Morning Glory

I've just ordered seeds of Ipomoea nil, flowers come in a variety of colours, many of which have a white star or white picotee edge.

 

Mine sound roughly the same Coolsox, except in the picture they are blue and pink coloured.

These little guys sound like more work than I first thought, but they do look great I must admit (and the girlfriend feigned interest in picking them)

Ill pot them on soon, they are currently just growing upwards (naturally of course) but as you guys say, it would be best for their development to have something to attach to.

I’m still not sure what to attach them to, we have a fence that faces a field, but worried about cattle and deer that could destroy it (read deer eat it?, true or not?) so I may just make a bamboo trellis and let them climb it. I’m thinking of putting it on the garages south facing side (slightly aimed towards the SE) and reasonably sheltered (we get a lot of wind being on top of a hill) Will this be suitable?
Thanks again everyone for the help! Now if anybody knows about growing sunflowers in containers that would just be great

 

They don't "branch" that I remember? It others agree with that then it might be enough just to have sticks/canes for them to run up? (rather than needing a "trellis" type structure)

 

Yup, one cane for each plant, you can make a wigwam of the canes for stability. You might need 5' canes but if you end up with too-short canes the plants just waterfall from the top of the cane.

Trellis is less good as it doesn't allow easy twining like a cane does.

 

Thanks folks! definitely didnt know that about them, so it will be a wigwam for them

 

I managed to find a plant of Ipomoea indica a few weeks ago. I've been after this species for a While. Vibrant blue flowers and three lobed leaves. It is. Familiar sight in many of the European tourist resorts where whole landscapes can be covered with its bright flowers. I've spent hours scouring plants to find a seed pod and have never been successful. It seems that two separate unrelated clones are required to set seed and the plant is so efficient at spreading itself through vegetative propagation that nearly all the plants in an area could be from a ingle common ancestor!

Here is my plant. I've had it around five weeks. It was a single stem twined round a short cane. It is quite unbelievable the speed t hitch it grows.



The flowers are a bright blue which fade to purple as the day goes on.





And, best thing of all it is perennial! Hopefully I should be able to overwinter the roots and start again next year.

 

Too true Coolsox, it is wild here and invasive and I have it around my garden. However, I did plant the varigated and blue variety and they have been pretty useless with the heat I must admit ...

 

My indicas are yet to flower Coolsox.
I usually take few cutting around now, as often the cuttings are easier to overwinter than the main plant.

 

Thanks for the tip Pete, I'll do that. Are they easy to root?

Victiria, did you say here us a variegated form? That sounds amazing!

 

You get two kinds of growth, the twining shoots, and about now, my plants start putting out long non twining runners from the base.
They grow about 2ins a day.
I normally use these for propagation.
I layer them in pots near the parent plant, other shoots will root as conventional cuttings but it means you lose some flowers at this time of the year.

 

Yes, I have it on the front of the house, all different colours and stripes, but my leaves are dried and awful, here is an internet image ...

 

Wow that's beautiful, I want one!

 

I've noticed some of those runners forming. The stems are thicker and are a dark purple colour. I had wondered why they where different to the normal stems. Layering them is an excellent idea.

 

Ipomoea x Nil. Funnily enough these are on my 'to grow' list for next year! I love the dark purple with the white star.

 

Went to the river property today where I had left the seed packs ... these probably mean nothing to you but these are what I planted ... and the miniature ones have done zero .. I think we are just too hot ...