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What causes rips in morning glory blooms?

18 years ago

About three-fourths of my larger Japanese-type morning glory blooms seem to have rips and tears in them. This doesn't happen with the smaller-flowered types. I don't think it can be bugs, since the foliage is quite healthy--with very little bug damage. The morning glories are on strings against an east-facing wall and are protected from the north by another building, so it doesn't seem likely that it would be wind either. Any other guesses?

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Comments (8)

ARUM
18 years ago
Birds? That's a guess. :) arum
Nigella
18 years ago
From what I've seen, the corollas are so thin and fragile that it could be that they are tearing themselves open. Don't know if that makes sense.
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hi daniel.. welcome to GW ... novice gardener??? first.. why is it in that small pot ... and why indoors .... that is two strikes against you real fast... these things thrive in full blistering sun .... and mine.. the seeds of which which dropped from the plants last fall.. started blooming yesterday .. i just happened to notice ... and they are about 10 times larger than yours .... and the 3 inches of rain in the last few weeks sure didnt hurt .... yours looks slightly anemic... yellowish.. but that might be a camera trick .... if i were you.. i would move it outdoors.. the north side of the house... insure it NEVER dries out.. and watch it take off with more vigor.. as long as you dont forget to water it in that smallish pot ... dont know where you are ....[ could you go to your members page.. and change that NONE next to your name.. to the largest big city .. so we have a clue where you are]... anyway .... annuals are sold in spring.. you will be hard pressed to find good stock this time of year ... and its way to late.. to be sowing seeds... plants need to be well established by july/august ... to make it thru the heat of that time of year ... selfsown seedings annuals that i have in my MI backyard include: CA poppies rose campion johnny jump ups larkspur morning glory celosia columbine and i will see if i can come up with some other names ... now.. i gave you common names.. your assignment.. is to google the latin names.. and learn all about them .... you might even get some peeps to send you seeds for the cost of a stamp or two .... in the mean time.. you should build a nice garden bed.. for next spring .... so you can do all this out in mother earth.. where it should be done.. its so much easier.. it took me 20 years of practice in the garden.. before i perfected growing things in pots... so you are starting the hard way ... good luck ken ps: there is a winter sowing forum... for the real hard core.. its a way to get into perennials on the cheap ....
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This is the 2nd year, not concesutive, that I have grown MG's. The first I put in a brick planter on my front (covered porch), they grew and had a few flowers, but I think I only planted a few seed packs. This year. . . I broke all the rules according to this post. . . I put 5 FIVE ! ! ! packs in a bed right by my front steps, there were hostas there when I sowed the seeds (I moved them to shade) so the seeds were kinda in groups when they sprouted. Soon they grew into small mounds, then I realized I needed to give them something to grow on so I put bamboo stakes in the ground right behind each mound, I never got around to tieing string for support, so they grew up the bamboo, literally in ropes, intwined together, one got so heavy the bamboo broke ! Now late Aug, they are spawling on the sidewalk, they have been blooming since early july, each mound is over 4' tall and three mounds fill a narrow 5'long bed so the ground never sees sunlight.They are in kinda rocky ground, full hot afternoon sun, I soak them everyday with a spray nozzle on my hose, and every morning I have at least 30 flowers, but they close as soon as the direct sun hits them. I think mine are heavenly blue. I like the look of them, but I think I would have done it different had I known. Maybe next time not as many seeds, and prepare for climbing.
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Greetings! I usually let the Morning Glories crawl up and cover my deck rails and spindles. Last year, I had to many that it got way out of hand! This year, I sowed far fewer, but one volunteer plant from last year was allowed to remain. Last year's plant is the only one flowering! It is huge, with many blooms. Neither the blue nor the red vines this year are blooming. Plenty of growth, no blooms... The volunteer plant first started 3 weeks ago blooming, so I wonder when the newbies will catch up?
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marcia_il
18 years ago
My Heavenly Blues do that too. MHO is that, that particular part of the bloom may be damp or chilled causing it to stick. So when the bloom continues to open, it tears. Make sense?
chris_in_wv (z6/7)
18 years ago
I would agree with Nigella and Marcia IL.

The one large flowered "Japanese" variety that seems to always split is Tie Dye Purple/Blue. The flowers are so large and so fragile that the flowers open split no matter what the weather. (The Tie Dye Pink that I've grown seems to have a little more substance to the flowers and is LESS prone to splitting.)

I've never had this problem with Mt. Fuji Morning Glories, although the flowers are not quite as large as the Tie Dye flowers. The Mt. Fuji flowers also seem to have more substance which may be a factor in how long the flower lasts and holds together.

I've NEVER had a problem with birds damaging the flowers on my Morning Glories.

And Marcia brings up a good point. Rose flowers grown in damp, humid conditions have a tendency to "ball." When a rose flower "balls" it can't open because the top section of the petals have fused together due to the moisture. The entire flower forms a "ball" that eventually drops off as one big "glob" when the flower reaches the final stage.

This can happen to many velvety textured flowers, not just roses. Even flowers that have thinner textures sometimes do this.

So if you have heavy dew in the mornings and/or high humidity it is possible that sections of the "twisted" bud on the Morning Glories will fuse and result in damaged flowers once the bloom opens (or tried to open).

Chris
audrey_gw
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks, everybody, for your suggestions. It's been a pretty dry summer here, but there have been some cooler nights with heavy dews lately. Maybe that's what's causing the problem.
Bonbon_N_KS
18 years ago
There is a "split" kind of morning glory out there, maybe it's supposed to split..
skippy05
18 years ago
Don't rule out birds!
I saw eat this morning!
skippy05
18 years ago
sorry, I meant to write that "I saw them eating this morning"

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