drhorticulture Ottawa does get -30C more often in late January and early February but some years the lowest is -25C. However, the summers are better than some other zone 5 locations, growing season from mid-May to end of September.

boy you have been a busy little poster.. lol .. again.. none of these EVER need fertilization .... so dont waste any further money in that regard .. if you are concerned with the pH ... have a soil test done ... which might be hard now that you amended the beegeebees out of the soil ... and find out EXACTLY what your pH is.. and then act accordingly ... PROPER watering is imperative.. i think i covered that in one of your other posts ... good luck ken

I'm not in zone 5, but I had one in zone 7 for many years. It's supposed to be remontant, but mine never was. It was a once bloomer that only bloomed on old growth. My canes would survive the winter with no problems, so I would get a huge display every June for a week or longer, depending on the weather and then nothing after that. My advice is to dig it up and replace with something more cane hardy or something that blooms on new growth. Your only other option is to find a way to insulate the canes. Maybe wrap them in burlap or bend them closer to the ground so they're covered in snow. That would be too much work for me.

sdpa - Sara - The answers that you receive from different members may vary based upon theior personal experience... Copy and paste the url/addresses that are not automatically hyperlinked into your browser to see the pages... Here is what I have to share in answer to your questions... "1. If I put chicken wire / mesh around my downspout can I train the MG to grow up the downspout? The MG's will climb it but if it is the slippery aluminum the chicken wire will definitely help "2. Can the seeds be winter sown? Or, am I better off starting them indoors in the spring?" Most people sow in the Springtime after the ground has warmed up a bit but starting them indoors early will usually give you larger plants than if you wait until the weather is warm enough to direct sow outdoors... If you wanted to spring for a heated mini-greenhouse and overhead light setup that would be ideal Small electric greenhouse http://www.burpee.com/product/seed+starting/small+electric+greenhouse+-+1+greenhouse.do Park table top flourescent overhead light 24" with stand http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=6879&PrevMainPage=textsearchresults&scChannel=Text%20Search&SearchText=light&OfferCode=TH1 Park 48-inch Folding 48" flourescent Light Set http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=6809&PrevMainPage=textsearchresults&scChannel=Text%20Search&SearchText=light&OfferCode=TH1 "3. Where is a good place to get MG seeds? I love the color of Scarlet O'Hara and also Mt. Fuji Mix." The Real OLd Fashioned Scarlett O'Hara with solid throat and/or tube is very(!) difficult to find and despite what any merchants advertisements claim...you will most likely get a bloom that looks most like Wine & Roses with a white throat... Wine & Roses http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/126682/ The Mt.Fuji is one of the youjiro types which are an an interspecific hybrid of Ipomoea nil and Ipomoea purpurea... I'd recommend the Maisugata http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/106236/ Chiaki http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/137871/ Yaguruma http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57867/ and Sayaka http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114631/ youjiro because although the flowers tend to be a bit smaller than the Mt.Fuji series these youjiro have more I.purpurea in them and tend to grow longer,faster and produce more blooms... Ebay has alot of merchants offering various Morning Glories although the accuracy of the descriptions will vary with the knowledge and dependability of the merchants... I can recommend the following merchants as both knowledgeable and reliable.. jmglvr http://myworld.ebay.com.sg/jmglvr/ gwgerris2 http://cgi.ebay.com/Xiongs-Fabulous-CHINESE-MORNING-GLORY-seeds_W0QQitemZ170152100048QQihZ007QQcategoryZ75624QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem "4. I like the idea of growing them in a pot (like Filix does). What size pot/bucket do I need?" I've grown full sized MG's in containers as small as 4"x 4" but larger containers of about 1/2 to 1 gallon will produce better results...IMHO... "5. What else shoud I know that I have not asked?" Join the MG forum at Daves and find out as there is always more to learn about this Family of plants... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/floramanana/all/ "6. Can I put a potted MG at the base of my hedge and have the MG grow throughtout the shrub? We have a lilac hedge between our house and our neighbor - it's pretty when the lilas bloom and then a nice green throughout the summer in to fall - wouldn't a MG look great on it!!!!??!!" If there is enough getting through the lilac to provide for the MG's...you can try some MG's in containers at the base of the plant and in hanging conytainers at various location on the lilac...make sure you have a water resevoir on the bottom of the containers as they may dry out quicly and need to be watered frequently... Some links where I shared on the nutrient aspect of Morning Glories... http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg080802299604.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg0522311832703.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg0820082610882.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg071108225028.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg04092751814.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg0523321916949.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vines/msg0317360012541.html?9 Hope that helps... TTY,... Ron Here is a link that might be useful: Morning Glories and fertilizer...myths and reality...