Planting and caring for perennial morning glory, varieties and rules for growing in open ground

Ipomoea annual (perennial) is used to decorate summer cottages. Planting and caring for this plant does not require much attention. Morning glory dies in winter. It is advisable to grow this beautiful flowering crop in seedlings. Having sowed the seeds in April-March, already in the middle of summer you can admire the lush flowering carpet.

Description

Ipomoea perennial (from the Latin ipomoea) is a climbing flower vine from the Convolvulaceae family. Originally from South America and Africa. Grows in tropical and subtropical forests. Some varieties of morning glory are shrubs or small trees. There are more than 450 species.

The climbing plant is very popular among gardeners. After all, its fast-growing vines, strewn with bright fragrant flowers, create long-awaited shade in the summer. Used to decorate the landscape, as a hanging plant, grown in hanging pots. Commonly called bindweed.

The name translated from Greek means “worm-like.” True, we are not talking about the stems, but about the structural features of the root system. Morning glory can be annual or perennial. The climbing stem of this plant sometimes reaches 3-8 meters in length. The leaves are greenish, heart-shaped, with a pointed tip, or openwork, strongly dissected.

The flower is funnel-shaped. The corolla consists of petals fused together. Its diameter reaches 5-20 centimeters. The buds open in the morning in sunny weather. On cloudy days and at night they curl up. Flowers can be simple or double. Flower petals can be white, pinkish, red, purple, yellowish, blue. Color - plain or variegated.

Flowers appear in June-July. They are pollinated by insects or wind, after which black seeds appear in closed boxes.Morning glory can bloom before the onset of cold weather. This is not a frost-resistant crop; it does not tolerate cold and dies quickly in winter.

Peculiarities

In many regions of Russia with severe snowy winters, only annual morning glory is grown. This climbing plant blooms well and abundantly from July until the first autumn frosts. Morning glory flowers bloom quickly in the morning, and fade in the evening. True, long-term lush flowering is achieved due to constantly renewed flowers. Flowering is remontant and continuous.

This is a completely unpretentious, but poisonous culture. Propagated by seeds. Morning glory is sown in open soil only in May. For seedlings - at the end of April. From the moment of sowing to the appearance of flowers, it takes about 2-3 months. If bindweed does not bloom for a long time, it means that it is not being cared for correctly. In this case, you need to reduce the amount of fertilizing.

Morning glory is too sensitive to direct sunlight. Prefers diffused lighting. In northern latitudes it can only be grown in greenhouses.

Types and varieties

About 25 species of morning glory are grown in gardening. Usually the following varieties are planted in summer cottages: Purple, Tricolor, Sweet Potato, Nile, Kvamoklit. Ipomoea Cairo, Moonflower, and Palmate are very rarely bred.

Purple

Climbing annual. The name in Latin is Ipomoea purpurea. Popular among summer residents. Growing quickly. It has many small flowers and lush green foliage. The stem can reach a length of three meters. One inflorescence can have up to five flowers. The flowers are funnel-shaped, consisting of five fused petals, up to 4.9 centimeters in diameter. They have different colors: blue, pink, purple, red. Popular varieties: Gypsy, Blue Venice, Beauty of Moscow, Crimson Rambler.

Ivy-shaped

An annual crop with a thin, long, curly stem that reaches 2.5-3 meters. The leaves are simple, divided into 3-5 lobes, similar to ivy leaves. The flowers are funnel-shaped, grow on stems one at a time or are collected in inflorescences consisting of 2-3 flowers. The diameter of the flower is 4.95 centimeters. The color of the petals ranges from blue to purple. The most famous variety is Roman Candy.

Nile

Annual, strongly branching liana. Can reach a length of 2.5-3 meters. The flowers of this plant are large and can be 9.5 centimeters in diameter. Painted in pink, blue, reddish, purple. Popular varieties: Pikoti, hybrid Serenade.

Kvamoklit

This is a very beautiful annual. It is also called cypress vine. The stems wrapping around any support can grow up to 3-5 meters. The leaves are green, lacy, reminiscent of a fan. The flowers look like stars. They can be white, pink, reddish. Morning glory blooms from mid-summer to October.

Red

Fast growing crop. During flowering, it resembles a Christmas tree decorated with bright red flowers. The stem reaches 3-5 meters in length. It has lacy, feathery leaves, similar to a fern. The flowers look like red stars, each 2-4 centimeters in diameter.

Admiral

A climbing vine with reddish star-shaped flowers on a green background of dense openwork foliage. Blooms from late July until late autumn.

