I have some morning glory of the heavenly blue variety climbing up a
small trellis and they produce around 50 very beautiful flowers each
day at the moment.

The problem is that they are all concentrated near the top of the
trellis. What could I do next year to make them flower lower down?
Will cutting off the growing shoots make them branch out and flower
lower?

Is there a good plant that I could combine with morning glory to
complement the display?

TIA

Mr F.

And could you tell me how best to get Morning Glory to grow? When do you
plant? Do you plant direct if via pots? I have a few small plants this
year but I've never managed such a display as yours. This despite bindweed
growing in my garden like ...

Cheers,
Paul DS.

[Scotia]

Originally Posted by Mr Fizzion

The problem is that they are all concentrated near the top of the
trellis. What could I do next year to make them flower lower down?
Will cutting off the growing shoots make them branch out and flower
lower?

Is there a good plant that I could combine with morning glory to
complement the display?

TIA

Mr F.

My guess it is a 'light thing' or should I say lack of it.

I have had the same problem in the past and relocation is the best answer.

Having said that I have had some success growing them through Clematis, Honeysuckle(Lonicera) and Ivy (Hedera)

I hope this info' helps you in future.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 16:43:01 +0100, "Paul D.Smith"
wrote:

And could you tell me how best to get Morning Glory to grow? When do you
plant? Do you plant direct if via pots? I have a few small plants this
year but I've never managed such a display as yours. This despite bindweed
growing in my garden like ...

Cheers,
Paul DS.


I failed a few times to get them to grow outside this year and I think
it is due to planting them out too early...they hate low temperatures
and the young plants are destroyed by strong rain, winds, slugs and
snails. If I remember correctly, the ones that finally grew outside
were in pots indoors until early to mid June. They were quite tangled
up and I spent half an hour untangling them before planting them out.
They don't seem to need a huge amount of sunlight - mine only get
direct sun for 2-3 hours per day.

I have a few more plants growing in a long trough outside on table.
These hang down and are pretty successful. Again, not put outside
until early June. I left them on the table because it's harder for the
slugs to get them there!

I live on the south coast, which may be a bit warmer than northern
scotland...not sure where you are :-)

Mr F.

Confused? That was my alias.

Mr F.

In article , Mr Fizzion
writes
I have some morning glory of the heavenly blue variety climbing up a
small trellis and they produce around 50 very beautiful flowers each
day at the moment.

The problem is that they are all concentrated near the top of the
trellis.

Yes, that's the point of a climbing plant - it climbs to get free of the
vegetation that would otherwise crowd it out, and when it reaches the
top, it flowers.

What could I do next year to make them flower lower down?

Don't grow them on the trellis. Use a lower support. They'll flower once
they start moving horizontally rather than vertically.


Will cutting off the growing shoots make them branch out and flower
lower?

No.

Is there a good plant that I could combine with morning glory to
complement the display?

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On 5/9/05 13:55, in article , "Mr
Fizzion" wrote:

I have some morning glory of the heavenly blue variety climbing up a
small trellis and they produce around 50 very beautiful flowers each
day at the moment.

The problem is that they are all concentrated near the top of the
trellis. What could I do next year to make them flower lower down?
Will cutting off the growing shoots make them branch out and flower
lower?

Grow them along a lower horizontal support - like you sometimes see Wisteria
growing along e.g. the hand rails of a bridge.

Is there a good plant that I could combine with morning glory to
complement the display?

I've never tried it but what about Golden Hop? It might 'eat' the Ipomoea,
though. Worth an experiment because it could look stunning.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Thanks for the tips. I'm just north of London and slug damage is a big
factor in my garden. I've tried growing them in pots and they germinate
fine but then never really grow well. Do you keep them in lots of light, in
shade, any particular potting compost etc?

This year I have 3 which have survived and flowered but that's a very good
year for me. It's irritating because other people complain about what a
"weed" they can be ;-). My in-laws line in Minneapolis (US mid-west) and
Morning Glories grow there like bindweed does over here so they're always
amused with my failure to get good plants!

Cheers,
Paul DS.

