Morning glories are named that way because the flowers opens in the morning as the sun rises and closes as the sun begins to set in the afternoon. Excellent climbers, morning glory plants have been known to grow more than 20 feet tall in a single growing season.
The Ipomea is the largest genus in the family of flowering plants Convolvuláceas, with more than 500 species, being a large and diverse group, with common names such as Morning Glory or Tinker Bell. It is native to America and currently this genus of flowering plants is found in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
The plant of the morning glory that grows in our gardens is a garden glory, a vine, which sometimes reaches a length of five meters. Dense, heart-shaped stems. Large fragrant flowers in long pedicels, which abundantly cover the stems, open early in the morning and turn behind the sun until they close at noon, although on a cloudy day they close only at night. Ipomoea flower shape, single or double, resemble a gramophone trumpet, color them – for all tastes: white, red, pink, blue, etc. Morning glory blooms from early summer to frost. Perennial in tropical latitudes, the morning glory is cultivated in our gardens annually.
It includes annual and perennial herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs and small trees; Most species are climbing plants.
They have tall and long stems, when the weather is warm, the tips of the bush branches have funnel-shaped or tubular flower clusters, in colors ranging from purple to red, blue, white or yellow.
Most species of Ipomoea have spectacular and colorful flowers and are often grown as ornamental plants. Its flowers attract hummingbirds and long-tongued butterflies. It is a very fragile shrub, its lower stems become woody, but in the icy regions it usually dies to the ground and quickly rejuvenates in the spring.
Some species, such as Ipomoea batatas, have tuberous roots that are edible. The seeds of two varieties of bluebells, Ipomoea tricolor “Heavenly Blue” and “Pearly Gates”, are listed by the State University of North Carolina as toxic. The leaves are narrowly oval, with long sharp points and are a main distinguishing feature to avoid confusion with the harmful herb Ipomoea cairica, which has five lobe leaves.
Some people use Ipomoea because of its high content of medical and psychoactive compounds, mainly alkaloids. Some species are famous for their properties in folk and herbal medicine and other species are used as potent entrecogens.
How to sow Morning Glories
The spread of Ipomoea occurs with the help of layers or seeds. Planting the glory of the morning requires compliance with the rules. Morning glories seedlings must initially grow in a greenhouse or a warm room. After the morning glory blossomed, it must be transplanted to the ground.
Sowing morning glories in seedlings is necessary in March, since its seeds germinate quickly. It is advisable to leave the seeds in a bowl with water at least 24 hours before sowing them. This softens the hull and increase your chances of growing a morning glory plant from the seed.
Since the bell flower seeds are large, they can be planted in 2-3 pieces in a container with a substrate. The soil must be friable, nutritious and homogeneous. The growth and flowering of the bell tower depends directly on the quality of the soil. After planting, the plant should be well watered with warm water. We should be really careful and avoid waterlogging as this could ruin the plant. After a week we will be able to see the firsts sprouts. Place the containers in a bright place with a temperature of 18-23 C.
Mature buds of morning glory are transplanted in early summer. By then, the soil is already hot enough and the flower will not be threatened by nocturnal frosts, which are disastrous for a young plant. Young sprouts are transplanted method of management of a distance of 20 cm from each other and immediately put on them a support: this can be a network of rods or stretched monofilament.
Although you can also sow seeds directly in the open field, avoiding the seedling period. Do this at the end of May after frost, choosing a sunny and windless area to plant. Ipomoea prefers a weakly acidic soil and requires good drainage. Whichever landing path you choose, be careful, because the morning glory is very poisonous. That is why it is grown outdoors.
Care of the plant during the flowering period
Ipomoea, like any other plant, needs constant care. In the flowering period, this flower especially needs supervision. Remove all grass, weeds and stones. Loosen the ground with a shovel.
Add fertilizers in the active growth period every 2-3 weeks with fertilizer for plants with ornamental flowers or for cacti. However, an excess of fertilizers, especially nitrogen, can lead to intense foliage formation, but at the same time, the glory of the morning does not bloom, so it is important to observe the measure when feeding.
Occasionally, pruning morning glory is necessary to eliminate damaged or diseased-looking buds the vine is cut better in September, bringing the plant in order before the rest period. In spring, pruning is carried out to thin the bush, leaving no more than three stems in each. Sometimes it is necessary to dilute the glory of the morning during the vegetation period.
Irrigation and soil loosening
It’s very important to always keep moistened the soil under the seedlings.These flowers do not tolerate drought, but neither do they accept the stagnation of water in the soil. Due to the frequent overmoherence of the soil, the roots fall rot in the morning glory, so the flower dies.
The adult plant must be watered constantly throughout the summer, so that the flower does not dry out. Since September, irrigation is only required after soil drying. The soil where the flower grows should often loosen. This is done to ensure that the roots are supplied with oxygen and useful substances from the fertilizer, which feeds the flower. To loosen, dig in the ground a few centimeters deep.
