Candle_Tree, I had a strange coincidence happen a few hours ago. I was at a shop looking at gardening magazines on my way home from work, and was curious about one called, "Birds and "Blooms". I dropped it by accident, and when I picked it up it was opened on pg. 28 showing a large picture of MG 'Heavenly Blue' with an inserted picture of the "Moonflower". How very strange! I thought instantly, and that I must send this to Candle_Tree somehow so she will believe me. So I decided to incude my e-mail address in this posting, but saw that you shared yours. I will be in touch this week-end when more time permits, and we can talk outside the forum to our heart's content on the issues we have shared. Also, I do not feel that you should be without any seeds you want (without violating international laws that I will check out). I will get them to you in the appropriate seasons if you wish. After all, we need to cultivate also the "earth goddess" aspect in you as a budding horticulturist. A cultivated variety or cultivar means that humans choose to propagate/multiply a particular plant because it has desirable characteristics (disease-resistance, improved flowers or foliage over the species form, etc). These hybrid traits can occur by nature's cross-pollinating through butterflies, moths, or the wind - or by human nurture and selectivity. I confess that I am not informed fully enough on the pros and cons of genetic engineering with the plant kingdom's food crops, so I have no view. I'm sure that when we manipulate or bypass natural evolution, there can be a lot of consequences and/or rewards to be debated. Hopefully, only the best educated minds on either side of the controversy will be in the spotlight - not the opinionated and ignorant hysterics versus the greedy corporations. A cultivar name has been traditionall written in semi-quotes, such as Impomea ( the genus) tricolor (the species) 'Heavenly Blue' (cv). So I doubt that this term applies ot genetically engineered plants. It pleases me to no end that ou are attuned to the lack of education impacting the work force. Trust me, I see it here all the time with workers endangering themselves, others, and the environment by mixing and applying pesticides when they cannot even read the warnings and instructions on the label. (These are not people in the company I work for). I have approached them on several occasions about serious mistakes they make, and there is no language barrier - there is a lack of interest in safety concerns. My Spanish is good enough to realise that they don't know what they are doing. I have quite a concern about the use of chemicals, and I do use them wisely as a certified pesticide applicator for horticultural use - but not on food crops. At the same time I am not in agreement with using organic fertilisers over "chemical" ones. Everything physical in nature has a chemical basis, and for "organic" products to bash chemistry is simply absurd. Plants could not care less whether the source of fertiliser is organic or chemical because it can only absorb the needed elements in an ion form (cations or anions). It's a chemistry thing. So they don't absorb the nutrients in the way we apply them - no matter what the source. They go through a series of stages until a cation/anion usable form is reached to absorbed by the roots. Organic fertilisers have the disadvantage of not supplying enough of the "micronutrients" (iron, copper, manganese, etc.) so it had better be present in the soil in sufficient amounts to begin with. If it doesn't, nutritional deficiences will result for the plant and for us. Quite often, sufficient soil nutrients do not exist, especially in tropical soils. And the most element needed by agricultural crops as well as most foliage plants is nitrogen. Urea nitrogen is synthetically produced organic nitrogen that will convert into a usable form through the beneficial bacteria in the soil. It makes no difference whether it comes from seaweed, fish emulsion, or a synthetic urea-based nitrogen. The conversion process (via soil bacteria) will remain the same for it to be absorbed by the roots, and chemical fertilisers can provide a better and much cheaper source for nitrogen that is MEASURABLE for application.Organic fertilisers do not list their percentages of micronutrients because they are either not present, or they do not have a guarenteed percentage. (Take a rest, John_Z). You are a gem. I look forward to sharing with you via mail and/or e-mail, especially on social concerns. Respectfully, John_Z.

sorie6 - There are only a few of the thousands of species of Morning Glories that would successfully self-resow in your temperature zone. You must be growing Ipomoea purpurea, Ipomoea hederacea or some other very small flowered species regardless of whatever the seed package may state. Ipomoea tricolor will NOT survive the winters of a zone 4, so if you want to enjoy Morning Glories with no self-resowing volunteers , then try some of the Ipomoea tricolor cultivars like Heavenly Blue, Blue Star, Flying Saucers, Wedding Bells or Pearly Gates. The native Ipomoea pandurata may also be a good choice for you... I'm doing what I can to help dispel the widely held MYTHS regarding the manifold species of Morning Glories. The Fact of the matter IS that there are many, many more species of Morning Glories which will not survive a cold zone than species that will... Hope that helps... Ron

The cultivar known as "Heavenly Blue" is Ipomoea tricolor. Clarke's Heavenly Blue was selected out by Mr.Clarke because it was an early blooming strain , blooming 30 days earlier than whatever other Heavenly Blue / Ipomoea tricolor was available at that time. Clarkes Heavenly Blue in addition to being an earlier blooming cultivar , was also a lighter blue color than many Heavenly Blue available today. The Heavenly Blue commonly available today is a darker color that was being pushed by the jobbers around the early 1980's because they thought it would be more visible from a distance and marketed this darker version as the 'improved' Heavenly Blue. The fact of the confusion regarding the species is based on the fact that many merchandisers really do not know how to tell the different species apart and simply mimic whatever they find on google. The Clarkes description is often used because it is related to an old heirloom cultivar and therefore likely to sell more but most sellers don't have real Clarkes (= false advertising) or for that matter even know what Clarkes really is... Sellers , merchandisers, et al - Rule #1 in business = Know Your Product - and if you don't really know your product than refrain from false descriptions and inform your potential customers in advance that you aren't really certain about your product and that you have not VERIFIED your product. Simply accepting the description you were handed by anyone else who doesn't know how to accurately identify their product is NO EXCUSE !!! I would add that if sellers really do not KNOW WHAT they are selling , they shouldn't be selling it and the excuse 'that is the label they received it with' is NOT an excuse , because it confirms that they didn't take the time to verify their product ( by growing it out first) and therefore do not know their product. The various names attached to describe the products are false advertising whether intentional or unintentional and technically a bona fide legal crime. Would any seller think it fair if you didn't pay most of the product price (?) , or if you gave them phony money = No, they wouldn't and buyers shouldn't accept any lower standards of treatment from any sellers. So, before you believe any labeling , ask the seller (who is accepting your $$ and making $$ on whatever they are selling) , why the product is accurately described in every aspect and if their answer is less than convincing , then reserve your $$ for something you can be more sure of.... I hope my answers are helpful and that my position statements make people think... regards, Ron

Jamie Lynn . . . My information about Jamie Lynn under comments http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/162148/ Jamie Lynn continues to be one of my very favorite Morning Glories and I can not imagine a year without growing this Unique Beauty. Even though the Blooms are a Stunning Solid White with a Soft Light Pink Halo and Sometimes Partial Star, this is still genetically a variation of the ÂFlaked gene. Also, some blooms will be a Very Soft Pastel Solid Blue sporadically throughout the year. Jamie Lynn is a result of seeds that I 'Isolated' and grew separately that produced many different patterns and Pastel Colors of Extremely Pale Pink, Pale Blue, and White that were either Solid Colored or Freckled-Type Blooms. All of the seeds that I have grown since 2005 of Jamie Lynn have continued to produce ÂTrueÂ. For those who are interested in the genetic details, Jamie Lynn is what I call the a-flaked (i.e., homozygous at the "A" locus) white subline.