MG are taking over the garden.. growing green like there is no tomorrow... self sown seedlings... very sporadic bloom.. but coming on.. seems late to me ...

first try with moonflower.... and under-impressed ... same as above...

ken

I've seen very nice displays of morning glory in other people's gardens. In September. That's when they bloom here.

The one time I grew moonflowers in the ground in this zone, they were just starting to bloom when autumn frost arrived and froze them. I did get to enjoy a few flowers, but only one or two at a time. I had several vines which covered probably a 5' x 7' area of wooden fence and spilled down the other side. Another year I tried starting the vines in early March. Our last frost date is the end of May. I wanted them that badly. I sowed seeds into a large hanging basket, kept two seedlings, and wound the vines round and round as they grew. I got two indoor blooms in early May. And then no more flowers. The vines did not set buds again until just before frost. The frost came before the buds opened.

As far as I can determine, moonflowers are daylight-sensitive and only want to bloom in those months they cannot survive outdoors here. I haven't grown them since. Our frost-free growing season is about 140 days and I want to spend those days on something that rewards my care. If someone has grown them successfully in a short-season area, please share some tips!

I'm in zone 5b (Central Ontario). Last year after the hot, hot, dry summer, I had wonderful moonflowers blooming all of August and into September. They were started indoors, in March.

They want tropical conditions (heat and humidity). I can't do anything about the heat, except maybe cucumber frames or composted manure, but I watered them daily during the drought, and gave them frequent feedings. Absolutely gorgeous.

No blooms or even flower buds yet this year, and the weather has really cooled off, so I'm not holding out much hope. Sadness.

This post was edited by Mafalda on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 10:19

I have lots of moonflower foliage but only 2 flower buds that I've noticed - one I missed in flower, and the other one will probably open today or tomorrow. So, yea - disappointing. But the foliage is nice on the trellis, I suppose for that alone it's worth growing. This is the first year I've grown moonflower BTW, and bought a plant - I didn't start from seed.

Thanks for all the inputs folks. If you started March, you're 80+ days ahead of me. I started mine from seed I think last week of May. That could explain why it hasn't bloomed yet. I guess I should do similar next time.

I agree mxk3, the foliage is nice. For next year, I will just plant hyacinth bean vine. It's flowering right now. I see more flower buds too.

What will I do next time which I think will make growing annual vine better?

1. I might buy a deeper pot. The width was fine but the depth was only 12 inches only.

2. I will put 4 hyacinth bean vine seeds per pot. I'm not sure if I should try MG again but the branch and foliage colors of the hyacinth is beautiful.

3. I will put all pots together on full sun location until plant is 6 inches long. I noticed they came out at different times.

Mine aren't blooming yet, either. It's been a weird weather year.

@ v1rtu0s1ty

I can't take credit for starting mine so early - my Father did that and gave some to me. He's in zone 5a (near Ottawa), and even with the early start, has had no luck with the moonflower there.

..... and here's another fact that I'm worried of.

My Stella d' Oro shut down its blooming about 3 weeks ago. For years, it still blooms heavily in August.

@ v1rtu0s1ty

Time to divide them?

Here is a link that might be useful: Dividing daylilies

Oh and another thing I noticed yesterday, my oficinalis hasn't flowered yet!

Sorry, I should think before posting. I also forgot that I only saw 4 or 5 japanese beetles. That is so weird and alarming!

I'm sure last year's drought was hard on the Japanese Beetles, just like everything else. I must say I enjoyed not having them around.

Martha

My volunteer Knoilas Black has been blooming for two weeks. Haven't grown moonflower as hear that it often dies from frost before blooming in our area.

Actually, I grew moonflower 3 years ago. My memory tells me it bloomed around September but it only had 3 blooms. And as far as location is concerned, it was in east side. It grew about 10 feet but skinny. My new moonflower now is very healthy but haven't seen any blooms. We will find out.

For morning glory, it's my first time planting it. It's very healthy too but no flowers yet. I'm sure my neighbors are wondering why everyday I'm looking at the same vine. LOL! :D

Actually, I grew moonflower 3 years ago. My memory tells me it bloomed around September but it only had 3 blooms. And as far as location is concerned, it was in east side. It grew about 10 feet but skinny. My new moonflower now is very healthy but haven't seen any blooms. We will find out.

For morning glory, it's my first time planting it. It's very healthy too but no flowers yet. I'm sure my neighbors are wondering why everyday I'm looking at the same vine. LOL! :D

This is a link to a catalog that has a 45 day to bloom morning glory.
As far as I know, other morning glories require twice as long to bloom from seed. It works in Z4 at a friend's farm in Maine.

Here is a link that might be useful: early blooming morning glory

My heavenly blue morning glories, both in the ground and in the big pots, are running about a month to 6 weeks behind on their flowering for me, compared to last summer. I can only put it down to the crazy temperatures we've had this summer around Washington DC since the ones in the grounds are volunteers from last summer's plants and the ones in the pots are fresh seed.

Gardening, always a surprise. Or maybe it is an NSA conspiracy!