Morning glory seed question

Hi guys,

I've been looking around the internet for this; how can you tell the difference between jp morning glory plants/seeds from other morning glory seeds? Are jp morning glory blooms bigger than let's say grandpa otts? I don't think I've seen jp morning glories here in Canada. I love all morning glory seeds, but I would also like to buy jp morning glory seeds online =). The prices for them are outrageous though compared to other morning glory seeds. I didn't know this until last week, and I've d-mailed a couple of members if it's possible to trade their jp morning glory seeds, not knowing their prices (I thought they cost the same as grandpa otts). I swear I didn't know how much they cost until I searched on the internet and ebay. My sincere apologies to those I've emailed/bugged/"begged" for seeds -_-.

I think the only way to be 100% sure they are authentic jp morning glory seeds is that if they come from their original packages. I don't want to spend this much money and then finding out a couple of months later that I've been conned. Where do you guys usually buy your japanese morning glory seeds? Does any body have resources as to where else I can buy jp morning glory seeds?

Eliz

Hi Eliz -

Yes, Japanese MGs are much more expensive than the 'Regular' Ipomoea purpureas. There are also some great I. purpureas that are also RARE and beautiful.

The real trick is to 'find them', and the reason they cost so much is the price you pay when you can get them. They won't fall at your feet.

Yes and No, not true that you can only be assurred that you get JMG seeds from the original seed packages. Yes - they will be 'From Japan'. No - they won't always be what you are expecting. Many will grow out 'True', and many you get will not be as they are represented to be. Even from Japan. Japan growers are just like American growers in that they are massive grown OPEN POLLINATED.

Also, it is a fact that you can get just as many large blooming BEAUTIFUL Morning Glories right here in the US. Most of these the parent seeds did originate from Japan, and are from time-consuming *crosses* many new cultivars have been added to the now massive selection. And, at the moment, the easiest place to find a great selection is through eBay.

This is only a short summary of a very long and involved story, but the bottom line is that when you have made your investment in purchasing these hard to find seeds, you will always have them to continue to grow and enjoy by collecting the seeds every year.

Also, when you get a nice collection going, you can then start to trade for others and all of this won't happen over night.

Welcome to JMG Madness *-*

Others can also give you their comments as to why the JMG seeds are more expensive to buy.

I have a few seeds that I'm happy to trade with you.
Send me a D-Mail.

Emma




This message was edited Sep 8, 2008 2:09 PM

Hi Eliz,
trust Emma's judgement she is one of the best here. There are a few sellers on EBay that are trust worthy and are DG members. Dmail me and I will give you the names. I don't think we are allowed to link here for sellers. There are a few that you can trust and are very fair in pricing.

Depending upon the zone they are grown in, and I know for myself, some don't produce a lot of seeds, so that is why some are offered more than others. I have a few left from last year if you want to try some. I also have a few that were mixed that you can try and see what you get.

Thank you Ronnie . . .
What a wonderful compliment.

Eliz -
Ronnie has some AWESOME seeds. I have been trading with her for years.

Emma

LOL. I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH. This is alot of information from just only 2 members! It's amazing! I love DG, I'll extend my subscription. It's worth every penny =). I'm getting dizzy from looking up on the internet where to buy these beauties.

It just took less than 5 DG members (I'm not saying names, Emma and Ronnie) to get me hooked into jmgs! I got my first morning glory seeds from a tamarind seed trade, and it's growing very nicely (the Xiong's morning glory)! All that DG member has to do is show me his picture of the flowers from this MG and my eyes were glued on the comp. screen. Usually takes a while for me to get obsessed with something, my dad would usually have to show me the plant itself (e.i orchid) and this plant would usually be hard to get locally(specific species of alocasias, anthuriums and other tropicals - I get tired of seeing the same pothos and jades unless they're GIANTS, like leaves as big as my head).

Thank you for the welcoming of another jmg-obsessed DG member,

Eliz

Eliz,

Welcome to the madness! LOL

Joseph

I would say in my case Emma has been my enabler!! One heck of an addiction!!

Eliz - You've come to the right place! Lots of great traders here and much information that we can share with you. You have d-mail.

