Problems growing morning glories

This is my first attempt at growing mg in a container. The container is 16 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall and full of three year old potting soil. I am attempting to grow six plants, one to run up each leg of a trellis atop the container. The first three seedlings, Crimson Rambler, did fine. They have now reached the top of the trellis. The second three, Grandpa Ott, were started later. They are spindly but doing okay. They are just beginning to climb. Then I decided to add some Heavenly Blue and use them to replace the Grandpa Ott. I scored the seeds and soaked them overnight, just as I had done the others. But they have not sprouted. I planted six of them and none have come up. I will have to revert to growing the Grandpa Ott. Am I doing something wrong?

Hi Cibarius - first - Welcome to the MG forum :)

There's probably quite a few ways to approach the subject of nicking MG seeds, so don't take what I say as the last word on the subject.

Before scoring/nicking, I like to soak my MG seeds for about 3 - 4 hours to see if they'll swell without being nicked. This avoids any mistakes with nicking errors if I don't have to nick - it certainly cuts down on how many need to be nicked.

However, if swelling does not occur, then I nick, soak and give it a couple more hours. If no swelling occurs, then I nick again and so forth. Usually, I don't have to nick and soak more than twice, but if the seed still doesn't swell, then I plant it and wait and see. I think soaking times can vary from a few hours to overnight, but it's good to keep an eye on things. If you're soaking for longer periods of time, then this could be your problem.

Are you scoring/nicking the seed coat just enough for the white to barely show through the surface? If you're nicking too deeply, you could be hurting the embryonic leaves inside the seed coat.

When you soak, room temperature works okay. But, I noticed tremendous improvement with swelling/sprouting when I soaked in a spot warmer than room temperature, even in June. A heat mat is fine, but I put my seeds to soak on the bottom of a kitchen cabinet that was right over where a flourescent light fixture was attached beneath. This might maximize future success with commonly grown MGs.

Are you nicking the pointy end away from the eye? Although some say to nick next to the eye, it's tricky to do that right and therefore less problematic to do it on the end of the seed opposite the eye.

Over the years this forum has existed, various MG gardeners developed a germination technique which EmmaGrace noted and asked me to write up. This is the technique I use: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3303432 . Some folks just plant and skip the baggy method, but I like it because it allows me to watch the progress of the seed during the nick/soak/swell/sprouting phase. If I had tons of seed that I did not think was special, then I might not bother with any of this, either. But this technique is good to know for most kinds of seeds.

Have you checked out the sticky index at the beginning of this forum? There's lots of other great information collected from this forum that might be helpful, too.

Hope this helps,

karen

ps - Different morning glory species behave differently in some ways. You are working with Ipomoea purpurea 'Crimson Rambler', Ipomoea purpurea 'Grandpa Otts' and Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue'. I have found, with cultivars belonging to I. tricolor, that they will swell in a soak without being nicked - more easily than those belonging to I. nil and I. purpurea - so I would try that next.

Edited to 1) change I. nil 'Crimson Rambler' to I. purpurea 'Crimson Rambler' and 2) to say that another reason for failure to germinate could be that the seed is either too old and/or has been improperly harvested and/or stored. The MG sticky index has more to say about that.

This message was edited Jul 17, 2009 6:00 AM

Thank you for this information karen. I was concerned that there is competition between plants in the container and that the established ones are inhibiting the growth of the new ones, since they did not all start at the same time. Attached is a picture of my container and stand. I had fun building it this spring. Hopefully, next year I will get the morning glories started earlier.

Welp, I can't add anything about how to get a seed to sprout.

But, regarding growing conditions after you get your seeds sprouted, it looks like you've got enough vines in your pot already. Heavenly Blue might survive in there, but it would reach its potential better in its own pot. The great thing about growing MGs in a pot, especially with such a late start, is that you can bring the pot indoors to ripen seed before frost strikes, if you'd like to grow the vine again (see Pollination in the sticky index).

Actually, there is no such thing as sowing MG seed too late or too early, since they can be grown indoors at any time of the year. If you don't have a greenhouse or sunroom, here's a great example of how to grow MGs indoors without those things: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4671334 . Gerris2 accomplished quite a bit in his sunroom last winter here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/928732/

Thank you for sharing your planter with us - lots of ingenuity there - it looks quite topple-over-proof while being pretty at the same time. I'm looking forward to seeing how your vines turn out.

karen

Welcome Cibarius!

If you have enough seeds, just plant a few in the pot. I rarely use the nick and soak or baggie method to start seeds and I get a 90% germination rate sowing them directly in the ground. They should sprout unless the temps are too cool or they are not viable seeds.

a little fertilizer may boost some growth on the spindly vines. i nick the seeds with a small pair of toe nail clippers. then soak. just becareful not to nick on the ends of the seeds. always on the sides. ends where roots come out of.

heavenly blue for me takes a bout a week to pop up even with soaking. so plant them and see what happens. there are other varieties on the market too besides the ones you mention.

scarlett o hara
pearly gates
tri color blue
mt fuji mix
old fashioned mix

just to give u a few and here on daves the numbers of mgs is vast for trading and stuff

I love the stand that you built. That will be gorgeous next year!