I am very new to this so I hope this hasn't been asked before.
I have a morning glory plant, which is flowering so much this year and very tall, and still flowering now.
I didn't realise until recently that it is covered in hanging seed heads.
I don't need to save seeds.
But should I be removing these heads, to enourage more flowers? Where do I cut them?
I looked online but it seemed some said to leave them, some to remove them.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Ask yourself this,, "What would Monty Don do?" (grow sweet peas). I cut seed heads as soon as possible to avoid an invasive spread the following year. Save some ripe seed. If it is a hybrid it might be sterile or not come true but still be nice. Bag and discard remaining seed. This is I. 'Grandpa Ott'.
OK, sounds like good advice! There are lots of seed heads there, so a nice big job for me!
Do I snip the little head off, or pull/cut of the entire bunches of seed heads? And how do I know if seed is ripe for saving? Sorry if these are dumb questions.
I see they could become invasive.
I have a terrible problem with bindweed, I don't know if it is related. They have these root systems underneath and I am constantly pulling out the greenery that keeps coming up.
Thanks for your photo, I like the structure you have built for them with natural wood pieces.
This message was edited Sep 16, 2021 6:01 AM
Cut the stems above each cluster. To save seed you can either leave a few to dry or cut and dry indoors. Don't remove seeds until cluster is dry. Meanwhile, with all that seed, the plants are probably out of steam. Consider end of life arrangements. Do not compost!
Morning glories are related to field bindweed. Howeever they are not rhizomatous so easier to control if you limit seed that will surely volunteer next year.
Thank you. My garden is mostly veg. I use recycled cedar decking and whatever falls or needs cutting in the surrounding woods for fencing, arbors and teepees. The upside is it is mostly biodegradable so I am able to make changes each year. The downside is it is falling apart by January.
OK! I did as you suggested and cut above each cluster. A few had dried out, so I saved the seeds from those just in case. I also lopped off the whole top of the plant where it had grown high above the trellis and was waving around with seed heads. It didn't like that, but in any case as you say it's running out of steam. 2 flowers this morning.
When the flowers are finished, how do I arrange the end of life?! I've been looking online and they say to leave it (I think) but remove dead vines? Or do I cut it off at ground level and remove the whole plant in a few weeks? Then it could grow back again from scratch like this year.
What a lovely peaceful garden. I like the idea of growing my own veggies, I might try it some time.
Though some morning glories are more hardy than others they generally won't survive freezing weather. Ipomea, which is a morning glory, is treated as an annual and replanted by seed in the spring when the soil warms. You can sow some seed in winter to see if they will sprout early or start indoors. They are somewhat invasive in my climate and self-sow. I weed out all but a few volunteer plants.
I see, so should I just remove the whole plant from the trellis in late autumn (and clip it off at the ground level), as I suppose the plant would be dying by then?
I think last year the morning glory just came up from what looked like bare soil, without me planting anything, so I think it must be quite established under the soil. Probably next spring I will watch the new green leaves coming up and then weed out all except those close to the trellis.
My only problem is I did have some trouble distinguishing between morning glory and bindweed new shoots, as I do have quite a bit of bindweed in the area too which I pull up. I think I'm beginning to get it - I think the morning glory ones are more heart shaped. I certainly know what bindweed looks like now as I have pulled up a million in the past few months.
What came up this year was most likely sprouted seeds from last year and not the former plant. Bind weed generally has a more robust stem while early morning glory seedlings are more delicate.
You could save your morning glory seed for another year and plant something else while working on eradicating bind weed. Morning glory seed is viable for five years or more. Based on personal experience; don't plant wisteria or trumpet vine. Scarlet runner beans are a favorite Vining annual among English gardeners. They are edible, attract pollinators and hummers.
I see, thank you very much.
This is my first time doing this, so I'm a bit simple with my questions ... ! ... So I should just remove that whole morning glory plant, and should I do that quite soon?
I have lots of new little seedlings coming up now all around it, and it would be way too much so I have been pulling them out. I realise now I can tell the difference between them and bindweed.
Thank you for the tips on what not to plant - I am new to this and really need good ideas on what to grow (and not grow). Scarlet runner beans sound lovely, and I could eat them too I assume. Sweet peas might be nice too I think.
Love to attract bees and butterflies.
Pretty sure it freezes in Oxford. The plant and seedlings will succumb. Over wintered seed will sprout next spring or plant saved seed if needed. Sweet peas would be nice. They are short lived in Southern gardens preferring a longer spring than here. I've only been able to squeeze a few week's worth of blooms out of them even at a mountain elevation.
