Mirabilis Jalapa is a native of Peru and prized by many gardeners but in my home town, it is a seriously invasive weed. It smells great and is called 4 o'clock flower because the flowers open in the late afternoon.
It is genetically unusual because it can have different colored flowers on the same plant. If two different-colored plants interbreed, it is normal for only one colour to be dominant, not a mixture.
This is a hugely problematic plant where I live because it seeds prolifically and forms large drought-resistant underground tubers which are not easy to uproot. If you cut it down, it just grows again. Below is a tuber I dug up last season which is sprouting again.
This is the patch growing in the open area next to my property. I will have to cut the stems down again before it starts seeding again and spreading further. I prefer not to use herbicides, which kill everything and can pollute water sources but I may have to as it is very difficult to dig the tubers up because the ground is very stony.
In areas which receive regular snow in winter, this plant doesn't survive but where I live, It comes up every summer and keeps on spreading
