Illustration
Desert Four O'Clock
Mirabilis multiflora
Also called colorado four o'clock and maravilla
Also comes in purple.
Desert Four O'Clock blooms from June through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Desert Four O'Clock
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 1.5 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Desert Four O'Clock. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Desert Four O'Clock
Plant Desert Four O'Clock in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from June to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Desert Four O'Clock get?
1.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Desert Four O'Clock in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Desert Four O'Clock
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Desert Four O'Clock about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Desert Four O'Clock to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Desert Four O'Clock's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 10 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- High Country Gardensheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- unps.orgUtah Native Plant Societyheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- wyomingnativegardens.wyomingbiodiversity.orgUniversity of Wyoming Biodiversity Instituteheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- csu.orgColorado Springs Utilitiesheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- cwelwnp.usu.eduWestern Native Plants, hosted by Utah State Universityheight, spread, sun, water and bloom months and color
- nps.govNational Park Service, Arches National Parkheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- extension.colostate.eduColorado State University Extensionheight and bloom months and color
- navigate.botanicgardens.orgDenver Botanic Gardenshardiness zones and bloom months and color
- uvu.eduUtah Valley University, Capitol Reef Field Stationheight and bloom months and color
- Utah State University Extensionheight and spread
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 7 states
United States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah
Recorded growing wild in 81 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.