Is this a weed?

onlylobster · Thu Jun 02, 2016 1:02 pm

This is growing where my four-o-clocks were last year. It's fleshy and waxy looking and I have no idea if this should be pulled or left to be. The top image is a bit scraggly because it is getting shade from the spruce but you can see the reddish coloration and the thickness of the stem.

Lindsaylew82 · Thu Jun 02, 2016 1:43 pm

It's a 4 o'clock.

They grow from seed dropped from the plants, and where I live, it keeps tubers in the soil where they can regrow every year!

purpleinopp · Fri Jun 03, 2016 2:04 pm

Yours doesn't look like a seedling. The roots/tuber is still alive from last year.

onlylobster · Fri Jun 03, 2016 9:28 pm

I'm really surprised. The leaves don't look like they did last year. I'm glad I didn't pull them out then! We did have a milder winter this year so I was hoping they'd come up again.

purpleinopp · Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:48 pm

I had a lot of fun surprises this spring too! Winter passed by here with just a glance.

Mr_bobo_ · Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:16 pm

The scientific name is: Mirabilis jalapa

onlylobster · Fri Jun 24, 2016 6:21 am

I am still very surprised. Without getting an ID from this forum I would be panicking over the plant taking over my front garden. They are waist high now with little tiny buds. I've never seen them so big. I guess they are happy where they are. They are in the area of the yard that I spend the least amount of time in because it is closer to the street and I don't want to bend over with cars driving past.

Mr_bobo_ · Fri Jun 24, 2016 12:37 pm

I have them in my garden too

They vanish few years but this one I bring them back

!potatoes! · Fri Jun 24, 2016 5:20 pm

Mr_bobo_ wrote:The scientific name is: Mirabilis jalapa

huh, interesting. I wonder if the roots are edible. a cousin, Mirabilis expansa, also called mauka, is one of the many root/tuber crops native to the andean highlands. one of the 'lost' crops of the incas, though admittedly not too lost any more.

Mr_bobo_ · Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:18 pm

I think they are edible...

''The root is believed an aphrodisiac as well as diuretic and purgative. It is used in the treatment of dropsy.''
...from wikipedia...

Lindsaylew82 · Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:50 am

onlylobster wrote:I am still very surprised. Without getting an ID from this forum I would be panicking over the plant taking over my front garden. They are waist high now with little tiny buds. I've never seen them so big. I guess they are happy where they are. They are in the area of the yard that I spend the least amount of time in because it is closer to the street and I don't want to bend over with cars driving past.

They WILL reseed. Also, the tuber will grow new plants every year. As long as there are tubers, there will be 4 o'clock. It's great if you love them! They are very pretty! But here they're tricky to get rid of.

Lindsaylew82 · Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:52 am

!potatoes! wrote:
Mr_bobo_ wrote:The scientific name is: Mirabilis jalapa
huh, interesting. I wonder if the roots are edible. a cousin, Mirabilis expansa, also called mauka, is one of the many root/tuber crops native to the andean highlands. one of the 'lost' crops of the incas, though admittedly not too lost any more.

I've dug my fair share. They don't smell very appetizing....

imafan26 · Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:49 am

I did not know they were edible. My research said that the opposite, that it was toxic. I grow them since they seem to deter rose beetles. I do have them contained but I have to pick off the seeds to keep them from spreading and dig out the tubers that escaped to keep them in check.