Searched on "4 O'Clocks" and this discussion came up. Nice old discussion! In my area (Maritime NW) I have never seen 4 O'clocks in the nurseries and big box stores. I'm speculating that's because most of their flowers are sold in bloom, and 4 O'clocks bloom when larger. They probably don't bloom in little 6-packs or even in 1-gallon containers. I'm guessing about that. Also, if the flowers are not reliably open when the stores are open, people might not buy them. I bought seeds via the internet. Feeling nostalgic about gardening from my childhood, and these 4 O'clocks were part of that. I grew some about 10 years ago and as I recall they did OK here. I'm more into gardening now than I was then, so maybe they'll grow better. Plus I have a deer and rabbit problem, and maybe they'll be resistant to those animals. Maybe. I read start them 6 to 8 weeks indoors before the last frost, for cool climates like mine. They can also be planted in the ground, but maybe will start blooming later. A packet has plenty of sees, so I can try both. Nice discussion! I've lost the experiences of older gardeners in my family, and it seems there aren't a lot of gardeners in my neighborhood, so it's up to me to discover what works and what doesn't. Pass-along plants like these are worth preserving for the next generation!

Four O'Clocks do indeed reseed like crazy! I have mine planted in a sunny border bed along with other self seeders. In the bed I have Four O'Clocks, Cosmos, Tall Verbena, Cleome Spider Flower, Hardy Ageratum and Zinnias. After the first good killing frost I just yank all the plants up and shake them into the planting bed. I also usually have to yank up many weeds at this time too. I then turn the soil over lightly and rake smooth. The following spring I have hundreds and hundreds of plants coming up. So many that I need to thin them out.

Keep in mind also, the more blossoms, the more fragrance. Think about planting lots of a single fragrant annual, rather than "one of each." You can always try a different one next year. I was happy with four o'clocks the year I had fifteen plants growing in buckets on the front steps. Three five-gallon buckets, five plants per bucket. That was enough plants to actually smell them at night. This year I only grew a couple and with only one plant in bloom, I was getting twigs up my nose trying to catch any scent at all. All of the four o'clocks I've grown have been fragrant, and I've tried several colors and sources. For some reason I had terrible germination with Burpee though, and I planted three different packets from them. Oh, and I second nicotiana, but you have to get the right one if you want scent. Look for the tall white night-blooming nicotiana. It's gangly, floppy, and wilts during the day (I tell curious people it's sleeping), but at night it revives and smells fantastic. The flowers droop and point down during the day but lift themselves and point upwards at night. The plant gets three to five feet tall, so for most people the flowers are near nose level, too. Plant several in a clump, and be prepared to stake them to keep them upright, or the flowers will end up at ankle level and we're back to drunken crawling. I've tried several varieties of the short, bright colored daytime-blooming nicotiana and the original white one blows them all away for scent. I've seen it listed as Nicotiana alata, Nicotiana sanderae, and Jasmine nicotiana. Nicotiana sylvestris is reputed to be fragrant also (and taller), but I haven't tried it yet. For me, neither of these plants was in bloom before July. They also wait until dusk to look good, so I'd recommend adding some companion plants to add interest early in the season and during the day. Edie

Once you get some seeds growing, you will never have to worry about starting any more seeds! My yard is almost 'weedy' with all the multi-colored 'rainbow' 4 o'clocks that seem to be perennials here as the large tap root regrows again each year. The pretty mixed colors on each flower as well as on the same plant are so fragrant & beautiful ... not as boring as the single colored varieties! The mixture of colors seems to get even more mixed with the years & I try & save as many seeds as possible to give to my neighbors & relatives. Good luck!