Bladed

Climbing annual. The stem grows up to 2.5-3 meters in length. The leaves are openwork. The inflorescences are spike-shaped, 19-25 centimeters long, consist of 8-12 flowers, similar to reddish, yellow, white drops.

Twinkling stars

Climbing annual cypress vine. The stem can grow up to 2.5-3 meters. The leaves are feathery and lacy. The flowers look like multi-colored stars (scarlet, white, pink).

Slaughter

A liana growing up to 2-3 meters in length. It has exotic shaped dissected leaves, similar to palm leaves. The flowers are small, red, 2.5 centimeters in diameter. They bloom early in the morning.

Pinnate

A fast growing vine similar to cypress. The leaves are dissected, like those of a fern. The flowers are scarlet and resemble stars.

Sky blue

An annual plant belonging to the Tricolor species. It has large (up to 9.5 centimeters in diameter) sky-blue flowers. The climbing vine can reach 4.2-5 meters in height. The plant is densely covered with heart-shaped greenish leaves. Flowers are arranged in pairs or 3 pieces. They open at sunrise and close in the afternoon.

Moonflower

The stem grows up to 2.5-3 meters in length. The leaves are heart-shaped. White fragrant flowers reach 9.5 centimeters in diameter. Flowering is exclusively nocturnal. With the first rays of the sun, the snow-white flowers close. True, in cloudy weather the flowers may open in the afternoon, towards evening.

Cairo

The stem grows up to 4-5 meters in length. Has carved leaves. The flowers are soft lilac, with a dark center. The diameter of the flowers is 9.2 centimeters. Flowering is abundant. Morning glory looks like a green carpet with delicate purple flowers.

Tricolor

Annual. The stems grow up to 3-5 meters in length. The leaves are greenish, heart-shaped. The flowers reach 8-10 centimeters in diameter. The flowers have a mixture of colors - bluish-pink, with white centers. Varieties: Milky Way, Heavenly Blue, Royal Ensign.

Blue Star

Annual climbing plant. It has strong stems, 2.5-3 meters high. The flowers are funnel-shaped, blue, with blue stripes inside. They open in the morning and close at night and in cloudy weather.

Variegata

A climbing vine with variegated leaves and lilac or lilac-white flowers. The leaves are three-lobed, greenish-white. The stem reaches 1.5-2.5 meters in length.

Growing

Morning glory is a heat-loving plant with a long growing season. It is planted by pre-germinating seedlings or by sowing seeds directly into an open garden bed. Some varieties can be propagated from cuttings. The choice of planting depends on the type of morning glory and the climatic characteristics of the region.

For seedlings

Fast-growing small-flowered annuals (Purple) can be sown directly into the ground. They will have time to bloom by mid-summer. Large-flowered species (Nile) - characterized by slow growth. They bloom later, so it is better to pre-sow such varieties for seedlings. Sowing plants directly into open ground is practiced only in warm climate zones. In conditions of a temperate continental climate, it is advisable to grow morning glory in seedlings.

When to plant

At the end of April, morning glory seeds are sown for seedlings. This crop has a tap root system that does not like transplantation. It is advisable to sow the seeds in separate peat cups.

Preparation of seed material

Before sowing, it is advisable to soak morning glory seeds for 23 hours in warm water. If the seed shell is not wrinkled, it is lightly pierced with a needle (scarified). Then the seeds are soaked again in warm water.

Soil selection

For planting, use a purchased fertilized soil mixture (for succulent crops) or prepare the soil yourself. Mix garden leaf soil with peat and sand, add a little superphosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate and wood ash (5 grams per 1 liter of irrigation liquid).

How to plant

Place 2-3 seeds in each peat tablet to a depth of 1-2 centimeters.Place for germination in a warm place (18 degrees Celsius), cover with film on top. Shoots appear in 8-14 days. During development, seedlings need to be cared for regularly: irrigate the land, organize ten-hour daylight. When the seedlings grow to 16 centimeters, they need to be tied to a support (peg) so that they stretch upward.

Rules for planting seedlings in open ground

The grown young seedlings are planted in a permanent place by the end of May. By this time, the ground should warm up to 10 degrees Celsius, and the weather outside should be warm, fifteen degrees. For morning glory, choose a well-lit and windless place. The plant is transplanted using the transshipment method. Morning glory with an earthen lump or in a peat tablet is buried in a specially dug hole. The land for planting is pre-fertilized with organic matter and superphosphate.