In article ,
"Paul D.Smith" writes:
|
| Thanks for the tips. I'm just north of London and slug damage is a big
| factor in my garden. I've tried growing them in pots and they germinate
| fine but then never really grow well. Do you keep them in lots of light, in
| shade, any particular potting compost etc?

Lots of light. They don't grow well in our dim and cold summers,
and aren't keen on drought when growing, either :-( There is
little point in planting them out before June, or perhaps mid-May
in the hottest parts of the country.

| This year I have 3 which have survived and flowered but that's a very good
| year for me. It's irritating because other people complain about what a
| "weed" they can be ;-). My in-laws line in Minneapolis (US mid-west) and
| Morning Glories grow there like bindweed does over here so they're always
| amused with my failure to get good plants!

Yeah, well. What do you expect from people who live in the deep
south?

Seriously. We are too far north and do not have warm enough
summers to grow even such easy tropical weeds successfully.
I have exactly the same experience as you - last year, I got
a lot to grow, but they didn't start to flower properly until
August. This year has been too bloody cold.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

Lots of light. They don't grow well in our dim and cold summers,
and aren't keen on drought when growing, either :-( There is
little point in planting them out before June, or perhaps mid-May
in the hottest parts of the country.
do not have warm enough
summers to grow even such easy tropical weeds successfully.
I have exactly the same experience as you - last year, I got
a lot to grow, but they didn't start to flower properly until
August. This year has been too bloody cold.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


Nick I would have said the same as mine are quite small flowers but they
do climb about 20 foot up the front of my house in the summer. They
suffer incredibly with spider mite and most types have a lot of small
flowers though the ones I am discouraging this year, having untangled
them from the double crimson ones, was a blue streaked white one, very
wishy washy and looked like bindweed anyway
However yesterday I went to Rosemary Browns garden near Aylesbury (she
opens to the public but is more interested in cuttings and seeds than
the actual garden design) She has several Ipmoeas in smallish pots which
have HUGE flowers of intense blue, (not the dark blue) and they have
loads of flowers.
She grows lots of plants and has her front garden filled with row upon
row of stuff that people "in the know" come to buy but her secret seems
to be just REGULAR watering, multipurpose compost and a REGULAR feeding
of water soluble feed such a Phostregen.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 6/9/05 10:02, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

snip

Seriously. We are too far north and do not have warm enough
summers to grow even such easy tropical weeds successfully.
I have exactly the same experience as you - last year, I got
a lot to grow, but they didn't start to flower properly until
August. This year has been too bloody cold.

We start ours off in nice-looking pots under glass and then move them
outside around July. Ray did a couple to go over an arch for a charity
flower festival we had here and they looked marvellous. Those are now
either side of the first arch of the Laburnum path. The ones he's trained
up strings in the big greenhouse are flowering beautifully, too and are nice
strong plants. But we have had some very hot weather lately and I think it's
made a big difference.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article ,
Janet Tweedy writes:
|
| She grows lots of plants and has her front garden filled with row upon
| row of stuff that people "in the know" come to buy but her secret seems
| to be just REGULAR watering, multipurpose compost and a REGULAR feeding
| of water soluble feed such a Phostregen.

Yes. I am not greatly into that regularity thing ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Paul
D.Smith writes
Thanks for the tips. I'm just north of London and slug damage is a big
factor in my garden.

I have the same, and don't control them (don't want to use pesticides
because of amphibians, and don't fancy all the gruesome methods used by
others)

I've tried growing them in pots and they germinate
fine but then never really grow well. Do you keep them in lots of light, in
shade, any particular potting compost etc?

I grow them in pots in the greenhouse (slug free environment) till a
couple of feet tall - after that, they are fine outside and free from
slug damage. They do fine in pots. They seem to like light and lots of
heat to get going (I'm near Leeds so my definition of lots of heat may
vary from yours). Watch out for aphids and red spider when young - it's
worth controlling both since they can take a lot out of the plant.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
Janet Tweedy writes:
|
| She grows lots of plants and has her front garden filled with row upon
| row of stuff that people "in the know" come to buy but her secret seems
| to be just REGULAR watering, multipurpose compost and a REGULAR feeding
| of water soluble feed such a Phostregen.

Yes. I am not greatly into that regularity thing ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


Nor me I'm afraid
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk