Gardeners who use landscape design vertical gardening, morning glory will come in handy.
This flowering vine thickly wraps around the supports and, even in the absence of buds, looks very decorative due to its dense foliage. Morning glory flowers look like delicate funnel-shaped gramophones, reminiscent of a symbiosis of nasturtium and fragrant tobacco.
This is an annual climbing plant. Its homeland is Mexico and tropical America. At quality care Growing morning glory is also possible in the middle zone.
What does a garden morning glory flower look like (with photo)
The plant reaches a length of up to 5 m. The leaves are ovate-heart-shaped, dull green, but beautiful, and the foliage is dense.
As you can see in the photo, morning glory flowers are funnel-shaped, large (up to 10 cm) and picturesquely painted:
The corolla at the base is yellow-white, and the limb is initially pinkish and then sky blue.
Each flower opens only in the first half of the day - until 12-13 o'clock. But in cloudy weather the flowers remain open throughout the day. Flowering is abundant and, due to the large number of flowers, lasts for a long time.
Look what the red-blue morning glory looks like in these photos:
Faded flowers curl into a tube, which is no longer blue, but crimson. Therefore, the species name of morning glory is red-blue. And this is not the only known species. There are at least two more of them, with pubescent leaves.
Morning glory "Lyra"- with pubescent young shoots and delicate pubescence of leaves on the underside.
The flowers are beautiful - dark purple to purple. It grows well in the south, but does not bloom in the northern regions.
Ipomoea purpurea is not so heat-loving. She comes from Central and South America. Also an annual climbing plant up to 3 m long.
Shoots and leaves are pubescent. The flowers are purple-red, but there are varieties and cultivars of different colors.
For example, the “Gubera” variety has a variegated corolla and a white limb.
These photos show the morning glory "Lyra" and "Gubera", the description of which is given above:
The best modern varieties morning glory:
"Ruby Carpet"- with original deep-cut leaves and bright red flowers
"Grandee" with deep purple color of large flowers
"Blue Star" with blue stripes and rays on snow-white flowers
"Carnivals of Venice"- a mixture of bright flowers with variegated pink and purple stripes
As a vine, morning glory is extremely popular. A disadvantage that has turned into an advantage is its annual nature. But as a result, every year you can sow morning glory in different places.
It can be a test indicator of the advisability of planting a perennial vine in this place. In terms of the duration of flowering and its airiness, it surpasses other vines. Blooms from July until frost.
Growing morning glory: planting and care
When choosing a place for morning glory (wall, support, gazebo, balcony, etc.), preference should be given to southern, eastern and western exposures; northern ones, even in the south, are less suitable.
The place should be open, clearly visible, not shaded by anything.
When growing morning glory, do not forget that these flowers love watering. It should be plentiful and frequent, especially during the hot period. But you need to water in the afternoon, towards evening.
The soil needs to be nutritious, but it is indifferent to fertilizing with fertilizers, and sometimes they are even harmful, especially nitrogen ones. The plant then begins to “rage” in growth, but does not bloom.
Fertilizers are useful during planting. If you grow morning glory through seedlings, then the soil is taken in the ratio: turf soil, humus, sand - 0.5: 1: 0.5 and for every 10 kg of the mixture add 20 g of potassium salt and superphosphate. Fertilizers contribute to intense coloring of flowers, in particular blue color.
Agricultural techniques for caring for morning glory flowers are shown in these photos:
Morning glory propagates by seeds. They are numerous, since the attractive flowers are readily visited by bees and fertilization occurs without difficulty. But there is no time left for the seeds to ripen.
Already at the end of September-October, even in the south, frosts are possible, which destroy immature seeds. Neither ripening seeds on uprooted plants nor covering the vines helps.
Ripened, full-fledged seeds are obtained only from the first flowers. There are very few of them, despite abundant flowering and high-quality fertilization. Practical experience suggested the right decision.
- Firstly, to grow morning glory, you need to sow the seeds very early - in late March - early April.
