PROBLEM WITH MORNING GLORY

I wanted a showing of morning glories in front of our outdoor shed. My husband did a marvelous job of making me a trellis with twine. I planted the seeds and they came up beautifully. They are approximately 10 ft. tall and are flowering. The problem is that the vine from the ground up to about 4 ft. high is almost non existent. I have them in morning sun and from about 10am to 5pm everyday, they look like they are dying - the leaves are all withered. After it cools off, the leaves perk up. Am I watering too much or not enough? Any tips are appreciated. Thank you.

here in sc you have to almost water every day and the leaves do die off. the only way i keep leaves is put them in partial to full shade. i have some in our hot heat (full sun)right now looking like i burnt them. just water every day almost and once a week i bloom boost.

also if you want more foliage you can pinch of the main vine then it will produce others some people do some dont. i know some start them at different times to cover the loss of leaves but i just put mine in mostly shade after 10 am and they do alright.

start some now. i am to have some if this heat wave we having kills some off. i have some in full sun that even look heat stroked at the moment but mine get watered every night. now cooler weather if look thirsty they get watered if not then every other night but right now lately every day

This message was edited Jun 14, 2010 2:15 PM

jitrialerror - It seems that many MG vines do get kinda sparse at the bottom of the vine over time. Those are the first leaves and the oldest as the vine ages, so they are often the first to die and fall off the vine. Have you thought of growing another type of plant in front of the vines to cover how bare they are? Or maybe even some shrubs? Just a thought. I am growing Heavenly Blue and Pearly Gates for the first time and I am noticing the same problem. Naked vines at the bottom and lush growth at the top which are growing up an arbor. Unfortunately for me, I have them growing in containers, so I don't have much room to grow anything else, but if you are growing yours in the ground, you have lots of options. :-)

I'm ..this year.. taking the leaves off the bottom as they grow.. so the things in the container can have some light early on.. there's plenty of leaves remaining to drive the plant nicely.. as the vines grow through other plants..I can selectivly remove a few leaves here and there. to increase the light to the hoast/trellis plant.. or leave them on to shield and protect a shade loving plant... I'm looking at them rather than a bother to other plants.. as a variable shade cloth.. I can use or discard... develop or trim...
oh.. come on Becky.. there's always room for one more.. get something that hangs out over a pot... but increase the watering..
in the photo.. about 1 o'clock.. the mat of morning glories were trimed back to allow some sun to the geranimum and petunias..