MORNING GLORY

"Morning Glory"
Ipomoea purpurea

I. alba, also called Calonyction aculeatum (moonflower); I. multifida, also called Quamoclit sloteri (cardinal climber); I. purpurea and I. tricolor (morning glory); I. quamoclit, also called Quamoclit pennata (cypress vine)

A diverse group of twining vines planted for their fast growth and their bright, shapely flowers, the ipomoea vines rapidly climb stakes, strings, posts, fences, trellises, walls or banks. They are usually grown as annuals outdoors in Zones 3-10 but most of them will reseed themselves and return year after year. They can also be grown indoors, trained on a small trellis or permitted to trail from hanging baskets.

The moonflower's twining stems can climb to 20 feet in one season. Oval- to heart-shaped 8-inch leaves surround fragrant white flowers up to 6 inches across. These open at night, from midsummer until frost. In Zones 9 and 10, the moonflower is often a perennial. The hybrid cardinal climber has smooth, 20-foot twining stems with finely divided palmlike leaves; its 2-inch red flowers with white centers bloom from summer to fall.

The morning glory has heart-shaped leaves 5 inches long and flowers that open in the morning but close by noon. Up to 4 inches in diameter, the blue, purple, pink, scarlet, white or multicolored blooms can have single or double rows of petals. The I. tricolor variety 'Early Call' may be blue, rose or mixed, 'Pearly Gates' is white, 'Heavenly Blue' a bright sky blue, 'Scarlet O'Hara' a deep red. Morning glories branch from their bases and form dense masses of foliage and flowers. They grow up to 20 feet tall; in some regions they have escaped into the wild and are considered a nuisance. The cypress vine is a parent of the hybrid cardinal climber and closely resembles it, with 20-foot stems and dark green fernlike foliage. The scarlet flowers, 1 1/2 inches long, bloom all summer and attract hummingbirds.

HOW TO GROW:

Outdoors, ipomoeas grow in full sun or partial shade; in shade the flowering of all but the cypress vine may be curtailed. Plant in any well-drained soil that is not so rich that it produces foliage at the expense of flowers. Shield vines from strong wind, which may shred the foliage.

Indoors, ipomoeas grow best if they are given four hours of direct sunlight a day. They need temperatures of 60° to 65° at night and 70° or higher during the daytime. Plant them in packaged potting soil and keep it barely moist. When the vines are 4 inches tall, fertilize them with a house-plant fertilizer diluted to half the strength recommended on the label; repeat this application at monthly intervals. Most ipomoeas are propagated from seed, but moonflowers may also be grown from cuttings.