- Secondly, sow in pots or other containers, moistening the substrate abundantly and covering with glass. Do not remove it until shoots appear. Thirdly, do not pick the seedlings, but leave them in the same container
In this case, morning glory will begin to bloom a month or more earlier than when sown in the ground or picked. When the feeding area is reduced (dense planting), morning glory produces few side shoots, but many flowers on the main one, as if compensating for the lack of abundant green mass.
It is advisable to grow blue morning glory through seedlings even in the south. Seedlings must be replanted in a clump; morning glory does not like damage to the root system.
The use of morning glory in garden design
The use of morning glory in garden design is the widest. This is a plant of arbors, trellises, fences, pillars, big trees. Morning glory can be planted with wild grapes, and then the dense wall of it comes to life delicate flowers. For each square meter there are about a hundred of them!
When wrapping supports, the following should be taken into account: biological feature morning glory: the ends of its shoots grow, making circular movements counterclockwise, forming a spiral. They themselves look for support, describing larger and larger circles.
The rotation speed depends on the weather. Hot weather reduces growth rate. One revolution is usually completed in 24 hours. Having touched the support, the young shoot embraces it and grows like a screw.
Which are the largest representative of the bindweed family and can reach a height of three meters. Based on this, the gardener must take the choice of planting site as seriously as possible, since an adult plant is not able to tolerate replanting without negative consequences. In addition, morning glory requires support of proper quality, otherwise the plant may suffer during bad weather. However, the morning glory genus includes not only trees, but also shrubs and vines.
Farbitis plants have flowers of extraordinary beauty that will allow any housewife to be proud of her garden. However, if you decide to do it, you should take into account that some species of this plant are very poisonous, for example, vines. Nevertheless, today Farbitis is a very popular plant that experts use for landscaping various areas of the garden.
Currently, science knows more than five hundred species of this representative of the bindweed family. The most famous is the morning glory ruby fire, the name of which is often used to denote the general species category of the plant. Other popular morning glory varieties in gardening are:
Kvamoklit;
Purple;
Moonflower;
Raspberry whim;
Tricolor;
Koloniktion;
Terry tenderness;
Lollipop;
Morning glory red star;
Morning glory blue star and many others.
Morning glory ruby lights are often a decoration of balconies, various fences and gazebos. This magnificent plant today is extremely in demand among landscape designers and is used for various objects. Thus, with the help of morning glory, it is possible to darken an overly sunny veranda or terrace, as well as to hide your area from prying eyes with a mesh woven fence, on which morning glory will be free and which will reliably protect your life from prying eyes. Of course, farbitis is always a decoration of the place where it grows. The flowers and large green leaves, reminiscent of gramophones, look very attractive and have a calming, relaxing effect on the human psyche. The uniqueness of this plant is that each flower has only a few hours of flowering in the period from dawn to 2-3 o’clock in the afternoon, after which it finally closes. However, there are plant varieties that can bloom continuously all day even on cloudy days.
Growing morning glory
Morning glory ruby lights does not require any special skills from the gardener. The plant is traditionally grown from seedlings. In order to correctly determine the timing of planting seeds, it is necessary to take into account that experts recommend transplanting into the ground at a stable ambient temperature of at least 15°C. The best time The end of March - beginning of April is considered for sowing seeds. The seeds need to be soaked before planting. As a result of this procedure, they will swell, which will ensure their rapid germination. The growth of the flower will require several transplants of the plant into larger pots, which undoubtedly is a lot of stress for morning glory. Therefore, it is recommended to transplant the flower along with a significant part of the soil on the roots. Disembarkation at open ground possible no earlier than mid-June, which guarantees protection from frost. Farbitis feels comfortable only in well-loosened and nutritious soil. Full complex mineral fertilizers will help improve the condition of the soil. In addition, the plant needs a large amount of heat and light, so it is recommended to plant morning glory in a sunny place in the garden, which is well protected from gusts of wind.
Any housewife summer cottage proud of his flower garden. Not the last place in almost every flower garden is occupied by morning glory (farbitis).
