Barb, Mg crosses can only occur between the same type of MG. Ipomea nil with Ipomea nil. etc. Emma could cross with another nil, but not with a japanese variety. so far I have never had a cross come out with any of my MG seeds that I have saved. On the other hand, I'm getting lots of them from trades and commercial purchases. I believe your white hige is a japanese variety, but grandpa otts, emmas gift and knoila black are all nil and they could cross pollinate. No worry, though. I've been growing emma's gift for 5 years. first year from seeds from emma herself and since then saved seeds. She comes true to seed every year and gives me tons of seeds, so will have plenty of seeds for trades, more than I could ever use in a 100 years. Last year I sent out 75 packets with 25 seeds in each one and still have a ton of them left over. No worry on knoila black either. I laugh when I see that one on ebay as "very rare". I don't know how it could be since it is such a huge seed producer. Each pod has 4-6 seeds in it and on mine, my friends and my neighbors, every flower turns into a seed pod. So far I have 40 seeds off one vine and lost count after counting 60 more pods on it. One vine will give you well over 200 seeds. granpa otts I've never grown, but from what I have heard it produces tons of seeds too. As for the number of new possible MG blooms, it will happen when the bees go from one plant to another, but it doesn't always happen and you have to collect seeds from that one pod, if it was crossed. And wind can do it as well. When I plant my MG on the fence, I keep a minimum of 2 feet from each vine, usually 3 feet and never put a nil next to a nil or a purpurea next to a purpurea. So far it's worked for me without any problems and I've been doing it for over 10 years. I also keep very careful eye on my vines and don't let them tangle with each other unless they are tangling with the same one. I have enough space between each vine that I can just put a tag in the ground for each vine and label it that way. Once I plant all my MG, I then make a map of the fence and mark where each vine is on the map, so if a tag goes traveling on me, and they are known to take many a walk in the mouth of a chipmunk, i can still know what each one is supposed to be. If it blooms something that it isn't supposed to be, I can change the tag to mark what it is on the map and not worry about the tag. My map isn't fancy, very simple as simple is much easier to deal with than big fancy stuff. The tape works great, masking tape and a sharpie works well, even better is fine pointed deco paint pen. if the sharpie print is in full sun it can and will fade on you. Fran

