New To Morning Glories

I've tried to grow these in the past, but without much success. This year I'm determined to have some Morning Glories! Last year I bought some seed packets of Heavenly Blue with the idea to have them twine over a metal arch. I sowed them directly into the ground and they germinated, but the growth was extremely spindly -even sickly looking. I did sow them in established beds and had a passion vine there previously that did extremely well. I even had a few-very few-flowers that apparently set seed because I see some seedlings coming up now. This is a southern exposure. Do I need to try a shadier location? Maybe the metal trellis was too hot? If I could get some tips from you experts here it would be greatly appreciated!

Hmmm, everything sounds ideal...Try sowing more seeds for a fuller look to the vines?

You could also try trimming the vine after 8-9 sets of leaves - to encourage it to send out more branches - might help to fill out a bit.

You will also get more blooms if you grow MG's in pots...no nitrogen fertilizer but you can use bloom-booster.

I started out trying to grow MG's on our metal trellis (of sorts) by the door. It didn't work at all. They were transplants and just withered up. I tried twice. I think the hot metal may be a factor. Mine was also a southern location...and I have a lot of luck with other flowers.
Could it have something to do with not getting enough water? I think the other thing that may have played a factor for me was our balcony upstairs prevents a triangular swatch of ground below (where the metal trellis is) from getting as much water. Plus, the dirt may be more shallow there since it's right up against our sidewalk. You mentioned an arch so I don't know if these things will be relevant but figured I'd give it a try:-)
Last year, my MG in a pot grew very nicely.

Cheryle

I have started my first MG seeds and need suggestions and help. I soaked the seeds for 24 hrs and planted in a seed starting mix/potting soil. I used Wendy's baked potato containers because they have the plastic top. In 2 days they have started to sprout. Now what? Sun, shade, warm take the top off, or what? They are just sprouts from the seed, no leaf at this point.

Kathy

Kathy, I'm not as much an expert as others on this forum, but my MGs (as with any other plant) have done best if I could get them to direct sun as soon as they began to germinate. Otherwise, you'll have weakier, leggier plants that will need to be gradually hardened off. I use http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Pearisburg&state=VA&site=RNK as my home page, and it says your area will have some nice warm-ish weather for the next few days. I would bring the seedlings in at night when temps are in the 30s - others more knowledgeable than I may have a different take on this.

I wonder if LouisianaMark might have information specific to Louisiana? He does pretty well with morning glories. Can't add anything to foregoing comments - they all sound fine to me.

bluespiral - ditto

Thanks for all the tips. I'm going to experiment this year with a location that gets some afternoon shade. Does anyone know if they will climb on a wooden fence or do they need a trellis?

Thanks blue and ron for the info. I'll set them outside in the sun. They are just sprouting out of the seed so I hope they won't get burned.

Kathy

will MG's grow in afternoon sun? I have a very hot sunny area I really want some potted vines growing and thought MG's would be nice. What did you mean ByndeweedBeth about no nitrogen fertilizer. What should be used on them? I want lots of leaves too.

I have figured I need to nick and soak the seeds first. On average, how long does it take to germinate?

Thank you for any information.

Tammie

My babies are long and leggy but have been outside since last post. They are about 4 inches long and getting 2nd set of leaves. Seem to leggy though.
kathy

Hi there..

I've grown morning glories for years and this is what I've learned:

They don't like to be transplanted! Either direct sow them, or start them in peat cups and then plant the whole thing once they get their second set of true leaves.

They like POOR soil the best. You can give them a shot of plant food ONCE during the growing season, but I wouldn't do more than that. You will end up with huge amounts of leaves and very few flowers.

They like sun.. .lots of sun! I've grown mine on a metal arch for a long time and it does get hot in the sun. It never seemed to affect the plants though.

Knicking the seed is not necessary, and may result in the loss of a finger! OUCH! Soaking for a minimum of 12 hours in 110 degree water is sufficient.

Germination takes approximately 7-14 days depending on the temperature. Some take longer than others. Some don't grow at all. There's nothing wrong, it's just the nature of the beast.

Over-seed your area. If you want full coverage on your fence, trellis, lattice, etc, you should over-seed. Not all of the seeds you plant will germinate.

To cover the "ugly" bottoms of the vines, plant something in front of them, preferably something that grows about 18" high.

Morning glories will attach themselves to anything you let them. I have them at my front porch and they climb up the lattice every year. They cover the railing and are beautiful!

Hope this helps you all.... I love my MG's and couldn't imagine not having them every year.

gardenbug, that's a lot of good information there you've shared - much appreciated. With 50+ MG genera and 1,000+ MG species ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulaceae ), we need all the advice we can get around here - no one solution applies to every situation. So, I'm going to add a few more pointers in response to Lhasa's and Shitzu's particular questions that include a couple of relevant essays from EmmaGrace and Ron_Convolvulaceae that may help to understand why certain techniques and materials work.

Lhasa, if you have already started your seeds, you might want to hang on to EmmaGrace's essay on germinating more commonly grown MGs (or rare varieties of Japanese morning glory) for future reference. She takes the mystery out of "To nick, or not to nick" and a few other things:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3303432 .

Most of the seed I used Emma's technique on germinated within 48 hours this year. For those that did not, being in the baggy let me observe their status and act accordingly. There are many special cases and other MG varieties for which different germination techniques work better.

There's a lot to be said for stressing a plant into flowering, and poor soil often works for many MGs. But some do find that some kinds of fertilizing improve some MGs' performance:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/684152/

There used to be a general rule about the three basic elements of fertilizer that said to apply them according to which part of the plant you wanted to emphasize. It went something like this:

Nitrogen (N) for the leaves (spinach, lettuce, chard, etc.)
Phosphorus (P) for the flowers and fruit (tomatoes, morning glories, melons, etc.)
Potassium (K) for the stem and/or root (carrots, beets, turnips, etc.)

So, that's why, in a N-P-K formula, you want the nitrogen to be lower than the phosphorus for flowers. Too much nitrogen applied to a morning glory will result in more leaves and fewer flowers.

Shitzu, by the time MG seedlings get their 2nd true pair of leaves, I have found that a little stick in each pot helps each fledgling vine keep its tendrils to itself and off its neighbors.

Gardenbug, I hate to imagine gardening without MGs, too. This is the perfect place to come to if you've been bitten by the MG bug :)