Hi everyone,
We have a white flowering Mirabilis jalapa outside the door
of our shed. Several people commented this month on its pleasant scent so I looked it up in Roy Gender’s “Scented
Plants of the World” which is my “Bible” for such things and
found that he claims the species is heavily scented specially at night. This is
news to me, I have grown them for years and have never
noticed any scent before. This particular plant is also unique in having
survived an English winter outside. So are white Mirabilis better scented than red or yellow
specimens? Do they need a settled environment in which to flower in the second
year? Is this a mixed up plant with a confused sense of time which makes it think it will
attract pollinating moths in the mid day sun?
Anthony
