Nice Mg's They really took off nice on the fence. If you click on the 1st box it will make your pics smaller if you would like them smaller. I hope this helps....barb

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

Thanks true-blue! I've been refraining from watering them lately. Unfortunately much of my patio gets watered each night by the sprinkler system. I think they're over-potted for the soil mix they're in, besides the limited sun. I think if i wanted to plant them directly into pots that large, it might have been wiser to start with a soil-less mix (at least that's what I've been picking up in the container gardening forums). But who knows? I can't undo what I've done so far, so for now I'm doing exactly as you suggested: I'm only watering them when they've completely dried out, and I'm giving them as much time as they want to get going. The only thing I might try beyond this is getting some sort of wick (even just a thin length of rolled-up paper towel) in through the drainage holes to help pull out more moisture. In the mean time I'm also hedging my bets. I've started germinating a couple new seeds at a time, and getting them going under artificial light indoors. If they get a really healthy start indoors, I hope to be able to acclimate them to the outdoor conditions later down the line. Originally my goal was a moderately lush border for my patio, but even if my morning glories become healthy, I don't have huge confidence they'll grow to be that lush. I've been thinking about what I might do further down the line, and I think I might try to focus on growing them in smaller pots the way you see in Japanese flower shows, and bordering my patio with another plant. In any case, thank you kindly for your encouragement, I definitely appreciate it! For me it seems like waiting is going to be the hardest part of gardening. Cheers, Nik

David -There are both annual and perennial Morning Glory species. Ipomoea purpurea is a genetic annual. Ipomoea pandurata is a genetic perennial. The annuals are genetically programmed to die after flowering and although they can sometimes be induced to grow for more than 1 season, they will never develop perennial type roots and at best will live for about 2 years, no matter what part of the planet they are grown in , including equatorial regions. The perennial Morning Glory species may grow for many years in climates that do not destroy the roots or if over-wintered indoors or in a greenhouse... regards, Ron