Growing indoors over the Winter (Part 1) ...

I thought I would start a new thread so that gardeners can discuss and share photos of their indoor plants and grow-outs to help brighten the winter months. And maybe it will encourage some others to give it a try if they've never done indoor winter gardening before!

This is my second year of doing indoor winter gardening on my south window shelf. I have very limited space, but couldn't resist growing some MGs! And surprisingly, I got some seeds last year from my winter MG vines. So ... it was a first experience that was very successful! :-)

I started some seeds about a month ago. Unfortunately, I neglected them and had them growing in a darker shaded area on my screen porch. I recently transplanted them into larger pots and have them now growing on the sunny window sill. They are dwarfed and look scrawny, but producing buds and blooms. And surprisingly, they are producing seed pods! :-) Such fun!!!

This is dark purple Fujishibori that happened have a dark purple stripe on it today! What a neat surprise! The seed came from Antionette. I've had great luck with seeds she has traded with me in the past and currently! :-)

A beautiful color.

If you do this...and the plants get to tall. (MG)..can you cut them back?...I thought about doing it but afraid..they would go crazy....thanks ahead for any advice....smiles..Diana..

Thanks, Jackie!

Diana - Yes! You can prune them back. Just don't prune them too short. :-) They will produce more vine branches at the base of the plant. :-) Which will fill them in more on a trellis or Bamboo stakes. :-) Would love to see photos when they start growing! What kind of area do you have for them to grow indoors?

Diana, you will get something like that.

Black Dove.

Oh wowow...hehe I am going to give it a try...would be fun to have them blooming..in the bad winter..coming..neat..I have a sunroom..mostly glass..and the trees overheard will be leafless...thanks so much..

smiles..Diana...

I have a handful of I. purpureas started to play with over the winter. In looking around for supports for the vines, I came across these. They make a plastic net pot that these cages will fit and I was thinking of possibly starting the seeds in the small net pots with the cages, then replanting the whole thing into a larger pot when they outgrew the small pot. It's a little bit expensive, about $2.00 each (not including shipping) for the pot and cage combined, but it sure would save a lot of time untangling vines and maybe avoid transplanting problems. Think it would work?

Dany - OH MY! Those Black Dove blooms are beautiful! Looks like a bouquet! :-)

Diana - Oh how lucky you are to have a Sunroom! Your vines and plants will love it in there over the winter! I hope you will share photos as the vines bloom! I would love to see them! :-)

woofie - Neat! Yes, I do believe it would work quite nicely to grow the vines in pots during the winter months!

Do you have the website link that sells these pots with attached cages/trellises? That's not a bad price either ... though I don't know what the shipping is. Thanks for sharing that info! :-)

Here's the link. I haven't figured out yet if they have a minimum order.

http://www.emeraldelectronic.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/448850/CategoryID/20000/SubCatID/1971/file.htm

woofie - Thanks a LOT for sharing that weblink with us! Can't beat the prices. I haven't ordered any yet, so don't know how expensive the shipping is on them. But I do like the 5" pots with the cages. Perfect for indoor growing. :-)

You're very welcome. I haven't ordered yet either; the shipping is a little bit expensive, but they are so tempting I think I'll go ahead and order a few. I may order a couple of the larger cages, too, just to see what they look like.

I hope you will share photos of your pots when you have vines growing in them. I would like to see how they work. :-)

I started these seeds a couple of days ago; nicking first, soaking overnight and plastic baggies overnight again till I had roots. Then in their individual little cups under lights, when I see roots growing out the bottom I'll transplant them in larger pots. I'm testing these seeds and have no idea what I'll get or succeed in getting them to bloom inside under lights.

Helena - They look awesome! Good starter vines. So these are surprise vines?

Am I seeing some pretty variegated leaves there?

Very nice looking vines Helena.

my grow light took a leap of death so i gotta get a new one. those look great Helen.

WOW. . .only two days and they're that big?!?!

Thanks everyone. Yes Becky these will be my mystery blooms, some of the stems are green others light to dark. I'm going to try to hand polinate for seeds when they bloom. I do have several pink starts seedling there too, Ip. purpurea.

My babies are doing good, getting their true leaves already and the roots are starting to grow out from the bottom. Have to start getting bigger pots ready.



This message was edited Oct 29, 2009 8:45 AM

Helena - Are they I. purpureas or I. nils or a mix of both? They look really good! Nice and healthy and growing fast. :-)

Wow. Those do look nice. Mine don't look nearly as good..... I really gotta find a better place for them.