This flower of extraordinary beauty fascinates and attracts with its appearance. But if you decide to start growing morning glory, you should remember that this vine is very poisonous (except for food species).
Today there are more than 500 species, many of which are used by landscape design specialists for landscaping various areas of the garden.
Popular types of morning glory
The Farbitis genus is considered the largest in the Bindweed family. In its natural habitat it can be found in the subtropics and tropics. The Farbitis genus includes both annual and perennial plants, as well as vines and even small trees. In addition, very important food crops grow in the genus - water spinach and sweet potato.
The most popular plant varieties in gardening– Kvamoklit, Blue Star, Purple, Raspberry Caprice, Moonflower, Coloniction, Tricolor, Terry Tenderness, Split Personality, Ruby Lights, Night, Ring, Scarlett O Hara, Lollipop, Serenade to the Sun, Pikoti, Grand, etc.
Uses of morning glory
Most often, this plant is used to decorate balconies, verandas, fences, small buildings and terraces, gazebos, as well as in vertical gardening of various objects.
Farbitis always decorates the place where it grows. Its gramophone-shaped flowers and large green leaves are pleasing to the eye and soothing. Each flower of this extraordinary plant lives only a few hours, opening with the first rays of the sun and closing at 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon. Only when the sun is hidden behind clouds throughout the day can the flower remain open all day.
With the help of morning glory, you can darken a veranda or sunny terrace, plant it on a mesh fence and block the area from prying eyes. To create a more favorable microclimate in the house, you can entwine morning glory around the southern windows. The rooms will immediately become a little cooler and the humidity will increase. Morning glory is sometimes used for...
Morning glory in the photo
How to grow morning glory?
You don’t need any special equipment or skills to decorate your garden with this magnificent flower. As a rule, the plant is grown by seedlings. Speaking about when to plant morning glory, it should be taken into account that replanting can be done after the temperature becomes stable and above +15.
It is best to sow seeds for seedlings at the end of March.- early April. Before planting the seeds, they need to be soaked to swell. As the flower grows, it will need to be transplanted several times into larger pots. This is a lot of stress for the plant, so when replanting you should keep a small lump of earth on the roots. Planting in open ground can be done in mid-June, when the risk of frost has passed.
Plants in the ground
Morning glory loves nutritious soil, which should be well fertilized and loosened. Since the plant prefers a lot of light and heat, it is necessary to choose sunny place, well protected from strong gusts of wind.
Planting morning glory on a site must be done at a certain distance from each other, as a rule, 25-35 cm. It is best to alternate varieties with each other. It is necessary to grow vines by frequently watering and feeding the soil. For most plant varieties, it is necessary to build supports around which the stems will curl. This could be a stretched fishing line or wire, a fence or pergola, etc.
The flower is fed with a full range of mineral fertilizers. This must be done every 10-15 days after planting until the plant grows well. Morning glory is propagated by cuttings, cuttings or division of rhizomes.
Morning glory is annual plant and blooms only until mid-September. It can reach a height of 3 meters, so it is necessary to take care of proper support in advance, since an adult plant will not tolerate transplantation.
Many gardeners decorate their gardens with vines. Very often such a vine is morning glory. Not many people know that this plant has many other names, for example, solar gramophone or morning dawn flower. Growing morning glory does not require painstaking care, which is why it is so popular.
Such a wonderful plant as morning glory will help make your garden plot amazing and unique. It is very important to choose a variety you like, then the flowers will certainly delight you.
In total, there are about 500 varieties of morning glory in nature, and breeders are not going to stop there. New varieties are being developed quite quickly.
Gardeners distinguish 2 most popular varieties:
- Heavenly Blue.
- Ipomoea purpurea terry.
In the first case, the plant has very large inflorescences, which are distinguished by the brightness of their blue tone. Some experts claim that the buds will large sizes only in the first year of planting, all subsequent years the flowers will become smaller, and this will last until the inflorescences accept standard size. At the same time, blue morning glory remains in great demand.
