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California Four O'clock
Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia
  
About California Four O'clock (Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia) 8 Nurseries Carry This Plant California Four O'Clock (Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia) is a common native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Central Coast, the South Coast Range and South Coast regions. It tends to grow in grassy places, at elevations from 0-3300 feet. The plant form is dense and mounding, producing a large number of small brightly colored flowers ranging from pink to purple. The plant sometimes goes deciduous in the summer, leaving only winding white twigs until the next rainy season. It may retain some foliage in shady locations and with occasional summer water. It is sometimes difficult to establish, but once established it require little or no attention. It spreads by runners and readily reseeds in native plant gardens.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
2.6 ft tall
10 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous, Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Lavender, Pink, Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Lithariapteryx jubarella Image
Lithariapteryx jubarellaLithariapteryx jubarella
*
Archirhoe neomexicana Image
Archirhoe neomexicanaArchirhoe neomexicana
*
Embola powelli Image
Embola powelliEmbola powelli
*
Lithariapteryx abroniaeella Image
Lithariapteryx abroniaeellaLithariapteryx abroniaeella

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Adaptable. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Groundcovers

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Works well with most chaparral and coastal sage scrub plants such as tree or Scrub Oaks (Quercus sp.), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia), Black Elderberry (Sambuccus nigra), Manzanita species and Ceanothus species.

Maintenance
Maintenance
The stems are fragile and break off easily. It can be pruned or sheared in late summer or early fall to restrain its spreading tendency

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
8*, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Grassy places, slope bottoms, dunes, dry rocky places and washes, or in the understory of taller chaparral plants

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.6" - 34.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.23", Coldest Month: 32.3" - 59.4", Hottest Month: 56.7" - 87.6", Humidity: 0.86" - 39.72", Elevation: -7" - 8177"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Mirabilis californica


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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