A poem about morning glories…
The striking Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’ is the most popular variety of morning glory – and my personal favorite.
Photo Credit: Michael Stephens
Morning glories offer a dazzling array of flower colors – like the vibrant purple of
Ipomoea purpurea ‘Grandpa Ott’.
Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller
A glorious morning can be yours – with
‘Heavenly Blue’ in your garden!
Photo Credit: Gerald L. Klingaman
Trumpet-shaped flowers, heart-shaped leaves,
They’re quick to grow – as easy as you please.
But don’t ask a farmer if he likes this plant.
He’ll say it’s a nuisance and go on a rant.
Okay, so it’s not my best poem. But it makes a valid point about morning glories (Ipomoea): People either love ’em or hate ’em!
As the first lines of my poetic work suggest, this popular climbing vine has wonderful aesthetic attributes and is a good choice for beginning gardeners. However, it can be invasive and become a menace in agricultural circles (hence the second verse).
But let’s talk about morning glory’s glorious side first. It’s pretty – no one can argue that! Each morning, buds uncurl to reveal deeply fluted flowers that stretch out toward the light. (It’s truly a magnificent sight!) And this vine comes in so many hues, from pinks, reds and purples to the most popular color – bright blue. Even better is the fact that these showy flowers are plentiful all summer long. The great mystique about this plant is that it only blooms with the morning sun, and then it closes back up by noon. You won’t get much enjoyment from this plant if you work the nightshift, but it’s worth getting up early to see it!
Another fantastic thing about this plant is its ability to fill an empty space quickly. It can cover an ugly shed, add privacy to a porch or screen you from the neighbor’s junky yard in no time at all. In just weeks, this energetic vine can grow to 8 feet! Just provide a trellis or large shrub for it to climb on to keep it from spilling along the ground.
What’s more is that morning glory reseeds well. This is one characteristic that thrills morning glory fans and causes non-fans to despair. It’s true that in an uncontrolled environment, this plant can get out of hand, spreading where it’s unwanted and choking out other plants. For this reason, many farmers have fought an ongoing battle to keep morning glory vines out of their crops. So do consider your own planting situation before adding morning glories to sensitive areas. Here are my tips and cautions for growing glorious mornings. It may sound like a lot, but please don’t conclude that this lovely vine is hard work. It really isn’t! (And you can always just pop seeds into the ground and see what happens. That’s fun, too.)
- Start seeds indoors or outdoors in late spring. (Either way, you’ll have more success if you soak the seeds in warm water overnight first to soften the hard outer shell.)
- Select your planting site carefully. You’ll need something for the vine to climb on, but make sure it’s in an area where you won’t mind the plant spreading a little. I’ve dedicated one wall of my house for climbing vines. They can mix and mingle there, but I don’t worry about them covering, say, my prized roses. Morning glories prefer full sun (although I’ve grown them in afternoon shade for years), and I haven’t noticed any particular soil preferences.
- Unless you want that “wild” look, train your vines. To keep them on a particular trellis, wrap the tiny tendrils where you want them, and they’ll keep growing upward. (Honestly, if you stand and watch for a few minutes, you can even see them coil around things and grow right before your eyes!)
- When morning glories begin to go to seed in late summer, you have a decision to make (especially your first year): To seed or not to seed? That is the question. Here are your options:
If you let them go to seed: Hundreds of paper-shell pods, about the size of peas, will begin to appear. Inside each pod are 3-6 black seeds. Over time, these pods will split open and drop literally thousands of seeds onto the ground. This guarantees you a repeat performance of morning glories for next year. The seeds will travel somewhat, so don’t be surprised to see sprouts show up in nearby beds. The heart-shaped leaves are so easily identifiable, though, that it’s easy to cull them as you spot them growing.
If you let the vines grow at will, you’ll get thick masses that begin to choke each other out, so thin them throughout the summer. (Another unexpected advantage to leaving the yellowing vines alone is that many insects, toads and an occasional bird will overwinter underneath their cover – adding a bit of interest as winter hits.)
If you (try to) prevent reseeding: Cut down your morning glories at the first signs of pods forming in late summer. Within a short time, your vines will begin to die anyway, and the flowering season will be over. If some seeds do make it to the ground, just cull them as soon as you seem them growing in spring.
Just by giving a little forethought to where you plant it, you’ll find this vine to be a simple – and beautiful – garden pleasure. Morning glories are truly the plant that keeps on giving! They grow quickly, reseed easily and produce an abundance of flowers for months. So enjoy your mornings – the glorious way!
