Name: Mirabilis jalapa ‘Limelight’ aka Limelight four o’clocks

Type of Plant: These are perennial in zones 8 to 11, but widely grown as annuals in the colder regions. It’s a plant that’s easily grown from seed.

Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love plants that have great foliage and flower color, and this is a great one. The leaves are mostly lime green with darker splotches, and the flowers are a bright pink, which contrasts well with the foliage. Like other four o’clocks, the flowers on this plant open in the evening and close in the mid-morning. So it’s the perfect annual for anyone who is away from home all day but likes to appreciate their gardens during the cocktail hour or while sipping morning coffee.

A Word to the Wise: Grow this from seed started in April. This is a bushy annual probably better suited for gardens instead of containers. Place this near purple-foliaged plants for a drop-dead combination no matter what flowers are in bloom.

These plants make tubers that can be dug and over-wintered like dahlias, but in my experience it’s easiest to grow them from seed every spring

The leaves of Mirabilis ‘Limelight’ are yellow-green splashed with darker shades. This foliage is the perfect background for the magenta-pink flowers. This plant will truly light up any garden. 

This year I planted limelight four 0’clocks at the front of part of my perennial garden. I under-planted it with Alternanthera ‘Little Ruby’ which has purple leaves, and added some ‘Blue Horizon’ Ageratum behind.