The second variety has very attractive flowers, distinguished by their splendor. Their velvety quality adds chic and luxury.
Urban establishments such as restaurants and cafeterias prefer morning glory. She has white color palette, and opens after sunset. This plant is ideal for establishments designed for evening activity. There is not always someone to care for flowers, so a flower that does not need painstaking care will be very useful. In addition, the flowers have a delicate aroma with notes of sweet almonds.
First of all, before planting a plant, you need to decide on a place where perennial morning glory will delight you with its flowering. Each gardener will try to create the maximum comfortable conditions for growth, only in this case will flowering be excellent.
The ideal area for morning glory is the absence of wind and draft. Liana prefers silence and grace. Winds can cause significant damage, further entangling the delicate stems of the plant, or even tear them, and dishevel the flowers.
Large quantity sun rays will also damage the vine. Attentive gardeners have noticed that by the middle of the day, when the sun is at its peak, the flowers close their buds, so to speak, squint. Optimal place for planting - partial shade, where direct rays of the sun will not cause the buds to close.
The liana grows and develops quite quickly, so it is recommended to prepare a support for the plant in advance. Otherwise, it will cling to all possible surfaces.
The plant is not particularly picky about soil, but will still give preference to loose limestone soil. It loves moisture very much, so watering plays an important role.
If seeds are planted, it is best to carry out the procedure at the end of March, beginning of April. It is better to plant seedlings in late spring.
Preparing seeds for planting is a very simple procedure. They are soaked in clean water for 24 hours. After a while, all the seeds should be inspected; those that have not swelled are carefully pierced with a needle and lowered into water again. Such seeds are not bad, they just need help so that moisture enters the channels.
After swelling, the seeds are sown in pre-prepared containers. The soil in them should be well moistened. The seeds are not buried in the soil, they are laid out on top, sprinkled with a little substrate.
Within 10 days the first shoots will be visible. At the same time, it is necessary to comply with certain temperature regime so that the seedlings are successful. This mode is 18 degrees.
Note to the gardener! Before planting young seedlings on permanent place, it should be moved a couple of times to a larger container. For seedlings, this procedure is very painful, so it must be carried out very carefully. The earthen lump must be completely preserved so as not to expose root system stress and damage. This soil will help the plant adapt to its new location.
To ensure that the plant takes root well in its new location and the roots do not get tangled, it is recommended to prepare a support for each seedling.
Perennial morning glory can be planted initially in open ground in a permanent place. Seeds are planted in the spring, in May. The procedure is the same as in the case of seedlings. From 2 to 3 seeds are placed in one hole.
Rules for planting seedlings:
- The main and mandatory rule for transplanting seedlings is to keep the earthen ball on the roots.
- The hole in which the plant will be placed must be sufficiently free.
- The distance between the holes is about 20 centimeters.
- Seedlings are planted in early June.
After planting, plant care will be minimal. In order for the seedlings to take root successfully, the soil is regularly moistened. But water stagnation should not be allowed, otherwise the root system will begin to rot and the plant will die. Adult morning glory is watered throughout the summer; in the fall, watering is reduced and watered only when the soil dries out.
Close attention is paid to loosening the soil so that all the useful components after fertilization and oxygen reach the flower. When loosening the soil, dig 2-3 centimeters deep. The more often you loosen the soil, the better the vine will grow.
Ipomoea annual is planted first in pots, and only then in open ground. Caring for seedlings is the same.
Caring for the liana is quite simple. The plant can independently find support for itself, for example, as a tree or fence. Many gardeners plant morning glory with the aim that it will produce a beautiful hedge. The liana will beautifully weave along a mesh or lattice, creating gazebos and various compositions with its weaving.
As a support, you can use both artificially created devices and those already available on garden plot. They will harmonize perfectly wooden poles, along which the vine will effectively twine. They will look unusual and beautiful geometric shapes made of metal or plastic, mesh.
