The flowering plant Mirabilis (Mirabilis) is a member of the Nyctaginaceae family. This genus unites more than 50 species. Under natural conditions, they can be found in tropical and temperate regions, and they are most common in South and North America, however, there is 1 species, whose homeland is South Asia. From Latin “mirabilis” is translated as “amazing”. This kind of mirabilis, like yalapa, is also called “night beauty”, and it won great love from gardeners. These flowers seem simple at first glance, but they have a mysterious appeal. During the flowering of mirabilis, the garden is filled with a unique smell. It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and undemanding growing conditions. Often, a not very high hedge is formed from such a plant, which looks bright and impressive.
Features of mirabilis (night beauty)
The birthplace of the mirabilis yalapa species is Mexico. This perennial has a tuberous swollen root, it is cultivated as an annual plant. The bushes have a rounded-elongated shape, and their height varies from 0,3 to 0,8 m. Densely branched erect shoots are painted in a pale red color, their lower part lignifies over time. Oppositely positioned entire bare petiolate leaf plates have an ovoid-elongated shape, and they are colored green. Fragrant apical corymbose inflorescences consist of funnel-shaped flowers, reaching 2,5 centimeters in diameter, which can be colored in crimson, orange, purple, white, violet, yellow, deep red, also there are two or three colors. The flower opens after 16 pm, and they close at dawn. If the weather is cloudy, then the flowers of mirabilis remain open throughout the day. Flowers of different colors can bloom on the same bush of such a plant. For example, one mirabilis bush can be decorated with flowers of various shades of pink (from raspberry to salmon), and it happens that multi-colored stripes flaunt on the petals. The large, single-seeded fruit has sharp ribs and a dark brown color. The seeds remain viable for three years.
Growing mirabilis from seeds
Sowing seedlings
Mirabilis of the Yalapa species can be propagated by seed. Before you start sowing seeds, you need to scarify them, for this you need to injure their dense shell using sandpaper or a file. Pour lukewarm water into a thermos and pour the seeds there, they should stay there for 24 hours. Sowing seeds of a night beauty for seedlings is carried out from early to mid-April. To do this, take individual cups, which are filled with a light, slightly alkaline or neutral soil mixture, you can buy it in a specialized store or do it yourself. To do this, you need to combine compost (humus), peat, turf soil and washed sand (1: 2: 2: 0,5), then wood ash is added to the finished soil mixture (for 5 liters of the mixture ½ glass of ash) or dolomite flour (for 5 l mixture 2 large spoons of flour). Fill the cups with the soil mixture by ¾ the volume, remembering to tamp it well. Then it is plentifully watered with a fungicide solution. In 1 cup, a couple of seeds are sown, which are covered with a not very thick (from 10 to 15 mm) layer of loose substrate, then the crops must be watered from a finely dispersed spray bottle.
Then the crops are harvested in a greenhouse, the air temperature in which should be from 18 to 20 degrees.
Growing seedlings
The first seedlings can be seen after 5 or 6 days. When shoots appear, do not forget to remove the shelter and rearrange the cups in a well-lit area. After the seedlings have one real leaf plate, it will be necessary to thin out the seedlings. To do this, in each cup, with scissors, it is necessary to cut off the seedling that seems to be the weakest to the surface of the substrate, so that it cannot interfere with the growth and development of a stronger plant. At the same time, the seedlings will need to be fed for the first time, using for this, for example, Fertika, Mortar or Sturdy.
It is necessary to water the seedlings only after the clod of earth in the glass is completely dry, and all because it reacts extremely negatively to waterlogging of the substrate. After the height of the plants reaches 10-15 centimeters, they will need to be transferred into larger pots and fed a second time using a complex mineral fertilizer. After the seedlings take root well, they will need to start hardening. The duration of the hardening of plants is half a month, during which time they will have to get used to the external environment. To harden the seedlings, they must be transferred to fresh air every day (to the balcony or to the garden), while the time the seedlings are outside should be increased a little, in the end, the plants will be able to stay there for a whole day.
Sowing seeds of mirabilis in open ground
Sowing seeds of a night beauty can be done directly in open soil. It is necessary to prepare seeds for sowing in the same way as when sowing for seedlings. They are planted in the last days of April or the first in May. Place the seeds in the prepared grooves, while maintaining a distance of 7 to 8 centimeters between them. It is necessary to deepen the seeds into the ground only 30 mm. Crops need watering with lukewarm water, after which the site is covered with a film or non-woven material. When the first seedlings appear, the shelter will need to be removed. When the flowers grow up, they will need to be thinned out.
