MORNING GLORY

a vine story

I'm loyal to plants that love me.   Easy to grow plants rewarded my desperate gardening efforts.  From the beginning, morning glory 'Grandpa Ott' was a champion.  I sowed the seeds in a hanging basket believing the vines would grow downward, blooming in a cascade.  Instead the vines coiled around themselves like a Gordian knot.  A silly idea compounded by the hassle of watering a hanging basket.  

New plan:  transplant vines and use a chain link fence as a trellis.  Morning glory happily, vigorously covered the fence.  

The sometimes polarizing vine twined in the garden every year.

HEAVENLY BLUE

coincidence or woo woo

Not long after giving 'Grandpa Ott' morning glory permanent residence, 'Heavenly Blue' caught my eye.  I fantasized about a stunning June hydrangeas (in their blue phase) and 'Heavenly Blue' combo.  Dreamy and cloyingly fanciful.  For reasons I don't remember, I never ordered the seeds.  Whenever I went to a garden center or nursery, I didn't search for 'Heavenly Blue.'

Then something happened.  One spring, a real estate agent put a home listing in the mailbox.  Stapled to the agent's card was a packet of 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory seeds.  Whaaaat?!  Coincidence or a manifestation of my thoughts?  Didn't matter (though manifestation fits the flower's name).  I got my coveted seeds.  Finally.

Sadly, the sky blue morning glory/blue hydrangea wedding was canceled.  'Heavenly Blue', to my surprise, never bloomed in June.  By the time it began to do it's thing, hydrangeas faded to pale green before turning burgundy.  Burgundy and sky blue?  An eccentric pairing.  I didn't hate it.  But didn't love it.

Sky blue's a color most associate with spring or early summer.  I do.  Yet 'Heavenly Blue' shined in October when typical colors are burgundy, golden yellow, orange and red.  Nature's ways are beyond me.

Top left:  Backlit 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory lives up to its name.  The translucent sky blue and October morning light create an ethereal picture.  Along with the mystical glow inside the flower's trumpet.  Perhaps there's more inside than pollen.  Top right:  The elegant side view with buds. 

Bottom left:  Check the fine form of an unfurling flower.  A perfect model for a beaux arts lamp.  Bottom center:  The bud's divine origami unfolds to reveal an almost perfect circle embossed with a five pointed star.   Bottom right:   An emerging flower looks like an attempt to close a broken umbrella.  This photo, and the others in the group, show how light varies the blue's quality.

OF FLOWERS & FOLIAGE

heart shaped leaf lover

I'm partial to morning glory leaves as I'm partial to anything heart shaped.  In girlhood, I collected and hoarded heart stickers.  I wear heart pendants and bracelets.   And I adore a heart shaped leaf.  

Morning glory is a worthy foliage plant; leaves are disease and pest resistant.  Though not all morning glory leaves are heart shaped.  That's good for a greedy gardener with limited space.  How do I whittle my morning glory selection?  MUST HAVE HEART SHAPED LEAVES.

GROWING MORNING GLORY VINE

Morning glory is unfussy about soil conditions; it thrived in my garden's poorest soil.  Rich soil  produces lush foliage and fewer, smaller flowers.  I didn't feed the plants and only watered during dry spells.  Short droughts wilts leaves and slows flowering.  But vines rejuvenate after a good rain.  The vine endures environmental stresses yet remains  pest and disease free.  One extremely hot and dry summer, some vines suffered spider mite damage.  That too was resolved after a good rain.

As the name implies morning glory heralds and relishes the morning sun.  It's best planted on an eastern exposure with protection from afternoon sun.  Intense sunlight and heat wilts the leaves.  Plant in partial shade on a western or southern exposure.  Avoid planting on a southern exposure in zone 7a.

Morning glory self sows.  Some despise that.  I welcomed it.  One less seed to sow.  I left seedlings in place or transplanted them elsewhere.  Transplanting seedlings slows growth; sow them where you'll grow them.  Identify seedlings early by the wing shaped seed leaves.  Seedling and mature vines aren't deep rooted and easily pull up.  To minimize self seeding, I removed vines when they developed more seed pods than flower buds.  Of course, I always saved some seeds I let dry on the vine.

Grow morning glory on its own dedicated structure — trellis, arch, railing or chain link fence.  It overwhelms any plant it manages to grab.  I've warned you.

I've grown morning glory as a groundcover.   Watch it closely if you do this.  A delicate or not so delicate plant rapidly disappears under morning glory's twining habit.

Be aware: morning glory is poisonous to dogs and cats.

MORNING GLORY IS A CUT FLOWER...

says no one

But you do see morning glories in 16th century oil paintings' eerily abundant flower arrangements.  Take those painted vases crammed with daffodils, tulips, peonies, roses, irises, sunflowers, hollyhocks and other flowers you'll never see growing in the same season as botanical fantasies.  Or ostentatious displays of wealth.

If a flower's life span in nature is roughly six hours, lasting one hour in a vase is miraculous.  Morning glory disappoints flower arrangers.

As an amateur photographer who feared camera settings, capturing some colors was difficult.  Blues, purples and violet in particular.  None of my outdoor photos showed the violet brilliance of 'Grandpa Ott' or the intensity of 'Heavenly Blue'.  The auto setting was more forgiving indoors.

Have your camera and setup ready before cutting morning glories for photographs.  The flowers close and wilt in a flash.

Why Grow Morning Glory Vine (Grandpa Ott and Heavenly Blue)?

• quick seed germination

• easy to collect the seeds

• needs no coddling to thrive

• delicate, jewel colored flowers

• blooms when most flowers start winding down in Zone 7a

• blooms until the first frost

• attracts pollinating and beneficial insects

• fast growing vine covers an unattractive structure such as old chain link fences

• disease resistant and drought tolerant