I have been fighting this purple morning glory for years, pretty sure it is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_indica. I thought it was beautiful when I first saw it too. It has choked out all my other climbing vines, passiflora, jasmine, honeysuckle, strangled fruit trees, completely obscured climbing roses, etc, etc. I spend at least half my time in the garden pulling it, it comes up in long ropes. It has taken over much of our block in, yes, San Francisco. It climbed in the space between my house and my neighbor's, and actually made it's way through the walls and started growing in the basement! My neighbor recently had her roof fixed, and the roofer said it was covering both roofs, he was kind enough to pull them off of her roof and our roof, where it was growing on top of the solar panels. This stuff is serious, and much more pernicious than the delicate blue morning glory. I have not used pesticides in my yard, so maybe I'll try the pulling the leaves technique, although there are a TON of leaves. Has this method worked for anyone else? I was thinking of trying to make a biodynamic solution out of the rotted plant, so I may try that in conjunction with something else. I think my neighbor is ready for the pesticides... This is a different plant than the much milder bindweed. If you are in a place without frost, be very careful about growing this weed. I will try to post some pictures soon, was going to do a whole blog post about it because this is one weed I don't want anywhere near my compost. OK, I'm calming down... now... Here is a link that might be useful: The Lazy Composter

Oh, thank you, Sandy, for the ID. I will label him properly. Won't he be a beautiful butterfly! I 'think' this is what the little cats are eating: Veronica repens Sunshine Golden Creeping Speedwell I didn't purchase it so I'm guessing. A local garden center gave me some little pots they were throwing away and some still had growing medium in them, along with what appeared to be dead plants. This one was a Steppables or Walkables plant and it just began to grow. I stuck it down in the garden and it continued to grow. It makes such a bright spot of color as it creeps over the top of the soil. Information on-line says the Buckeye/Junonia coenia cats will also eat these plants that I have growing: cudweed Mexican Petunia Ruellia brittoniana cracker Russelia equisetiformis Butterfly Bush Buddleia davidii (says not as favored but will use as host) Mary

Thanks true-blue! I've been refraining from watering them lately. Unfortunately much of my patio gets watered each night by the sprinkler system. I think they're over-potted for the soil mix they're in, besides the limited sun. I think if i wanted to plant them directly into pots that large, it might have been wiser to start with a soil-less mix (at least that's what I've been picking up in the container gardening forums). But who knows? I can't undo what I've done so far, so for now I'm doing exactly as you suggested: I'm only watering them when they've completely dried out, and I'm giving them as much time as they want to get going. The only thing I might try beyond this is getting some sort of wick (even just a thin length of rolled-up paper towel) in through the drainage holes to help pull out more moisture. In the mean time I'm also hedging my bets. I've started germinating a couple new seeds at a time, and getting them going under artificial light indoors. If they get a really healthy start indoors, I hope to be able to acclimate them to the outdoor conditions later down the line. Originally my goal was a moderately lush border for my patio, but even if my morning glories become healthy, I don't have huge confidence they'll grow to be that lush. I've been thinking about what I might do further down the line, and I think I might try to focus on growing them in smaller pots the way you see in Japanese flower shows, and bordering my patio with another plant. In any case, thank you kindly for your encouragement, I definitely appreciate it! For me it seems like waiting is going to be the hardest part of gardening. Cheers, Nik

all of us gardeners have been enticed by the gorgeous photos of morning glories rambling and cascading off of fences and trellises,myself included.as beautiful as they are,some varieties are more problematic then others."grandpa ott" is the all time winner in terms of invasiveness.i'm still plucking seedlings every spring 4 years hence.though i grew "flying saucers"to great effect,but never saw it the following year.i suspect some are more prolific seeders than others."ott"seeds remain viable FOREVER.you just have to keep on plucking...they sprout up in september,many feet away from where i planted them years before.lesson learned:i am very careful what i plant now.i suspect i'll be seeing grandpa ott again this spring.if the area in question is not cultivated,a layer of black plastic or weed guard clothe can be set upon the area with a layer of mulch.holes can be made to accomodate a planting of your desire,however,those pesky mg's will find these holes,so be diligent about weeding them every day or so.good luck