year, they can be taken out and sown.

2. Choosing the substrate: This step is very important and directly affects the seed survival rate. The selection principles include being loose, rich in humus, and deep, etc. Some loam soil can be mixed with sandy soil.

3. Seed treatment: Before formal sowing, we need to mix and stir the seeds with fresh high-fat film to strengthen their respiration intensity, prevent virus infection, and improve their germination rate.

4. Formal sowing: We can sow by the drill method or the broadcast method. After sowing, we need to cover them with a layer of soil mixed with plant ash and water thoroughly.

5. Later care: After sowing and watering are completed, attention should also be paid afterward to keeping the soil moist. It is best to water thoroughly each time. Then just wait for them to germinate. After they emerge, we should apply some dilute fertilizer water to speed up the growth and development of the seedlings, but be careful not to make the concentration too high. When the seedlings grow to five to six cun tall, you can select the stronger-looking seedlings and transplant them into flower pots or flower beds.

When to sow four o'clock flower (which month)

The best time to sow four o'clock flower seeds is from March to May each year. During this period, temperatures rise and sunlight is abundant, making it the best time to sow four o'clock flower seeds.

Propagation methods of four o'clock flower

1. Sowing: Four o'clock flower is propagated by seeds. It is suitable to sow and raise seedlings in March to April. When the seedlings grow 2 to 4 leaves, transplant them, with a plant spacing of 50 to 80 cm being suitable. After transplanting, pay attention to shading. Four o'clock flower is easy to grow with extensive management; just pay attention to appropriate fertilizing and watering. Four o'clock flower is a wind-pollinated flower, and different varieties cross very easily. If you want to maintain varietal characteristics, they should be cultivated in isolation.

2. Cuttings: For cutting propagation of four o'clock flower, foot buds, terminal buds, axillary buds, etc. can be used as cuttings. Among them, foot buds have the strongest growth vigor, the varietal traits are less likely to degenerate, and disease resistance is strong. Use sand, furnace slag, garden soil, etc. as the substrate. After cutting, control the temperature at about 20°C, and roots will form in 10 days. After rooting, move them into containers to grow into seedlings.

3. Tuberous roots: The tuberous roots of old four o'clock flower plants can be repeatedly propagated and used for 3 to 5 years, and generally after the 2nd year the varietal traits gradually decline. South of the Yangtze River, the tuberous roots can safely overwinter and become bulb flowers. In areas where they cannot overwinter, after frost, cut the plant off 3 to 5 cm above the ground, dig out the tuberous roots, dry them in the sun until the surface is dry, and place them in a dry place not exposed to direct sunlight, without watering all winter, with the temperature controlled at about 10°C. After planting the following year, they will send out new plants again.

Growth habits of four o'clock flower

Four o'clock flower prefers mild and humid climate conditions and is not cold-tolerant. In winter, the aboveground part dies back. In the Jiangnan region, the underground part can safely overwinter and become a perennial herbaceous flower, sending up new plants again in spring the following year. Open-field cultivation requires deep, loose, fertile loam soil, while pot cultivation can use general flower potting soil. It grows even better in slightly shaded places. The flowers open from evening to early morning and close under strong light. If there is shade in summer, it will grow and bloom well; under intense summer heat and strong sun, leaf drop often occurs. It likes a well-ventilated environment and has a mosquito-repelling effect in summer.

Actually, planting four o'clock flower is very simple. You can even casually toss a few seeds into the soil, and after a period of time it will germinate on its own and slowly grow, requiring almost no effort, and it will also slowly expand its territory by itself!