Good
Morning Glories
“Good
Morning, - Glory,” is one of my friend's favorite greeting, and
it's one of my favorite flowers. They are fantastic, easy to grow
vines that have masses of large, heart-shaped leaves and big, bright,
eye-catching blossoms that really do seen to shout out “good
morning.” I've spent many an early, summer morning with a good cup
of coffee or tea watching these delicate flowers unfold to the
sunrise, all the while knowing each one will be gone by
mid-afternoon. But not to despair, as there will be another group of
blossoms opening the next morning.
I
plant morning glories. I plant them in every corner, in every spot in
my yard that doesn't have something else growing there. I plant them
to grow on the fence along my back yard, and around all the trees in
the yard. They are a great sight planted around a mailbox along the
curb. I like to see them climbing the trellis near my back door. I
don't have a very big flower or vegetable garden by there are lots of
volunteer morning glories every where in my yard. I have mounds of
them around trees, bushes, and the large pots most of my veggies and
flowers are planted in.
As
a child I resented having to do any yard work but I quickly learned
to admire the fast growing vines with their large heart shaped leaves
and beautiful flowers. I was taught to grow it as a child and let my
son grew them when he was a small child. I consider it one of the
best flowers to introduce children to gardening. The seeds are large
enough for small hands to be able to hold and the child to see easily
and the plants grow fast enough that children can begin to understand
how they grow.
Last
summer I read everything I could find about morning glories and
decided to do some experimenting with them. I bought as many
different kinds as I could find seed for and planned to grow them in
the ground and in pots.
Morning
glories or Ipomoea come in several different colors. Heavenly Blue is
the all time favorite, it's flowers being four to five inches across,
and is a sky blue in color. There is also Scarlet O'Hara in red, and
Pearly Gates in white. The three make a beautiful red, white, and
blue showing for the Fourth of July. Other colors includes different
shades of pink and purple. If you don't plant seeds each year most
glories will throw back to the basic pinkish-purple color.
Morning Glory
vines are considered annuals, meaning they only last one summer
season. In the fall when you are pulling out the dead vines you will
see hundreds of little black morning glory seeds falling everywhere.
These seeds will usually sprout the next spring but don't always come
back to the color they were the previous year. To get a certain color
you need to plant from seed which is best done directly in the ground
or pot were you want the vines to grow. This should be done after all
danger of frost is past or they can be started in pots about six
weeks ahead of time in peat pots that can be put directly into the
soil of the flower bed without disturbing the roots. They can be a bit difficult to transplant so I just plant them where I want them. If the roots are
disturbed the plant won't do as well if at all. Seeds should be
planted ½ inch deep after being soaked overnight or for about four
hours to soften the seeds so they sprout better. I found it is not
necessary as some books and seed packs recommend that the seed shell
be scarified or nicked with a small file or fingernail clippers
before soaking. To do this hold the seed between thumb and forefinger
and nick the pointed end. Avoid damaging the rounded end as that is
where the baby plant embryo is located.
I
have had good luck with out soaking them, also, but it may take a day
or so longer for the first leaves to appear. Remember first leaves
will not be the heart shape of all other leaves so don't think it is
something other than a morning glory. First leaves are more round but
still larger than most first leaves of flowers. Give it a chance.
Morning
glories are called twiners, meaning they go round and round the first
upright support they come in contact with. They have growing tips
that are very sensitive to tell them where to climb. Strangely enough,
they usually grow in a counter-clockwise movement. If the tip finds a
horizontal or lengthwise object, it will try to avoid it and “feel”
for a vertical object to climb. And climb they do. They try to climb
on anything and everything but do best with a little help. Chain link
or open wooden fences work well, as do trellis, lattice work and even
chicken wire. Special nails or hooks with glue can be used on cinder
block walls and houses, along with a grid of criss-crossing string.
Or if you prefer glories make a nice ground cover if they can't find
anything to climb on. They grow very quickly, reaching twelve to
fifteen feet in a season. If allowed to climb up a tree you will see
glory flowers all over the tree confusing the neighbors as to what
kind of tree you have.
In
one of the books I read about glories it said that during World War
Two, in parts of southeast Asia, morning glories were used by the
British to camouflage ammunition dumps and gun emplacements to hide
them from the enemy. You can use them to screen unsightly garbage
cans or fences or your neighbors yard for a few months. In the
southern states the vines will last almost year round while in the
colder areas only during the warm months.
Remember
that morning glories don't like rich soil. Living in New Mexico I
already knew that they did well in our hot dry climate with its poor
sandy, soil. They should do well anywhere they do not get to much
water. I add a little compost from my compost pile, that is mostly
horse manure and kitchen vegetable trimmings, to the area where I want
to grow the flowers. But not a lot, as you would with most other
flowers, trees or shrubs. Don't fertilize, either, or you may find
you have long vines with wonderful leaves, but no flowers. The same
with watering your morning glories. They prefer low to moderate
watering, and will rot and die quickly if over-watered. Living in the
desert I have to water about every other day and sometimes everyday
if they are wilted. In many states if there is enough rain you won't
have to water them at all.
I
have never been overly bothered with any kind of insect pest on my
morning glories, which is great for all gardeners especially those of
us that are organic gardeners. No spraying, or bug picking. I did
have a friend who said she had some problem with powdery mildew in
humid weather. I have not encountered this problem here on the
desert.
If
you think you want to try morning glories, but don't want the vines,
I found several seed packets for plants in a dwarf or bush style.
They are usually pink, blue, or red with a white throat, and are
really showy in pots or hanging baskets. There is one vine
called a Moon Flower that is white and blooms at night with a sweet
odor.
After
you have planted your morning glories, sprinkle a packet of
portulaca, cosmos or marigold seed in close to where the glories are
planted These annual flowers will add more color and take about the
same care and watering as the morning glories do. One year I planted
sunflowers with some morning glories. The sunflowers provided support
for the vines and the blue and gold mixture of flowers were very
colorful at the end of one of our long summers when everything else
seemed to have weathered and dried out from the heat.
I'm
searching the seed catalogs for new verities and color for this year
and next. Hope you'll try a morning glory garden, too.
Posts
