The big problem with morning glories is that they will reseed like crazy and take over -everything. Put them on the trellis, and you'll soon find them all over your roof, your neighbor's walls, and sending runners along the ground like kudzu. If you start edible snow peas and vetch in early October when the nights get cool...just about when the powdery mildew starts in on your squash leaves.... they'll cover the trellis by late January, and you'll be getting fresh peas by late February. They are sort of frost resistant - I've had them fully recover after nighttime temps of 29 and 30. Some varieties of peas have very lovely flowers, and if you plant vetch amongst it, you'll get a double whammy of pretty purple flowers. Also the legumes will be fixing nitrogen, replenishing your soil!

Thanks folks. I'm a relative newbie to flowers, good to know: 1) They will grow in containers 2) They don't like fertilizer 3) They appear to grow better in containers/container soil I got one from Stpetefla last year, moved it out of gray sand it was in and into a potting mix for a few months, then planted it in the ground in the one gallon of potting mix I had it in and it really took off. By contrast all three I planted from seed in the ground three weeks ago are barely growing, and the bugs have already found them. I think I need to start another batch in potting mix.... Here are a few pictures of the one that got me started, and why I'm interested in them...these are not the best pictures, this plant is loaded with flowers. Tom

First off, it's way, way to late to start any morning glory seeds now in New England. The seeds need to either be started indoors to plant out in the spring, sown directly in the ground well after the last frost or winter sown (see the winter sowing forum). You could, if you want to give it a try, just toss out some seeds in the ground in Nov. before there is any snow on the ground and hope that they will germinate in the spring, but I would just wait till spring and winter sow the seeds like I have been doing for 8 years now. Grandpa otts has a strong tendency to self seed everywhere and sort of take over an area as the majority morning glory vine in that area, but you can combine them with other MG vines. Heavenly blue and flying saucer are from the tri color group of morning glory vines and, in my experience growing them in MA, can bloom relatively late in the season towards the end of August and Sept. but have also had them bloom much earlier as well. The flowers from both heavenly blue and flying saucer are quite large, as much as 4-6 inches in size and the grandpa otts are much smaller. Heavenly blue can and will bloom in various combinations of streaks of the blue and white colors that is the trademark of flying saucer; whereas heavenly blue is just one solid blue color. Any vine will have a problem climbing a solid wooden fence if it is the stockade type of fence, as it will have nothing to climb on. Picket fences where there are spaces between each post make it much easier to climb as the vines can attach to each other and make a mat to work their way up the fence. I have neighbors that have done this with heavenly blue MG. The plant a group of 3 or 4 vines together in a trench, each about 2 inches apart and let them tangle together and help them vine up and over the fence. On solid wooden fences, as Julia stated, you will have to provide something or them to climb and hold onto. I've seen large sunflowers planted in front of fences and MG planted and the base of the stem and they climb up the sunflower stem. I've seen garden cord tied to some good size rocks and then nailed to the top of the fence and the vines easily wrap around the cord. I've seen green plastic stakes used for the vines to climb up. I've even seen the mattress support from old cribs that is criss crossed put into the ground and used for vines to climb on, including MG vines. I've seen chicken wire placed in front of wooden fences used to have MG vines climb on as well. Fran

No they won't. They will certainly germinate (then sulk and likely rot) but these seeds( like seeds of a number of tender plants) need to germinate and grow fast, WITH NO CHECK TO GROWTH...not unlike tomatoes. They do far better if sown like zinnias, which in the UK is as late as May, when the weather is already warm, without a massive differential between day and night.