Cuttings

Morning glory is propagated by cuttings. To do this, cut shoots 16-22 centimeters long. Each should have 2 unopened buds. The bottom cut is made at an angle of 45 degrees. The stems without leaves are placed in water and wait for the roots to appear. With the appearance of roots, the cuttings are transplanted into fertilized, slightly acidic, loose soil.

How to care

The transplanted seedlings are tied to a support or trellis and guided. Morning glory should grow in a certain direction: up or around an arc. At the time of growth, it is constantly looked after: watered, fertilized. When the morning glory reaches the desired height, pinch off the top of the main shoot. After this procedure, side shoots grow more actively.

Watering

Immediately after planting, morning glory is watered abundantly. It is necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out and the plant does not suffer from lack of moisture.In hot weather, morning glory is watered 2-3 times a week. 5-10 liters of water are poured under the bush. It is important to ensure that the soil does not become waterlogged or waterlogged, otherwise the morning glory will begin to rot.

Weeding and loosening

The soil around the morning glory needs to be loosened regularly. Remove soil crust. Let the roots breathe. It is advisable to remove weeds so that they do not take away nutrients.

Top dressing

Once every 15-20 days, morning glory is fed. For feeding, use complex fertilizers (for example, for cacti or decorative indoor flowers). During growth, the plant must receive sufficient amounts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Three times per season, 20-35 grams of complex fertilizer diluted in water (5 liters) are added to the soil.

Trimming

During the development process, morning glory shoots need to be shaped, guided, cut off excess or broken branches, and pinch the top in time. Before winter, the stems of heat-loving annuals are completely cut off.

Pest Control

Morning glory is subject to insect attacks. The main enemies of this plant are aphids and spider mites. If the morning glory is not protected from these insects, it may die.

Spider mite

These are tiny red insects that settle on the back side of the leaf. They weave nets on the plant. They feed on the juice of leaves. May cause wilting and slow growth of morning glory. Insecticides (Aktofit, Fitoverm) and spraying with cold water or garlic infusion are used against them.

Aphid

A tiny, soft-bodied, light green insect. It settles on leaves in colonies and feeds on plant sap. May cause yellowing and wilting of foliage. Aphids can be prevented by spraying with soap, garlic solution or insecticides (Iskra, Aktara, Biotlin).

Features of care in winter

Before winter, the stems of annual morning glory are completely cut off, the ground is dug up, and the roots are removed from the soil. The next year, seeds are sown, from which new annuals grow.

Propagation by cuttings

Morning glory can be propagated from cuttings. To do this, you need to cut off the top branches and put them in water. Each one should have several unopened buds. The lower leaves are removed. The branches are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. When the roots appear (usually 5-6 days), the plants are transplanted into the ground.

Diseases and treatment

In cool and rainy weather, morning glory may become sick. The leaves on the plant may turn yellow or dry out. The disease can be triggered by rare or frequent watering, or a lack of nutrients in the soil. Ipomoea will not get sick if you properly care for it and, for preventive purposes, add a sufficient amount of mineral supplements to the soil.

Fungal

Morning glory can be affected by anthracnose, white rust, and various rots. The infection comes from the soil. Morning glory will not get sick if it is treated with a fungicide (Fitosporin, Topaz) and a sufficient amount of mineral supplements is added to the soil.

White swelling

This is a non-infectious disease that most often affects greenhouse crops. Develops with frequent watering and low temperatures. Greenish or yellow-brown bumps and blisters appear on the leaves. Soon the leaves turn yellow and fly off. Morning glory will not hurt if you organize proper care and watering. To increase disease resistance, the crop is regularly (2-3 times per season) fertilized with phosphorus and potassium.

Collection and storage of seeds

Morning glory seeds are collected in the fall (October). After the flower fades, a box with seeds appears. Over the course of several (four) weeks it ripens.The box is cut off when it turns brown and opens slightly. The seeds are poured out and dried. The seeds are stored in a paper bag for 3-4 years.

Combination with other plants

Morning glory is used for vertical gardening. It goes well with nasturtium, climbing rose, and clematis. There should be a distance of 1 meter to the neighboring plant.

Use in landscape design

With the help of morning glory you can decorate the area near the house, balcony, gazebo. The flexible vines of this crop can take any shape. They perfectly braid an arch or fence. With the help of a lush green carpet and bright flowers, you can cover up unsightly places on the facade of buildings. Morning glory looks spectacular in hanging pots.

Answers on questions

Question: is it possible to save until spring the stems with roots dug up in the fall?

Answer: roots and shoots dug out of the ground cannot be preserved until next summer. They will rot. It is advisable to sow seeds for seedlings every year in the spring and grow new plants.