Four O'Clocks- Broken Colors vs. Kaleidoscope

[Doug]

Can someone tell me if there is a difference between these two varieties?

I've seen them mentioned together and got the impression that they are basically the same. I bought seed for Broken Colors from Park because I had a gift certificate but the picture on Burpee's Kaleidoscope pack looks alot more interesting. The Kaleidoscope picture shows more speckled flowers whereas the Broken colors shows more flowers that are two-tone half and half. If they are indeed different I'd rather grow Kaleidoscope. I don't have enough room for both.

Thanks.

[Zootal]

IIRC, the two tone flowers and the speckled flowers grow on the same plant. I have some pictures on my website somewhere showing this..ah, here it is:

bad - I don't think these are the same as these:

I think the second pic is the "broken colors". Do they look like the pictures you have seen?

[Doug]

The second picture looks more like the Kaleidoscope pattern but if there's that much variation from plant to plant or flower to flower then I guess it could be either variety.

I'll guess I'll just grow alot of the Broken Color seeds and save the tubers from the plants that have the characteristics that I'm looking for.

Thanks.

[JohnS]

These plants can get like the weeds. They drop many many seeds and tubers is deep, not so easy to remove them all. We can not dig them all out so this year I will use Roundup on them. They took over iris bed. After years they get to be tall ugly plants with red flowers.

[Ann]

"JohnS" expounded:

Depending on your climate only. They are in no way weedy up here.

[Zootal]

They grow back and reseed easily, but they are easy to kill. Just knock it over or pull it out during spring or summer, and it's dead. If they are crowded and/or don't get enough sunlight, then they will grow tall and spindly. if they get good light, they will grow into beautiful flower covered bushes.

[Starlord]

I get maybe one summers groth out of them here in the desert, then even the seeds die during the cold winter time.

[Zootal]

Where in the desert? I grew them in Las Vegas, and they grew very well, and reseeded each year as well as grew back from tubers. It's the lack of water, not the heat/cold, that will kill them.