If I were to get a Knolia's Black?

I LOVE dark, dark blooms. But I have read that Knolia's Black blooms don't show up well, and are very hard for people to see. I just recently won my first MG on ebay, and now am just fascinated by Knolia's Black. What are you guys' experiences with it? Do you like the blooms? Do you agree that they don't stand out? And have they been easy to grow for you?

Randi

Randi, I too am mesmerized by "black" flowers. This vine (as I suspect may be true of other Ipomoea purpurea's) is the most shade tolerant MG I have ever grown, so it has gotten the shadiest spot of all my MGs in the past, which consists of allowing a selected volunteer (and you will get tons of those - you have to love it very much to do all that weeding in future years) to grow up a large rose bush (Graham Thomas which is defoliated in summer since I don't spray anything, but 1) looks purtier with leaves on it and 2) makes new leaves in fall and still makes spring & fall shows of flowers). Once up through the rose, it then travels over a cross bar above the path into a yew hedge where it contentedly spreads out, blooming profusely along the way.

The sun's angle allows it to drop columns of dappled light through nearby trees which illuminated the blossoms from behind in the morning - don't know anything else that would give quite that effect. The path ends at a powder-blue gate in the hedge with the complementary color - yellow - expressed in the green and "gold" leaves of hosta 'Frances Williams, and liriope & ivy of same colors. Who would have thought a "blue" and "yellow" border could be made in the shade for late summer and fall into frost?

If you have more sun than I do, then you'll probably have a higher ratio of flowers to foliage. These vines make lots of side growth which could make a curtain - not sure how well the flowers would show with that. But trained above on a single crossbar against incoming morning light, the flowers show up very well. With more sun, Agastache rupestris would be gorgeous beneath it ( http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2064/ )

Very easy vine to grow - has not been bothered by diseases in the past here; but this year I'm seeing some leaf spots in an unidentified I. purpurea coming up next to Ron's I. pandurata which resemble a blight called albugo ipomoea-pandurata ( http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3503815 - read discussion after this post & pic precedes this post by about 3 posts) - there could be other causes, plus I don't see any blight on the leaves of the I. pandurata.

I'm very sorry to say I can't find the shoebox in which I put last year's harvest of this seed. I have 5 seeds that I know the whereabouts of. Would you like to have 3? I have a neighbor who'd let me commandeer one of her trellises for one of my volunteers (so that I won't have to be worried about cross-pollination), so being down to 2 seeds won't leave me in too big a lurch.

Apologies in general for being scarce around here, myself - vines from everyone's seeds are growing taller everyday - looks like the year of the "Hall of MGs" out there - will never be able to thank this forum enough for this year's MG adventures.

I grew Kniolas for a couple of years, but the color seems to have gotten faded on mine. Two weeks ago I ordered some Kniola Black Knight from Thompson and Morgan, they had their seeds on sale.

I would offer you some of mine, but I know they are not the real thing anymore.. even though they were grown hundreds of feet away from all the others, they are not coming out true.

Hmm, A. - then, maybe mine are not true anymore either. Last year's Kniola's were grown near Double Blackie, one of which looked like Indigo Feathers. There was quite a variety of MGs in the Double Blackie packet.

Well, good luck with your search, Randi. I can send you the seeds if you still want them - dmail me your address

Karen, your's may be true, I'm notorious for growing out the same type from every seller I can find, till I find the right one. Maybe, I'll grow them out next year, usually I have five or six pots of the same one to see if I see a difference in each one.

This year it is the Chocolate... there is one vendor that the flowers are really sick looking.. the rest seem to be chocolate or chocolate silk, some are just solid chocolate, even though they say choclate silk or chocolate picotee, etc.. There is just no knowing which seller has the one you are looking for till you grow it out. But, it takes alot of work, time and effort to do so. But is satisfying to me only probably..lol

A.

I think comparing vendors so comprehensively is extremely valuable to all of us - including those for whom internet shopping is only a future possibility. Is there a rating system to which you contribute your results?

I hope you do a chocolate thread showing the various kinds - that'd be catnip to us all. I wonder if including the vendor or source of each one would be okay? Commentary would be nice, but I guess we wouldn't want to close any doors by stepping on any vendor toes.

I'll bet you're not the only one consumed by some aspect of Morning Glory Madness this time of year - lol - fortunately for me, DH is my willing accomplice.

The only rating system for myself, is this:

Healthy looking seeds (some look dried out and almost dehydrated to the point that they have wrinkles or cuts on them)

Healthy development of the Plant (that was before I moved here and got weird plants and flowers)

seed development



Mostly, I am very curious as to why they would change the name on something that is exactly the same as the old name?? etc..

So far, I have five pots of Chocolates..lol. (well one was called Rose Silk) but, chocolate is chocolate...