Thanks Becky and Woofie. The Pink Star is Ip. purpurea and the others are Ip. nil. I hope they keep on growing.

An update on the growing progress of my vines. The 2 vines on the right front are recovering nicely (covered them with have coke bottle) after my almost 2 year old grandson pulled them out root & all. Put an childproof lock up high to keep him out. The vines are starting to climb.

Helena - They look like they have made a full recovery after the trauma of having a little boy pull them up! Future gardener? LOL! That's where it starts ... curiosity and pulling plants out of the ground! Now... grandmother needs to educate him on thje basics of gardening. :-)

Helena, glad your vines have recovered.

Thanks Becky and Jackie. I mistyped his age he'll be 3 on the 16th! Maybe two more years till kindergarden, I'm counting!!

This message was edited Nov 11, 2009 6:26 PM

very nice grow outs Helen. I like how you have those going. Here are a few of mine..

I have these in a recycled container in the east facing window, they are a germinating test from seeds I am in the swap with.. I decided to test a few seeds from every batch of seeds I am sending out..
this plant behind the tapioca plant has been blooming, and I have pods on it already..

these are the seeds from my Miko No Mai

Healthy looking vines Helena and Debra.

Yes Wonderful Babies .... Debra and Helena

Thanks Debra,Jackie and Wallace. It's a little over a month and they are climbing (sp) but I keep winding them down and around again for a fuller look. Don't know if I should do that, also gave them a little fertelizer too.

Also a few of the leaves have black spots, I think it's from water drops that fell on them accidentally other wise they are healthy.

This message was edited Nov 25, 2009 5:08 PM

Debra and Helena - Your plants look great! I am hoping to get some seeds planted in the pots this weekend. I want some blooms! I miss MGs when I don't have any (except the I. purpureas). The I. indica seems to have died back. Is that typical of that species? It didn't seem like it was actually dead, but possibly going dormant? I don't really know as I have never grown I. indica before. Still trying to get some decent roots on the cuttings I took. Slow making roots.

I agree about the i. indica cuttings, they are slow to make roots, but was successful in rootintg three cuttings, now in a pot, we will see if they like being out of the water now, the mother plant and roots have starting rebudding leaves on a vine that LOOKED dead, but I kept watering it and feeding it in hopes of something to happen, I am very pleased. the blue jishi x tenten seed and the akatsu no mai I planted to test germination both popped up in two days, so I know those seeds will do well in the swap. I planted lobata from my plants I had three stems of pods and was able to get 12 seeds from those. I also planted 3 panduratas from texas and three from kansas, along with the native wild morning glorys I found along side the pandurata. I had a bloom on star of india, a bloom on a jmg from bluespiral( dark pink) and a bloom duo on a red mg upstairs today. I came home to a full flush on my red lantana am very excited about that since I thought it was dead last month. The wild grape vine I brought in that went dormant has woke up. it has surprised me with a foot of growth and twirling little grippers. the turbina has sprouted new leaves and is growing again. My abevenia and I. linderheimer ( sp?) are still going, albevenia has thrown another branch. My caudex glory is getting fat. The I.aquatica is still growing leaves and shoots, and the beach morning glory from last winter is about two feet long, still no blooms. and thats the news from winter sowing in Kansas.

Last year, I jealously watched all the beautiful indoor flowers on your threads, I started some but too late to get any winter flowers. So, this year I started mine in July to make sure I'd get some flowers and, last night, I got the first one. on my Ipomoea alba

very pretty! i am happy u have a bloom!

Debra - Still waiting on my I. indica to get those roots going! Sheesh! They seem to take forever!

batflower - WOW! That's really cool that you got a Moonflower bloom! Gee ... I might attempt to grow one indoors. I love the scent of the blooms! Thanks for sharing your inspiring photo!

I hand pollinated these blooms and now I have pods! YAY! these are in the pink bedroom south window.

Debra - What is this vine that you are getting seed pods forming?

Has anyone gotten any blooms from their winter MGs yet?
My plants miraculously survived my being sick for the past month and hospitalized for a week, and even though they're still in tiny 4" pots, they're trying to bloom. But so far the blooms haven't opened fully, just formed a tube that barely opens. I'll try to get some pics in the morning to show what I mean.
(I'm just delighted that they're still alive, anyway.)