LOL JOSEPH! lol I'm guessing all you guys know him! You're the one who get me started on these mgs! not just jp mgs! Can't wait for them to bloom. I'll send you their progress =). Just checking out some of your pictures and they all look great! they look like silk fabrics eh? very graceful and flawless! I noticed that the leaves sparkle too, like they have glitters on it. Never noticed that some leaves are variegated.

I've seen Home Depot sell some of these mg seeds, but I can't recall if they're jp mg or not (I don't think they are..I don't think Mr. Fotherhill's sells jp mg). They still cost more than your normal perrennial seeds though. Looking forward this upcoming spring and hunting for more mg seeds (whatever species they may be).

again, I can't thank you guys enough for all the help. More confident on buying them online thanks to the sources that you guys have provided. Thank you for the offers also. I've learned that I don't have to be so anal with the naming of the cultivars -_-. They're all pretty NOID or if they don't come true compared to their parent plants =).

Some of them look just like velvet. Some will almost make you drop to your knees and begin raving like a maniac when you see the flowers. LOL

Joesph - This is beautiful! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5486324

Thanks, Becky!

Joseph, the purple does look like velvet, very nice.

Joseph, this MG is just out of this world! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5486324

Welcome evr - very happy to have another MG addict aboard, too. Emma hooked me first with incredible seeds, and by now, I have to say that everyone on this thread (and others) has continued enabling me by seeds and/or their infectious enthusiasm. I'll send you a few seeds, too.

Joseph, would you know the name of this one - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5486324 ? Might it be Akatsuki no Murasaki? I have one vine of that MG growing in my garden now (from Meag848) and am holding my breath until it blooms.

I still have hopes of seeing our MGs bloom this year. As DH was making a gate for the front walls below at street level, a deer was peeking around the corner looking up at him yesterday. Why do pests have to be so cute?

Thank you Elsa and Karen! Yes that is Akatsuki no Murasaki, and you will go wild when you see it in person, Karen! My plant has something like 10 flowers open on it now, very stunning!

Joseph

Lol, Joseph, I don't recall getting "wild" since my neighbor's bongo drum period - this'll be interesting. btw - neighbor and I are at peace. I'd invite her and her bongo drum happy crowd over to celebrate when it opens, but there's not enough flat ground near Murasaki for everyone to fit in - hmph

Question: What's the scientific name for Xiong's mg? and what's the history behind this mg?

I think it is Ipomoea nil, and the name comes from the Chinese gardener's name who traded them to me, Eliz.

Joseph

Thanks Joseph! I don't see them as much though, not even much info on the net.

Hi Joseph,

I sowed 6 seeds of xiongs and 5 germinated,Flowers should be on mine in about 6 weeks, that is how fast they are growing here, out of all the seeds they all germinated so will have a new lot of flowers to drool over in my yard and not just on the web:), I was also wondering the origin as well.

They are very addictive.

Annette

Annette joined! heheheh. Here are some pics of Xiong's mg given to me by Joseph..

close-up of the babies

I'm growing them in these pots...maybe 1.5 gal to 2 gal pots, not quite sure, but I just planted 3 seeds. I read somewhere that 1 seed will usually suffice in such pots. I just planted 3 seed just incase 1 or 2 did not sprout. But the best thing about them so far is that they all sprouted!

Right beside it is the I.lobata.....

This message was edited Sep 1, 2008 7:41 PM

I never knew that Spanish flags were of the same genus as morning glories. picture below are I. lobata @ 3 weeks old, in a smaller container than Xiong's mg. I left it on my patio floor under a table due to a storm watch/warning (which is awfully weird for Toronto) and when I let my dogs out to do their business my puppy ate some of the true leave >=(.

I grow mine in individual pots and than pot up as I go, it works for me, here is my xiong.I am still trying to get the lobata to germinate, got some tips from Emma, so will try again:)

Some of my other mgs.

The culprit..he also ate my basil topiary.

Bad Dog:)

0_0 Annette you got so much space for that! I have to conserve my small pots for different types of plants that I have bought during my frenzy. I've only been on DG for two months and have started ordering online and already have so much other plants. Have lots of tropical seeds, but I've no luck with them at all except for some. I'm more satisfied when I see the seeds I've received/bought/traded sprout, and mgs are doing it for me.

