Mirabilis jalapa is a colourful quick growing plant from Peru with small trumpet-shaped, sweetly scented flowers in solid colours of red, pink, yellow, stripes and mottled, that open in the late afternoon with a lovely evening fragrance. Although a perennial it is best grown from seed each year and either planted out in June in a moist sheltered border or grown in pots for patio use. It forms large underground tubers that can be stored over winter like Dahlias for much larger plants the following year.
