How far apart should DIFFERENT morning glories be planted?

Oh I know it has a point! :) And when I have had issues I have gone with the latin name in trying to identify and correct problems. For instance, my jasmine was mislabled and was supposed to be evergreen in my zone. NOT! Turns out it was not the correct name (latin) on the lable, though the actual plant I got was very similar to it. I just don't like talking about plants like that in general because I can never remember the name, can't pronounce the name, etc. My other "for instance" was in shopping for elephant ears. A common name that refers to 3 different species I think (4 if you count people who call Caladiums "elephant ears"). Some ee's are hardy in my zone if you mulch while others are strictly tropical and it isn't gonna happen for me. So I had to force myself to shop by latin name. Ha! Do I remember the different ones? Nope. Would I recall which one I ordered (by latin name) if someone asked me? Nope. I'd have to look it up again. And from here on out I will just refer to them as my elephant ears and not the latin name.... b/c I cannot pronounce nor remember it. LOL!!!!

Joseph,
They were green when I picked them. It was getting cold and I thought they might freeze.
Does it hurt them to freeze?
I'd like to do better this year, do it right this time?

If they are still green, are they not yet immature?
The pods were really big but still pretty green (or kind of burgandy).

I prefer the Latin names with the common names, too.
Then we are sure we are talking about the same thing.
There are some species of plants that are extremely different in the same genus.

Texasgardener,
good point about not knowing how to pronouce those Latin names!
I asked someone at a nursery one time about Bougainvilleas. She didn't like how I pronounced it. : ) Oh, well.

Do we have an idea how far to plant them apart yet?

I saw Ohiobreezy has lots of pictures of the different varieties. Is she back home yet? Maybe she could give us some input.
Pam

Pam

Ha Pam! I have a Bougainvillea (boo-gan-vee-a if you want phonectic pronunciation). Now check me out... "Botanically, bougainvillea are classified as Bougainvillea glabra, Bougainvillea peruviana, or Bougainvillea x Buttiana (which is a hybrid of the previous two.) There are other species, but most commercial varieties are selections and hybrids of these three main species. New hybrids appear regularly." Woo hoo! I used proper plant names! BTW- I have NO CLUE which of those mine is- glabra, peruviana or x Buttiana. :) Mine is really big and has the fushia bracts. More bonus points for me- I didn't call them "flowers" or "colored leaves" like I used to. LOL!

Prism--yes, it hurts to let the green pods freeze. They haven't yet dehydrated, so they still contain lots of water, and they will turn to nasty mush. I lost nearly all my 'Pearly Gates' seeds to a freeze. My advise is to make sure you get some seeds this year is to start them as early as possible. Since you're probably not going to be able to plant until mid-march, you can start some inside a few weeks early.

I pinched mine closed to the point that they just stuck together, but maybe taping would be better. Maybe that's what I did wrong...

This message was edited Feb 9, 2005 7:15 PM

When the pods turn to brown and are paper dry that's when I harvest them. You can usually pry open the husk a little to see if the seeds are black...if they are black then you can harvest them but let them dry in a flat container for a week or two in a warm place to make sure they're dry before putting them into storage.

In answer to your question of how far to plant MG's apart the rule of thumb is 50 feet.

I would take into consideration what Onalee alluded to about the bee's range of travel. In studies it has been shown that bee's will travel up to 3 miles (one study has them at 5+) in search of pollen. It is said if flowering is scarce then they will search and scavenge all the way back to the hive.

So after I learned about the travels of bees and how they actually collected their pollen I threw the 50 ft rule out the window. I guess this year will tell the tale of how my seeds faired and how many crossed. Many were planted together and I didn't pay any attention to what could and could not cross. I think it will be very intresting to see, but quite honestly I don't think I will have that many that did cross. I have been told and this is by folks that grow lots of Morning Glories that crossing is not that easy and you really have to have some good pollinators to get the job done. Not to say the right varities together in the first place.