I have tried using larger pots but didnt have the success that I do when using individual pots, I love watching seeds germinate and this is the first thing I do every morning, rush outside to see what has sprouted.

I live in the tropics and take tropical plants for granted:(

I have eclectic tastes in flowers and love the unusual, always buying something or trading for the unusual.

A.

I think most people take tropical plants for granted when living in the tropics. I used to live at the Philippines and they had lots of ixara (santan), calmodine, hoyas, tropical hibiscus and other tropical fruiting trees. When I was a kid I loved seeing roses which were not grown as much compared to here in Canada.

My mom USED to love apples when we were living back home; they cost more than your custard apple and mangoes because of shipping/import. Now that we can pick our own apples here and sometimes you see them just dropping on the ground, NOTHING compares to those custard apples. lol they cost $20.00 for 8 fruits. Jackfruits here cost us $50 - $60 for a dinky whole fruit, back home you can get one half your size for a mere 5.00 or even less.

Not saying woodland fauna/flora sucks, I'm beginning to love them/learn about them....I have some lingonberries but cannot share with alot of people because they're still babies. I also think there are more people interested in tropicals than woodland plants/wildflowers/plants that grow in northern latitudes.

Yes the grass is always greener isnt it, we all want to grow what isnt natural to our environment, just went outside and took some pics of the ixora (is that what you meant) and tropical hibiscus. Sorry for going of subject everyone..

Red Ixora

Orange Ixora

And the tropical hibiscus, bet these bring back memories of your childhood, exotic fruit sure is expensive there.

lol sorry, I stand corrected, ixora. We call it santan and as kids, we use to take the nectar and suck them. My mom grew up in the 60's and my dad grew up in the 50's and they also did this as kids lol. We laugh about it. It is pretty sweet though. Sometimes we even grow them on rooftops.

Tropical hibiscus, or what we call gumamela, we would pick the flowers and pound them with water and I think we add a bit of detergent - makes good bubbles lol. The blooms were usually red though, but I've just ordered ones that look similar to yours - hopefully they'll come out similar to that. =)

LOL Tropics in Canada, What will they think of next, woodland species in the Tropics:))

Good Luck with your new treasures, yes lots of nectar in the ixoras.

lol I've always wondered about that...I was just going to ask that question...HERE lol http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/896118/

PS: sorry annette, I've been leading you to 2 discussion forums. They're fun though =). Keep track of the above discussion forum link if you're interested lol.

Ahhh ... I love Spanish Flag!!! I, too, have some just sprouting and growing. I bought the last of Onalee's seeds for that vine a month ago! I just love it! :-)

Annette - Your plants are beautiful!!! There is Hibiscus and Ixora available and grown here everywhere. (I know you may boo me ... but I didn't want either in my garden, so I don't have any! LOL!) They are so common in Southern and Central Florida. But they are pretty! I do grow a common Yellow Bells (Tecoma Stans) bush in a large pot. I put it in the pot until I could figure out the best spot for it. Well, it has done so well in the container that I have decided to keep it there. It blooms constantly! Adds some yellow color to my backyard! :-) And I happen to like another common bush ... Plumbago. Something about those pretty blue blooms. I grow a lot of plants for butterflies. You are right ... I guess we are never satisfied no matter where we live and what we are able to grow there. :-)

I grow plants like Brugmansia, Plumeria, and I have taken a fancy to Firespike. And of course Morning Glories ... particularly I. nils! :-) I have a lot of different vines all over my backyard fence. Passiflora, Coral Honeysuckle, Scarlet Runner Bean, Cape Honeysuckle (which I've pruned as a standard), Cross Vine, and Mexican Flame Vine. I have a thing for vines of all kinds, not just MGs. Of course, I grow them for the Hummingbirds!

Oh yeah ... and clematis vines! LOL! That's my newest vines.

evr - Adorable puppy! I couldn't be mad at such a cute face for very long! LOL! Your potted vines look great! Good luck with them!