1 has variegated leaves, very weird flowers, all split petalled and they are not dwarf. (this is one that I thought was really a sick flower or something is wrong, the anther's are not forming, no pollen whatsoever, but it is growing on me.. I'll post a photo of this one.



1 has huge green leaves, solid chocolate flowers.

1 has some picotee, variegated leaves, and solid chocolate flowers

1 called chocolate silk has both types of flowers, variegated leaves and looks just like the other chocolate.

1 Rose Silk, looks just like the Chocolate Silk but has smaller variegated leaves.

This information is mostly for my own use.. I don't post it anywhere, but thought you may want to see this flower.. it sure is cute... now that I got used to seeing it like this.loll

Chocolate Baby

No - I meant ranking the vendors - which ones would you most recommend to buy from after evaluating their seed?

I'm having an awful lot of fun with Emma's open pollinated seed - love the surprises - fascinating how many varieties one plant can contain - a little like each human born with potential for being both criminal or saint and everything between. On one of her chocolate-rose silks, there was a star shadow of rose overlaying the chocolate with a wide picotee and variegated foliage. I harvested 2 seed pods, sent one back to her and planted the other - am watching the 2 vines with huge interest

When I clicked on your Chocolate Baby, a segmented rectangular box appeared that seemed to have some kind of shading cycling back and forth through it - is that something new on DG or something persnickety on my pooter?

Well, can't wait to see your Chocolate pics - we'll all have to post our chocolates there

Randi, are you getting hooked on MGs, yet? I certainly hope so.

It's Dave trying out some new things on Dave's.. that is why the box appeared.

Yeah, those stars are appearing on some of the Chocolates here too.. but these seeds are from 2003. Good stuff from Parks packs when they used to sell them.. Good thing I got a couple of packs..lol

Why haven't you posted your pictures?? It would be nice to see yours also.

Alot of what is blooming here is just mother nature or UFOs at work..lol.. nothing to do with me so I can't take the credit, I just soak, nick and try to grow some flowers.

Karen, I finally figured out yesterday that when the arrows or whatever finish running the boxes, the pic finally comes up. Yes, please send pics.
A, I need a fix of count Dracula and Kongo pink. lol I like Chocolate Baby
with it's pointed petals.
The vendors change the name to sell more seeds
as Ron said.
Jackie

Patootie, there are about 4 pods on Dracula, one pod has your name on it..lol.. they make take a while to dry though.. it seems like when you are waiting, they take longer..lol. Now, the pink with a star,,,, I can't get any pods out of that one. ... Yet... wish me luck.. do you grow thru the winter? If not, save the seeds for next season. I wish there were more to spread around, that one picotee sure is pretty.

As soon as it dries, I'll send it off to ya..

Antoinette, thank you so much. I love Dracula. See if there's anything I'm growing that you want seed of and I'll save it for you.
I might be tempted to start one Dracula seed for the winter. The only
drawback is those horrible spider mites in the winter g house.
Thank you again, I'm so excited to have a chance to grow Dracula.
Will keep my fingers crossed on the Kongo pink.

Jackie

paraphrased: "Why don't I post pictures?"

There was the onus of living within one's means while living on fixed, limited income that just couldn't justify buying a digital camera. Plus, I was quite content with that meeting place of gardening and wordsmiths like Henry Mitchell, Vita Sackville-West, Stephen Lacey, etc. Photographs seemed to interfere with dreaming. Several feet of snow will carpet Death Valley before we bring a TV into our house.

I just had no idea when I visited this forum one fateful day in 2005 asking if anyone wanted to swap morning glory seeds for a rooted cutting of Thunbergia alata 'Raspberry Smoothie'. Emma responded, and her seeds revolutionized my concept of what a morning glory can be; Ron has revolutionized all my horticultural and various intellectual horizons; and all of you have a lot to answer for with regard to the substitution of this displaced Frugal Yankee's tomatoes with morning glories - lol

Well, one thing has led to another and I don't believe we would have acquired a DC a couple of weeks ago if not for y'all's influence. 2 days ago I figured out how to take pics with it, so since there are no flowers, yet, here's some vines of Emma's Ipomoea nil "maybe TieDye" hopefully heading up to its half of an arch crossing a path. A seedling daylily blooms in the forground, with 'Jakob Kline' beebalm beyond. Where the ground drops off below "maybe TieDye", you can see part of the mess on our patio ensuing from last winter's wintersowing efforts - The Wintersowing Forum has a lot to answer for, too, heehee.

So, with more thanks to everyone on this forum than I can express, for the strange and beautiful evolution our garden has taken since arriving here - here's my first digital camera picture -

Well, it's a heck of good picture too I must say... good job, it took me alot longer to learn our DC... only three years..lol. you're good.

thanks, A.