Planting mirabilis in open ground
What time to plant
Planting seedlings of mirabilis in open soil should be carried out only after the ground is thoroughly warmed up and there will be no threat of recurrent frosts. As a rule, this time falls on the end of spring. Such a flower is extremely thermophilic, therefore, it is necessary to choose a well-lit and sun-warmed area for planting it. Try to allocate as much free space as possible to this plant, otherwise it will displace the flowers adjacent to it, as it is quite aggressive. To grow this flower, it is recommended to choose nutritious loamy or clayey soil, which contains lime. If the soil is acidic, then it must be limed. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of liquid in the soil, in this regard, it is impossible to choose wet soil or lowland for planting it.
Features of landing
Seedlings are planted in a row, while a distance of 0,4–0,5 m should be maintained between the specimens. The size and depth of the planting hole should be such that the entire contents of the pot can fit in it (root system and clod of earth). Water the seedlings 1-2 hours before planting, in this case, the plants can be very quickly removed from the container and planted in a hole, which must be covered with soil. The planted plants need good watering.
Caring for mirabilis in the garden
When grown in the garden, the night beauty is distinguished by its undemandingness, so it is relatively easy to care for it. In order for the plant to bloom on time, it needs abundant watering, which is carried out from time to time. During a long dry period, these flowers need to be watered 1 to 3 times every 7 days. In a rainy summer, chances are you won’t water the mirabilis at all. When the plant is watered or the rain passes, it is imperative to loosen the soil surface and at the same time weed.
During the summer period, the night beauty needs to be fed 2 or 3 times. The first time it is fed at the very beginning of the growing season, the second – in the middle of summer, and the third – in the last summer days. It is recommended to feed mirabilis with compost and humus, while it is better not to introduce fresh organic matter into the soil. Complex mineral fertilizers are also used for feeding. Please note that the minimum amount of nitrogen is used during the second and third feeding.
Pests and diseases
This flower is highly resistant to diseases and pests. But at the same time, if water stagnates systematically in the soil, then the plant may develop root rot. The infected bush should be dug up and burned, while the area where it grew should be spilled with a solution of a fungicide, for example, Fundazol. For prevention purposes, the irrigation regime should be revised.
In rare cases, a night beauty can get sick with rust or one of the spots. Such fungal diseases can be eliminated with fungicide solutions, but before proceeding with the treatment of the affected specimen, remove the infected flowers and foliage from it.
After flowering
If you wish, in the autumn, you can dig up the black tubers of the night beauty that look like a carrot and cut off their shoots at a height of 10 centimeters. When the stems dry up, they will fall off by themselves. Wrap the tubers in thick paper sheets, but they will be better kept covered with sand. They are stored for storage in a place where the air temperature is kept within 3-7 degrees. In spring, such tubers will need to be planted in well-heated soil, or you can germinate them in flower pots by placing them on the window, and after it becomes warm outside, the flowers are transplanted into open soil.
Types and varieties of mirabilis with photos and names
As mentioned above, gardeners cultivate mainly 1 type of mirabilis – yalapa, or night beauty, or mirabilis laxative. This type was described in detail at the beginning of the article. The most popular varieties of night beauty:
- Iolanta… The shape of a half-meter bush is round. Powerful and thick knotty shoots in the upper part are strongly branched. The funnel-shaped flowers are of medium size and rich color; stripes-streaks are located on the surface of the entire corolla. Flowering lasts from the last days of June until the very frost.
- Red lollipop… A large bush reaches 0,9 m in height. Smooth thick shoots branching in the upper part are painted in a pale green color. Oval-oblong simple sheet plates are wavy along the edge. The diameter of the funnel-shaped deep red flowers is about 6 centimeters.
- Elvira… The fluffy bush is of medium size. Branched smooth shoots are very strong. Oblong leaf plates with pointed apex are colored dark green. The diameter of the saturated color of the flowers is 3,5 cm.
- T Time Red… The size of the plants is average. Gnarled smooth shoots in the upper part are strongly branched. Dark green leaf plates have an oblong-oval shape. The flowers are of medium size and are bright pink.
- Tee Time Fomula Mixche… The shape of the bush is spherical, it reaches a height of 0,7–0,9 m. Simple leaf plates with pointed tops have an oblong shape. Branched smooth shoots glabrous in the lower part. This variety series has funnel-shaped smooth flowers with a wavy edge, their color is variegated, and they reach 2,5 cm in diameter.
Mirabilis multiflorous is also cultivated. This perennial herb reaches a height of 0,8 m. Erect shoots are glabrous. Smooth leaf plates have an ovoid-elongated shape. Flowering begins in May, the formation of axillary inflorescences occurs, which include from 2 to 6 tubular purple flowers, which are in one bell-shaped blanket. The diameter of the flowers is 4-6 centimeters.
The round-leaved mirabilis is also grown. The height of the compact bush is about 0,3 m. Sticky oval leaf plates in length reach from 5 to 7 centimeters. In the general cover of the apical inflorescence, about 3 flowers of pink purple color are formed, the diameter of which does not exceed 10 mm. Flowers bloom in the evening, and they close at dawn.
