Clark's Heavenly Beauty

I got a seed pack of Clark's Heavenly Beauty morning glories from Baker Creek Farms this year, and planted them on my vegetable garden fence. They're an heirloom variety from the 1920's, and they sure are pretty.

Hi Oz- I've planted heavenly's for years - they are my absolute favorites. I just wish they would reseed. My Grandpa Ott's reseed all over and I am sick of them!!

I planted some pink ones this year and they are eye catching too

Such a lovely blue.

Jackie

sarv48 - The seeds of the Ipomoea tricolor cultivars that mature and dry will not survive the repeated wet re-freezes and re-thaws of the northern cold Autumns,Winters and Springs...so,it is rare for any self-sowing to occur,but,if you watch the seedpods for mature seeds>harvest>bring the mature seeds indoors>plant in the Spring...you'll be able to replant the same strain of Heavenly Blue that you have growing...

Enjoy(!)...

Ron

I don't know much about morning glories, as I'm mostly a vegetable gardener. I grew up with morning glories, as my mom always had them and I think they're real pretty. I don't know if the strain she grew when I was a kid was Clark's Heavenly Beauty or not - but the color was like that, light blue with a yellow center, so I always thought that was the "normal" morning glory color.

Question: We used to live in So. California, and I planted morning glories on a fence at our place there. I don't know what strain, but they were light blue, similar to Clark's - from a seed pack I bought at a store somewhere. They did reseed, but I was disappointed that they went back to a plain small ALL-WHITE bloom after the first year, so I took them out.

Would that have been a hybrid that wouldn't breed true from seeds? And if so, could I still save the seeds from my Clark's H.B. and would it stay that variety from year to year? Thanks.

Ron,

Would you say that the so-called "Summer Skies" that Emma and I got from E-bay (and Emma sent you seeds for) is actually a Clark's Heavenly Blue? Or is our strain just another strain?

Also, a comment on Ipomoea tricolor reseeding: What I have experienced here in Z6 agrees with what Ron said. I have had incredible numbers of volunteers from various cultivars of Ipomoea purpurea. But out of thousands of Heavenly Blue seeds that must have been dropped in the same areas, I have only had maybe a half-dozen volunteers in the last 4 years.

My mother has had Heavenly Blue growing right on the edge of her flower garden for several years and has never had a volunteer.

I. tricolor might be a great vine for dispelling the notion that morning glories are "invasive". (at least in Zone 6)

-Kevin

This message was edited Aug 31, 2006 9:52 PM

Ozark - You mentioned and asked>
"... I planted morning glories from a seed pack they were light blue, similar to Clark's I bought at a store somewhere. They did reseed, but I was disappointed that they went back to a plain small ALL-WHITE bloom after the first year,...Would that have been a hybrid that wouldn't breed true from seeds?...could I still save the seeds from my Clark's H.B. and would it stay that variety from year to year?"

I have had several people send me photos of seeds that they received in suspicious packets that were variously suppossed to be pure Ipomorea tricolor,Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea nil...

I have personally seen packets that contained a mixture of different species and have received photos of seeds from packets containg a mixture of seeds like the following mixture of Ipomoea tricolor and Ipomoea purpurea
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/Woofens_1141707501_804.jpg
The larger elongated triangular seeds are the Ipomoea tricolor and either cultivar "Blue Star" and/or "Flying Saucers"...and the smaller more rounded seeds are those of a light colored Ipomoea purpurea...

Here are photo links to seeds of some of the most commonly grown Ipomoea MG species
Ipomoea tricolor seeds light and dark forms
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/QueenB_1107925742_647.jpg
Ipomoea purpurea seeds light and dark forms
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/QueenB_1107925298_671.jpg
Ipomoea nil seeds light and dark forms
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/QueenB_1107925032_467.jpg
Ipomoea alba
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/QueenB_1107924492_350.jpg

I think the small white flower was either a volunteer that was deposited from natural vector or perhaps contained in the original pack that you bought...some seeds will wait until after a sufficient cold or other period to remove germination inhibitors before they will sprout...

The chances that the small white flower was any type of a hybrid is extremely remote and if the flower was to revert to a more primitive form>all the Ipomoea tricolor cultivars were derived from Heavenly Blue and>the wild Ipomoea tricolors are still blue...

The Heavenly Blue>which is an Ipomoea tricolor will not cross fertilize with a different species,but can cross fertilize with another Ipomoea tricolor cultivar...

The Clarkes HB will stay true to type if it does not cross fertilize with another Ipomoea tricolor cultivar...


Kevin - Nice to hear from you(!)...how are the cotyledon photos coming along(?)...

My perspective regarding the Ipomoea tricolor as offered on e-bay as the 'lost' "Summer Skies" has not changed and that is that it is a very light version of Heavenly Blue...I had first received seeds from a member here on Daves who provided the seeds to the person on e-bay who offers them...

Here are the links to the threads where I have addressed the Ipomoea tricolor issue previously...

Ipomoea tricolor cultivars,including Heavenly Blue,Summer Skies et al and some history...you'll have to scroll down through the threads to locate the relevant questions and replies...
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/553228/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/557992/

TTY,...

Ron