Morning Glories: Vines, observations, and questions!, 1 by beckygardener

beckygardener wrote:
Okay .... I am re-thinking my set-up. I have lined them all up along the new patio. I will rotate them each evening because part of that area is in full shade and the other part is in full sun.

While I was observing my vines this morning, I was also watching the bees. I am hoping by lining the containers up that the bees will be able to pollinate them easier. (Fingers crossed!!!) Most of the calyx I am seeing are dying. So I am really concerned about the seed production on all these vines. It doesn't look very good at this time from what I am seeing.

Okay ..... more questions and theories .....

I was thinking about the Star of Yelta vines that I grew first along the fence. I got a LOT of seeds from that vine. The blooms were smaller. I watched the bees go to certain cultivars of my grow out vines in the containers on the patio. I am thinking that perhaps some bloom cultivars produce more nectar than others to entice the bees to come. Perhaps the crosses and hybrids don't have the nectar production that older cultivars do? Or maybe it was because by the time I got everything done, the blooms were already wilting and perhaps are not attractive to the bees at that point. I do not know for sure.

Ron, you have been raising MGs for a long time. Do you rely on bees or do you do more of your own pollination? Have you observed the behavior of the bees now or in the past?

Also, I noticed ants (some larger and some smaller species) inside the blooms. Do they also pollinate the blooms? I know they are after the nectar.

Why are some cultivars of MGs more rare than others?

Do "struggling" vines produce more seeds as a means of survival? Or less seeds? Or does it not matter? When I say struggling, I mean vines that are growing in less than optimum conditions where the vine is barely making it.

What do the vines need to thrive and bloom..... I know they do well in full sun, but do they also do well in partial shade or full shade? Do they need full or partial sun to bloom?

I am going to rotate the vine containers to make sure each set of vines gets full sun, partial sun, and shade over a 5 day period. I am not sure what will happen to these vines when I move them continuously each day. Will it interrupt their growth or blooms?

That's my questions for now.