We are a bit more in your face here. We give advice on a regular basis!
It will probably be a few more weeks before they begin blooming and will bloom until your first frost. Once they cover what ever they are growing on, you won't be able to keep up with picking the seed pods off the vines. No matter what I do, I still have hundreds come up each time it rains. It is easy enough for me to pull up seedlings. I said that once before and some one laughed. Maybe cooler climates grow more seedlings.
To me that are worth all the trouble. I have one that is a blue edged in white. It is gorgeous!

Blue Blizzard MG

{{gwi:711833}}

The rabbits are keeping my morning glories sprouts thinned out for me. Morning glory vines often begin to bloom, when they are still quite small. In my hot climate, I find that I need to water morning glories often, if they are in full sun. I find it pretty much impossible to deadhead morning glories because they have so many blooms.
The flowers are very vibrant, I'm sure you'll really enjoy them.
Lorna

You have to be careful where you put them. I had them on a fence behind a flower bed....they took over the world! They are beautiful but covered everything in sight. I am still pulling up seedlings and that was two years ago.

In that last photo they are covering my clematis paniculata and it almost didn't survive.

Hi Carol, if I can get my mgs past the slug stage they start blooming in Aug, I'm on the coast so the cooler temps make a big difference in their behaviour. I would love to have them reseed themselves but they never do here, M

Mine self seed every year and just go crazy. I don't do anything but water them and mine last until the frost gets them in the fall. I do not have blooms quite yet but should in the next few days.

I get so much enjoyment out of them and look forward to seeing them every morning.

My boy enjoys them too!

Dawn

I love MGs too. I water since we tend to be a bit dry sometimes. MGs do not like much in the way of fertilizer. If they get too much, they grow leaves, not blooms.

Mine reseed abundantly, but I get out in early spring and give 'em a quick schawush with my scuffle hoe or regular hoe, except where I want them to grow. Gotta love something so easy to care for.

My favorites are the purples, but I appreciate the pretty pink one some birdie planted near my back porch. We give it a string to climb on up the post. Lovely. I have a photo somewhere of a foot wide column of pink blooms and green foliage from concrete to porch over hang.

MGs are a bit prone to spider mites. I blast them with water and it helps. As long as there is one or two seeds, you'll have MGs forever.

Here's a question, I'm growing them for the first time as well... how many plant should I use to cover space. How far apart should they be planted... how much spread can I expect?

Kim

I put one plant in each of the window boxes on the pool wall. There is pavement beneath so there will not be any reseeding there but of the birds carry them then....mine are in full bloom already but they are not liking this horrible dry heat. Wateringg 2x a day is needed. I will post a pic when they look really full. c

Music, you don't have to worry about morning glories crowding. You can trim ends to encourage them to grow in another direction to fill in gaps. If you want full coverage, I would plant them 5-6 inches apart. Mine self-seed and crowd together, which creates a virtual wall of morning glories.
Lorna

Actually, I was HOPING mine would reseed but they never did. Maybe my layer of mulch was too thick??

Either way, they will spread and ramble wherever they're allowed and you will LOVE them. Give them a couple weeks and hopefully you will see some blooms.

Tracy

Tracy, did your seed pods land on top of the mulch? Or, did you mulch after the seeds were already on the ground? My seeds land on top of sandy soil. Watering makes the sandy soil shift, so I suppose the seeds get buried slightly. Small seeds only need to be stepped lightly into soil, rather than actually planted. So it could be that the mulch interfered since it is really thick, and if it is on top of the seeds.
Lorna

I used to grow mine as annuals- then one year I planted some at my dad's house and they came back with a vengance. I was thrilled and took some and planted them at my house! and it worked.. Now i am cursing the day I planted them- mostly because it was not a good spot.. they are invasive !!
LOL

anyway- it seems in our zone, some take and some don't? But when they do- look out! I wish they didnt because they were easy enough to grow as annuals each year!

Good luck! choose the spot wisely! ha

my advice...run!!!!! You may wake one morning and the tendrils may be holding you hostage and there may be hundreds of new babies awaiting to take over your life... :)

Seriously, they are beautiful. I do love that about them. But invasive in my area is a understatement. Never again at my house. I hope you have better luck.

I used to grow Heavenly Blue which is absolutely stunning. Due to a combination of hard clay and heavy mulch, they never reseeded for me - beginner's luck in my case.

Are some MG more likely to be invasive than others?

I remember a patch on a fence in my dad's northern Indiana yard when I was a kid, but I don't think it ever got out of control. I tried growing Heavenly Blues last summer here in south Louisiana and only had a few flowers. No sign of reseeding, so I planted more this year. Now I see a few vines, but still no flowers.

Morning glories can be very invasive, depending upon conditions. They don't like hot, full sun. They need a fair amount of water. I only have one area here in my mostly SUNNY yard where they can grow (with some help from me--water).

In Berkeley I had problems with neighbors growing morning glories on fences. The vines came over the fences and TOOK OVER in shady areas of my yard. I had to chop them back every 3-4 weeks, because they grew so fast. If I didn't keep them cut back, they would grow into my windows. I cussed those neighbors, under my breath, all of the time!

Lorna

tngardengirl,

just beautiful. Are those Heavenly Blue MGS?

Mary

Boy oh Boy!!You guys rock! Such exuberance & knowledge..what a wonderful combo. I had planted the MG's in a couple flower pots & put them out in the garden to climb(I hope) some structures. But I made a big boo boo it seems Happyintexas, because I fertilized them before I read this thread. Arghhhh! Hope I get some blooms & not all leaves. Oh well live & learn.

Nativetexan, this forum is welcome to "get in my face" any time it wants. I just love all the helpful enthusiasm.

Thanks everyone.

Carol