Bitten by the MG Bug? What Got you Started?

Greetings Everyone,

I read an article about MGs in a Daves Garden Newsletter. (I think that was my first small bite:)
I've been trying to do a little research on them, and that got me thinking.
What about MGs attracts its growers?
Did you begin by Chance or Design?
What is your favorite thing about them?
What was the strangest place you ever saw a MG grow?
Funny Stories, or laughable moments anyone?
By way of introduction: I'm a new, newbie who just read the DG newsletter within the last week. A few friendly souls offered to help me get started with the kind offer of seeds. I have yet to sprout even one seed, but already I suspect I'm hooked (is this even possible:)
Happy Days!
Marlene

Hi Marlene! Interesting topic. I stumbled upon this forum on DG and got instantly hooked! So many kind and generous folks here shared seeds with me. So they are all enablers... my kinda gardeners!

For me - I got hooked on them and grow them for many reasons. But the top reason is that they sprout within days for me here in zone 10a, grow rapidly, and bloom in about a month. Nothing grows and blooms that fast here except Salvia. LOL!

The next reason is that I am a huge fan of vines and have lots of fence to grow them on.

I truly LOVE them because of the endless possibilities of bloom colors, patterns, and shapes of the flowers. Hand-pollinating has become a "hobby" for me and I get such quick feedback when doing that and usually great results!

The two things that I wish were different about MGs:

1) I wish they would bloom all day instead of just mornings. But I guess if they did, they wouldn't be called "Morning" Glory.

2) And I wish they weren't so prone to rust fungus in my area.

Hi Marlene
The great folks on the forums and their posts got me interested. Then I saw the photos.... that cinched it. Some kind folks took pity on me and offered seeds and advice (they don't mind MG 101 level questions) and I was on my way. I can't wait for the morning to see what the night has wrought.

I guess the silliest thing I did was place the pots too closely not thinking about the vines reaching out and getting mixed up with the vines 'next door' (it was a regular Peyton Place .....maybe you are too young to know what I mean by Peyton Place...) Anyway, I spent a long time hand untangling them...and then had to use a scissor finally on some. ;0( It hurt me more than it hurt them.

What I have learned about MGs...they don't mate for life!!

Also, my MGs hang around for most of the day - even into early evening. I am not sure why. They may not have the 'just born dewy freshness' of youth but still look pretty darn good. So, I have AG (Afternoon Glories) too!

This message was edited May 14, 2009 7:05 PM

I was about 8 in Canada and came across Convolvulus arvenis and was enchanted by the sweet smell and could not identify it

hi Marlene what a nice idea for a thread :-)....

well i suppose i could say it was down to me hurting my ankle and having a few months of work.... i had to rest it etc. so i surfed the net... researching the seeds i had for this year... amongst them was Gypsy Bride from Plants of Distinction... i kept getting Dave's Garden show up in the searches and decided to join... found it was a fabulous place with fabulous people... and now i'm totally hooked.... there is something for everyone with MG's no matter what your interests are....

Colin

This morning glory forum was one of the first ones I wandered into when I joined Dave's Garden in 2007. I'm not sure why exactly, as I had never even seen a morning glory before. And when I stumbled on Byndeweedbeth's thread of how she was growing a morning glory inside her house I was hooked and eventually had to try it myself. I mostly lurk in this forum and love looking at all the photos that everyone posts. It's amazing to see the knowledge base that has developed here over the past couple of years.

Joanne