I know in watching bees I see they cover an area a lot bigger than 50 feet, especially in early spring when flowers are just being to open. You would also have to consider that ant's, caterpillers, butterflies and birds pollinate some of the flowers too. So knowing this I think it would be safe to say crosses would be possiable in spite of many of the safeguards we put up.


Dee

Too funny, Texasgardener! That's real good! I probably would have called 'em flowers. Ha
One of mine is fuchsia too. It is soooo pretty. Except for now while it's overwintering inside. It's kinda sad & sorry looking.

QueenB, I did start the MG's a little late & the stupid rabbits pruned them for me, too. I'll start them early inside. I see you all are in a bit warmer zone than I am, so how early should I start them. Now? : )
My last frost date is May 1st. Maybe then I can get the pods to dry so I can harvest them.

Thanks, Joseph. I kind of thought that. They were so plump & full, I just couldn't throw them away. At least till they got ruined. It's probably just as well since they wouldn't have been mature. If I plant them earlier maybe it will give them enough time to turn brown & papery so I can harvest them.

Dee, I think I'm about ready to forget about how far to plant them apart & just plant what I like where I want & enjoy them. If I want to trade them, I can just say "assorted MG".

Thank you for all the great info from everyone.
This is only my second year starting from seed. There is a very lot to learn. : )

You're welcome, Prism. On a personal note, I tend to avoid the assorted mg trades...I like to know exactly what will be flowering on the vine. Sign me Weirdo in Wilmington LOL.

I think you should plant one type only and send the others to different people in different states and then MAYBE none of the seeds will cross pollinate. And all of the seeds will be true to the parent. LOL...which came first the chicken or the egg? Just browsing and read this thread and got tickled at the discussion and lack of the answer. Maybe it is just late! Have a great weekend and if you find out the answer to how far apart...I would love to know!
JanetS

No I don't think that's weird, Joseph. I want what I want, too, not someone else's idea. I learned last year not to buy mixes. If I want to plant something pink, I don't want yellow coming up. I made myself a note not to buy mixed seeds. I'm too picky.

I plant in color schemes so I want to know exactly what color I'm planting where. And I don't want to wait til they bloom to find out. : )
I would avoid the assorted trades, too. But, I think some people wouldn't care.

JanetS, maybe we can each grow a different one in each of our states. Which one do you want for Georgia? Hehe
By the way, the chicken came first. : )

Our last frost date here is sometime in March, but being Texas weather, it could be doing anything here at any particular moment--i.e. the white Christmas Galveston Island got, and me 80 mi. NORTH didn't see a flake. Yes, it's true, the weather IS weird out here! No joke, right after that is was something like 75°F outside and I'm going around in shorts, the next day it's 38°F and I'm freezing my butt off. Ya never know.

Anyway, back on the topic...Prism, I wouldn't start your MGs until say maybe 4-6 wks before you put them outside. Since the vines will start taking off after the roots get established, I would probably start mine about a 4 weeks before putting them out (which I'm about to do).

I have many different species I'm wanting to grow this year, so I'm glad to know that my moonflowers aren't going to cross with my cypress vine, or my JMG aren't going to cross with my Hawaiian woodroses. I'll be able to mix and match nightbloomers with day bloomers and have a wonderful fence this year!

Thanks, QueenB. I have a cart for my seeds, set up according to how many weeks early I should start them. This week is week 12. Oh my, there are so many in week 12, and 8, and 4. Lions, and tigers, and bears. Oh MY!
I'll put the MG in week 4 or 6.

That is what I want to do on my fence. Right now I only have White, Lavender & Red Moonflower, Purple & White Hyacinth Beans, & Vigna caracalla. But I have Chocolate vine, Double Blue Picotee MG, and a few other vines I can't think of.
I thought it would be nice to mix the night & day bloomers, too. Then you can have something blooming all day!