Seed collection and storage
In August begins the process of ripe of Ipomoea and seeds begin to ripen inside the plant. They are many, mature well and sometimes self-invoke. It is better to collect the seeds of morning glory at the end of September. At this time, all flowers bloom, and instead balls with seeds are formed, which are well heated by the sun.
Break the ball and break, if the seeds are black, then they are ripe.
Collect the seeds in a jar and leave it in the dark closet until next year. The seeds of morning glory can be stored for a long time and do not lose their properties.
The combination of bell with other plants
Morning glory is perfect to do natural design with flowers. It will give a touch of freshness and lightness to your garden. Ipomea combines perfectly with other plants that use for the vertical transformation of the territory, for example, wild grapes, hops, ivy or kampsis.
In autumn, the flower is perfectly combined with hop cones. Especially such a combination is expressive, if the morning glory will sprout between the branches. Imagine how beautifully your flowers will look between the branches of an adult tree.
Ipomoe is often used in landscape design. The plant serves as a “living shield” of the sun for an open terrace or gazebo. Very pretty this flower is near the lanterns, stylized in the old days. You can often see that the morning glory is planted near the walls of tall buildings and one-story buildings.
Turn on the fantasy, imagine how you could plant the glory of the morning to decorate your site.
Diseases and plagues of morning glory
Ipomea is subject to the influence of various pests and parasites. The plagues of the morning glory, if no action is taken, can kill the plant.
The flower is prone to fungal diseases: anthracnose, white oxide, various types of rot – soft, black, root, stem, as well as viral and physiological diseases, such as white swelling.
Very often, the plant is prone to fungal soil diseases, especially if it is constantly flooded. Some fungal diseases can be cured by removing rotten beds and treating the vine with a fungicide.
However, if you have diagnosed root, soft or stem rot in your plant, immediately remove infected flowers, since these fungi are not susceptible to treatment.
It is impossible to cure viral diseases of the morning glory. Infected plants should be burned as quickly as possible to prevent the spread of infection.
White swelling is not an infectious disease. It is believed that only those plants that were grown in an apartment or in a greenhouse can receive this disease. It is due to too frequent watering and high air humidity, as well as low temperature.
The symptoms are blisters and bumps on the leaves, which gradually acquire a brown color. You should be careful because if we do not pay attention on time soon the leaves will fall off. To avoid this disease, it is necessary to comply with the agrotechnical rules to grow the glory of the morning.
The most common pests are mites and aphids. If you find a plant in your flower, treat the plant with soapy water. The red spider is afraid of cold water.
Simply spray the vine with water, and the pests will disappear. These will help and be effective if you detected the pests early.
Plants may be vulnerable to attack by various insect pests, such as aphids or aphids, caterpillars and ants. A strong jet of the hose hits the aphids out of the plant, so repeat this every two or three days until the pests disappear.
Caterpillar or larval infested plants can be treated with Bacillus thuringiensis powder and against the ants you can use poisoned baits. Diseases such as white blisters, rust, fungal spots on the leaves, stem rot, blight of the thread, coal rot and wilting may also appear, so pay close attention.
Tips and general information to keep in mind
• The really impressive growth rate of Ipomoea, only a creeper at night can wrap a small object, but for a few days and weeks – a little closer and even a large gazebo!
• The plant gets along well on any soil, which does not need much space to actively develop, the glory of tomorrow grows possible, even on the balcony for those who had never grown flowering plants.
• Ipomoea flowers are large and individual, located in a small pedicel. The diameter of each flower is 5 to 7 cm. The flowers are always funnel-shaped, popularly called “small gramophones.” Depending on the variety of different colors are: it looks good on a plot of morning glory with white flowers, the color of the sky, purple, bright blue, pink and burgundy. There are flowers with stripes, mottled and even terry.
• Ipomoea blooms from the first days of summer until the first snow and frost. The flowers are made known with the first sunlight and close in the afternoon, a flower lives only one day, and then they fall soon and in its place appears new.
• Ipomea loves well-lit sun areas, does not like drafts and strong winds. The soil must be loose and fertile, responds well to the introduction of liquid fertilization and abundant irrigation in the dry season. Feeding cannot be done in large quantities, because flowering can stop, the plant will increase the green mass more.
• Wipe soil back on the seeds, covering them lightly. Ground water using a watering can or with the water hose barely filtered. This will allow you to moisten the soil without washing the seeds away.
• Add the trellis or bars behind or above the seeds. This will give you the seedlings that vine in when they start to grow.
• Keep the soil moist but not wet. Water carefully with a shower or hose fooling until you see the seedlings hovering through the ground. This will take a couple of weeks.
• Pinch of all but one of the plants if more than one seed grows successfully in the same hole to give space for the roots of the plant to grow.