More Morning Glory questions and general viney things questions ;-) I'm in Zone 8a - North Texas, Clay soil. This is my first year trying vines and like all things garden I went full blast. I planted Grandpa Ott MG's first in starter trays - I know the authoritative sources (one web article mercilessly copied and pasted 100 times) all say they don't transplant well but I guess they can't read very well as they are growing like mad. I have several other varieties that I just stuck in the dirt and they are coming up just fine so looking forward to lots of vines soon. I've planted: Morning Glories Moonflower (2 seeds, I soaked them as advised and they appeared to have 'blown up' so I don't know if they will still germinate but only planted a couple days ago. Cardinal Climbers Cypress Vine Cup and Saucer (neat neat neat growth habit) Hyacinth Bean Vine So I am starting to get my first flowers on the grandpa Ott's. One five days ago, 3 the next, 20-30 blooms this morning. BEAUTIFUL. The other stuff is just starting to climb but the MG's 'eat' another 6"of string daily. I have some of each in pots, along a fence, along brick wall and climbing up from hanging baskets on my patio. Questions: 1. I've read that MG's will grow in any soil and that they don't need much fertilizer (too much Nitrogen means lots of vine and leaves and few flowers). They seem to be growing REALLLLY nicely though and flowering just fine after I mulched with a few inches of a pretty rich compost (2/3 finished, aged, homemade compost and 1/3 "moo-Nure" from home Depot which is a little hot out of the bag if used straight. Any of you longtime MG growers care to comment on whether MG's really LIKE crappy soil or if they TOLERATE crappy soil and like everything else do much better in good soil? 2. I found this thread while looking for info on how to get them to spread - it seems like some are throwing off secondary growth tips so I am wondering what is typical??? If I can get them to spread sideways I won't plant as many/close. Using string for support but after reading the above stuff I realized I have poly bird netting in the garage that would be easy to pop up with a few staples. Narrowing the question - right now the vines are mostly one growing tip racing for the sky - will they start throwing off more growing tips I can angle off to the side then up to fill in the gaps? Looking to cover the fence. When they get to the top will they grow back down (trailing)??? 3. On those moonflower seeds, I soaked them overnight and they were swollen and split - still viable or did I blow them up? 4. Anyone else have tips chewed off and do new growing tips emerge pretty fast? Turns out we have roof rats that run along the fence rails and it must be them but boy was I pissed. That 'path' is now spiked with nice sharp nails but rats are resourceful - anyone try hot pepper spray or anything that doesn't bother vines but makes rats unhappy? 5. I have several vines growing out of hanging baskets and they ran straight to the top of our pagoda over the patio... will they spread along the roof or does growth stop when they can't climb? Some of each vine here - MG, Hyacinth, cypress, cardinal climber and cup/saucer. Tips, advice, lessons learned appreciated. Right now I am feeding and watering frequently - don't mind if I get a lot of foliage and few blooms until the patio and fence get covered. Appreciate any advice of the "well if you want vines to go entirely little shop of horrors on you then just...." sort.

That sounds a fine combination. When mature, 'Etoile Violette' is likely to be more vigorous than either rose, so you will need to control it for best effect. Clematis can be trained as well. In rose terms, think of it as a Rambler. New growth from the base each year, train it out horizontally to have it spread across the trellis, tie it in, or at least guide it, up the trellis - you will need to do this every week or so in the growing season. Only use as much as you need - in other words, thin it out. This will not be needed in the first couple of seasons, but as it starts sending more and more shoots from below ground, becomes essential. In early Winter I cut these (viticella/Group Three) types down to about three or four feet and tie them neatly out of the way - many varieties don't look great in the Winter and tend to swamp the roses. Then in February or so, cut them right down - either to about 12 inches or to a bud above the previous years cut. This clears them out of the way so you can prune and train the roses. Some advise to cut them to ground level to promote more growth from below ground. I sometimes do this with half of the stems, but worry about losing all new growth to mice, voles, birds etc, so keep some of the previous growth to bud a little higher. Hope this helps - it sounds like a lot of work, but if you know what to do, when, you can make sure that the end result is as you imagined it. Best wishes Jon

If you do plant it in a pot, I would only do so for one year before putting it in the ground with plenty of bonemeal and composted manure, about 2 cups of each mixed well and placed in the bottom of the whole. Then I would buy another clematis next year to plant with it. Clematis plants become very addicting, In another season or two when it is covered with flowers you will understand and to see a combo of another clematis planted with it or a rosebush, especially a climber is breathtaking. Put them on a trellis or fence or something to climb up. If you do order another one, get it through a much better place like Silver Star Vinery or Chalk Hill. I have dealt with that company too and choose to stay away from their tiny little plants,especially clematis. Look up daves garden on the internet, go to garden watchdog and there you will find ratings and writeups on how these mail order companies due and who to stay away from.

So this project ended up being a lot more difficult than I anticipated. The wood frame of the porch roof was covered by gutters, layers of aluminum and vinyl siding, etc I ended up getting the eye screws in the top and tied the fishing wire to them. Then I tied the other end of the wire to some lawn staples and hammered them into the ground right next to the baby clematis plants. Unfortunately, I only have two eye screws for each column. Not sure where to take it from here but I might just wait and see how the plant grows, then adjust accordingly. I think I'm struggling to see in what way it will develop and grow. I can't thank everyone enough for their wonderful advice. I'm excited to post pictures in a couple months of the progress!