There is a tremendous lack of accurate information on proper identification information regarding the several thousand different species of plants in the Morning Glory Family of Convolvulaceae. The fact that there are several thousand different species coupled with relatively few people who are available to ascertain correct identification contributes to and perpetuates MYTHS regarding MG's... The MYTHs that are perpetuated is 'that all MG's are invasive' and this is a total and complete FALSEHOOD. There are some,but NOT ALL native species which can under certain conditions reproduce relatively rapidly. There are US native species which tend to reproduce relatively slowly by not spreading by the roots,runners and producing few(if any) seeds. There are a very few species of MG's that are the most common species most often available by merchants as ornamentals and some of these can act opportunistically to over proliferate. Proper botanical identification is the KEY to differentiating between species and types which may tend to over proliferate and those species and types that reproduce slowly and/or often only with focused human assistance. The most commonly encountered species are understandably those which proliferate with rapidity e.g., Calystegia sepium,Convolvulus arvensis,Ipomoea triloba,Ipomoea purpurea,Ipomoea hederacea and less commonly Ipomoea tricolor and Ipomoea nil. The species and types of MG's that reproduce relatively slowly are often completely unknown to most people. The 2 above paragraphs EXPLAINS WHY several thousand very different species are incorrectly and mythologically pigeon-holed as 'invasives' The fact of the matter is that the majority of sellers and growers do not know how to accurately differentiate amongst the multitude of different species and they are therefore very frequently sold and encountered with an incorrect botanical identity or one of the most commonly encountered binomials is simply applied because as several merchants have told me in personal conversation "Nobody really knows or cares anyway"...this is a strong example of how Myths snowball in a way which continues to mislead the otherwise unknowing... So,therefore people in AZ,CA,FL,TX,perhaps some other warm coastal states or many other places encounter 'some type' of Morning Glory(the exact accurate identity which may remain a perpetual mythological mystery)that reproduced relatively rapidly in their experience and the unfortunate conclusion is tantamount to factually inaccurate statements that therefore 'ALL' Morning Glories are invasive. I can only wonder if ANY of the people claiming that ALL MG's are invasive would be able to post photos showing closeups of the relevant identification structures on the exact plants that they encountered and/or otherwise realistically be able to objectively correctly identify the species in question...if you want to hold onto your money,don't bet on it...(!) Please consider that the accurate identification of the species and types are critical to the issues raised to prevent inaccurate lumping like all Morning Glories are invasive and or are 'bindweeds'... There are many(!)species of MG's which do not twine(!)at all and/or are upright in form and therefore cannot possibly 'bind' anything... The web is literally littered with incorrectly identified photos of plants and this includes sites that are suppossed to be authoritative e.g., various University sites,Botanical Gardens,Herbariums and the USDA photo sites...these sites often need to meet financial and other 'personnel' quotas which result in errors which are often difficult to get corrected...although I do try my best and continue to submit many Identification error reports to Learning Institutions and there are some people who care enough about informational accuracy to follow up properly on the error reports... Big Myths require an equally Big response to clarify the objective reality from False conclusions that result from a combination of limited correct information combined with limited experience. The focus of this presentation is to increase awareness of the need for proper botanical identification for those persons interested in the subject and is not a personal attack on any person per se. I have been enjoying,growing and sharing various types and species of Morning Glories for over 4 decades and have a particular interest in focusing on detailed examination of the the exact structures that determine correct botanical identity and I am sharing from that experience. Ipomoea tricolor(correctly identified) is rarely a problem in any part of the US and the larger flowered Japanese types of Ipomoea nil are rarely problematic...some species and types produce few or no seeds at all... The points raised in the paragraphs above are "of the essence" in relation to any objective clarification of the topic of the relative invasiveness or non-invasiveness of the multitude of species within the Convolvulaceae otherwise known as the Morning Glory Family of plants... Please consider reviewing the wonderful and mostly accurate information available online at Dr.Yonedas Morning Glory Encyclopedia database,Professor Daniel F.Austin's Website http://wise.fau.edu/biology/people/daustin/ and in the PlantFiles... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/tools/names.php?family=Convolvulaceae&z=genus Thank You(!) Regards, Ron Here is a link that might be useful: Dr.Yosiaka Yoneda Morning Glory Encyclopedia database

Hi, I see Ipomoea indica has been mentioned as a possibility. Below is a link to pics of my friend's parent plant & my cuttings of it for you to compare with yours later on. My cuttings were planted out in July & grew to 7 ft before frost but no blooms or seeds yet. My friend thinks that hers must be the sterile I. indica as she has never seen any seedpods. It dies back in the winter in this climate & still has not leafed out even though the azaleas are blooming. It's in part shade so will probably just take some time to grow back. I have it planted in a flower bed that is edged with brick so I can cut off any pieces that try to escape. Ron told me last year that it propagates from above-ground stems taking root & from seeds. Does not grow underground unbeknownst to you & pop up 25 ft away where you least expect it. As long as I keep it in a bricked area & cut back the stems trying to escape, it will not take me over. Especially since it dies back in the winter & completely disappears from view. Thanks again to Ron, Joseph & Karyn, who helped me with it last year. Here is a link that might be helpful: Pics & thread on our Ipomoea indica

this is what I am putting in. 3 Blue Tie dye 2 Split personality 2 pink Moonvine 5 blue silk 1 Milky way 1 rose silk 3 verigated rose 2 red and blue pekotee dbl 1 yellow trumpets mg 1 henka Asagao blue blizzard 1 lavender moonvine 1 jaquemontia tamnifolia 3 mount fugi several varieties I will be using as bonuses. hope we get more oddities and rare mg for this rr . We havent got alot of different mg's yet. Tho there are still several folks who havent sent in yet. I think I have a good system figured out for sending them back out.lol wish me luck Kelley