Our weather here is pretty strange, too. The books say our last frost date is between April 1st & May 1st. But I put out my seedlings May 1st last year, thinking I would be safe, & it got down in the low 40's the next week. That isn't too bad for a lot of things but the tropical ones didn't appreciate it at all!

oh oh I'm doomed, I started 12 types in January. Of course I'm going to prune them all so maybe that won't matter...going to root the cuttings!

I have never tried starting MGs inside. I just sort of toss them where I want them to come up if it's in a new place, or just shake my existing vine now and then during the bloom time. If I am putting seeds out in a location MGs weren't already planted, I toss them out in late winter. Never had a problem!

I for one don't have a problem with mixed varieties in SOME areas. My backyard is mostly a "cottage garden" kind of feel so I am more concerned about type of plant (want old fashioned stuff) than color. It's supposed to look random, afterall! :) But I have one area on the side of the house that has a color scheme and I would want to know what I'm getting. Same with the front of the house b/c I went with a more formal, manicured look up there. Of course I am also more picky about containers and what color the stuff coming up will be. I have some mixed four o'clocks for the backyard that I winter sowed, and of course I am mixing SOH and SOY MGs on a fence, as we discussed.

So, if y'all think you are "weird" I guess I'm weird AND have Multiple Personality Disorder. Ha!!!

My daughter just calls me OC (obsessive compulsive)! Hehe

I have a beautiful magenta colored one I will grow in Georgia...what color do you want to have Prism? LOL I would love to have some of the darkest blue ones too, but I haven't gotten any of the seeds yet. I am going to try and do some of my autumn clematis along with some of the MG's on some of the trees in my side gardens this year and see how they do. Later! Great thread!
Janet

Here in zone 5 I don't start any MGs indoors until three weeks before planting outside at most. I have found they just become a tangled mess and don't do very well once I transplant them outside. I have better luck with direct sowing after soaking and no matter which way I start them they end up blooming at the same time. It's that short day/long day issue....they don't start blooming here until August and maybe even September. It's SO hard to not get anxious! How about using garden netting over the vines to keep the bees away?...would the plants have opportunity enough to self pollinate? Just a thought! Any opinions?

Thanks
Sandy

JanetS, magenta for Georgia, it is!
I'll take Dbl. Blue Picotee for Missouri, since I just ordered seeds. Or maybe Wine & Roses. Or..... It's just too hard to only choose one. LOL

I love the idea of growing the Autumn clematis with them. I just got those seeds too. Sounds beautiful!

I did start the Moonflowers & I. trichocarpa indoors last year, but I don't remember how early. They did fine & didn't get very big, so maybe I didn't start them very early. Maybe I'll start them 4 weeks early instead of 6.

Funny, Sandy! I was wondering that about the netting, too. But I didn't know if I would like how it looked. Then you could just sneak under there, pretend you're the bee & pollinate them yourself!

Thank you for a fun discussion. Does it have to end? LOL

We'll have to come back with pictures of what we've come up with later this year.

Whatever we get, it will be interesting, yes?

It was fun!

I really hope you do come back with lots of pictures and as you will see this can get kinda addiciting. I don't know how I am going to do it this year since I have gone back to work full time. I guess I will hand the reins over to someone else and let them take the lead.

I hope you do all lable your seeds even if you think they are crossed with another varitiey. That would be the best way for us to tell what will cross and what did cross. It would be hard to do if you had 10 vines and just threw them together. When they began to bloom and something unusual came up we would have a clue as to what combination produced the flower and we may or may not want to repeat it.

One of the things we are really trying to do is to get the varities named correctly and to get as many of them on the Plantsdata base as we can grow and get photos of.
I hope you all enjoy the coming season as much as I enjoyed last year. Good luck to you all and have fun growing these.
this photo is "Pink Shibouri" a dainty pink and white MG.......
Dee
8o)

Ah, the Pink Shibouri picture is divine, if you would pardon the pun.