The cultivation of mirabilis jalapa

Today we bring you a fabulous ornamental plant from the Peruvian Andes. It is about Mirabilis jalapa or, as you will surely know many, dondiego at night. If we plant it, we will add some very colorful shades of colors and we will make it a more complete garden. Let’s see what we have to tell you about this plant.

MIRABILIS JALAPA OR MORNING GLORY DIRECT TO THE GARDEN

Mirabilis jalapa  is a perennial herb belonging to the Nyctaginaceae or Nictagináceae family, a family that includes around 350 species and 38 genera. In the best conditions it reaches between 0.6 m and 1.5 m in height.

A curiosity that we have to comment on is that it may be the case that in the same plant we have flowers of different colors (a very rare characteristic of plants). This phenomenon can also occur in an individual flower, where it can have several shades of colors. And yet another fact to highlight, and that is that there are varieties of mirabilis  whose flowers change color progressively, that is, in their first stage of flowering they have a yellowish color (for example), and with the passage of days it turns to dark Rose.

Normally, the night maiden lives in climates of tropical areas , such as South America, although over the years it has acclimatized to other types of climates such as temperate ones. In good conditions, and because it has the gift of self – fertilization, it can become an invasive species such as some aromatic ones (such as in mint cultivation ), so sometimes you will have to delimit the growth zone by pruning.

CLIMATIC NEEDS

More or less you can get an idea, after having mentioned the tropical and temperate climates. Normally it is convenient to keep it constantly with warm temperatures and located in full sun . Beware of cold days and especially with the risk of frost.

IRRIGATION OF MIRABILIS JALAPA

The late-night maiden is used to receiving abundant and frequent waterings . It must also be said that it has a powerful root system that allows it to dispose of water in an easier way.

Mirabilis jalapa
Autor: Wildfeuer

 WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD THE SOIL HAVE FOR THIS CROP?

The land where the morning glory settles and grows must have abundant organic matter, be loose and well-drained soil . We have already commented before that it needed moderate watering, but if the soil is not capable of assimilating it properly, problems such as root rot will occur.

SUBSCRIBER NEEDS

It is important to make a compost or manure- based fertilizer just before flowering, to give it many of the nutrients it will need at that time. Due to the characteristics of its flowering, a fertilizer with a good potassium content will come in handy.

MEDICAL USES

The nightmare has long been associated with medicinal and healing properties . These are some of its benefits.

  • Antimicrobial properties.
  • Anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Anthelmintic properties (elimination and expulsion of intestinal parasites).

Taken as an infusion, this plant also offers us some beneficial properties such as calming headaches, reducing diarrhea or infections, fighting coughs, fatigue, halitosis, abdominal pain, dizziness, hypertension problems, and much more. .

Flor de M irabilis jalapa
Autor: June

PROPAGATION OF THE NIGHT MAIDEN

The multiplication of mirabilis jalapa is quite simple and is usually done by seeds . Although also tell you, as we have mentioned before that it has a great power of growth and expansion, until it is considered an invasive crop.

To multiply it through seeds, we will arrange them with a good substrate in pots at a pleasant temperature (20 ºC), letting them grow up to 25 – 30 cm, and from that moment permanently transplant them to the ground, taking care that it is a sunny place without exposure to cold winds.

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