It is young plants that are most susceptible to various pests. Therefore, you should definitely pay attention to the procedure for fighting enemies. The main and common pests can be considered:
- Aphid. Usually such an insect infects the plant en masse. Yellowish spots appear on the leaves. Aphids damage green tissues, sucking the vital juices out of them. While living on the plant, aphids leave sticky trail, similar to drops of dew. In such droplets a fungus (sooty) can form, which will certainly lead to the death of the plant. As soon as you notice even small manifestations of aphids, immediately treat the morning glory with insecticides.
- Spider mite. A fairly recognizable insect, it leaves behind thin cobwebs, and points of damage appear on the foliage. Dealing with such a problem is surprisingly simple. Ipomoea should be irrigated with a spray bottle. cold water. The procedure takes 3-4 days.
Annual morning glory will not cause any trouble; cook it in winter period no need. The part of the flower that is above the ground dies and the plant dies. The next year a new vine is planted.
The situation with perennial morning glory is different. The plant should create favorable conditions for wintering, provide care. To do this, it is most often transferred to the greenhouse. The process itself is quite labor-intensive, due to the active weaving of the vine. To bring the flower indoors, you need to cut the shoots short.
Morning glory has a very fragile root system, so if you want to grow perennial, plant it initially in a container so that you can transfer the flower in this container for the winter. Replanting a plant can destroy it.
If the vine is grown in winter garden, there is no need to trim the shoots too short. In spring, the plant will put out many new branches, which will be strewn with flowers.
In September, pre-winter care begins, that is, pruning diseased and damaged shoots. If pruning is carried out in the spring, only a few shoots are left. Spring pruning necessary for transplantation.
Collected seeds of annual morning glory can be stored for up to 3 years. Sowing for seedlings begins at spring time, starting in March. Place no more than 3 seeds in one container. There is no need to deepen the seeds, 3 centimeters is enough. Morning glories are picky about transplants.
As mentioned above, the seeds should be soaked in water, the temperature of which should be about 50°C. Another option for preparing seeds for sowing is to grind them with sand, or make small cuts. This approach will significantly speed up germination. If the seeds are not treated and they are planted when room temperature about 18°C, seedlings can be observed in 14 days.
When the seedlings grow to 5 centimeters, small sticks are introduced into the containers with them. Young plants are carefully tied up. If you do not carry out this procedure, by the time of planting the plants will become entangled with each other. Disconnecting will be very problematic and destructive.
In May, you can start planting morning glory in open ground. This is done after there is no risk of even the slightest frost. Seedlings must be replanted with a ball of earth.
The planting period depends on the type of flowers, for example, terry morning glory is recommended to be planted in late spring, but purple morning glory can be planted earlier. Initially, several seeds are placed in the holes, at a distance of 5-6 centimeters from each other. A little later, the plant should be thinned out so that there is at least 15-20 centimeters between the young flowers.
What are the benefits of morning glory in the garden?
Morning glory is a wonderful and magnificent vine that brings not only beauty to the garden, but also health benefits. The roots of the plant can be used as a medicinal drug. They are dug up in the last month of autumn. The material does not need to be dried, just wash it and dry it a little. Next, wrap it in paper and store it in a cool place. Other parts of the plant folk medicine do not apply.
Consuming this plant will benefit people suffering from stomach ulcers. The decoction can stop bleeding. Veterinarians also use morning glory root as a laxative for animals. Any use of the plant should be carried out after the instructions of a specialist in this field.
Morning glory is very often used in landscape design. Those who are interested in this topic understand what vertical gardening is. This allows you to create using climbing plants various gazebos and walls. Hanging morning glory baskets look great. With the help of this plant you can create a whole carpet, and all thanks to the abundant flowering and strong shoots.
Morning glory can not only decorate a wall, but also create a wonderful figure. Very often, owners of old and unattractive summer cottages They plant blue morning glory on their territory. Its abundant flowering delights everyone who sees this beauty. A house entwined with such a vine resembles a house from a fairy tale.
Like any other flower, morning glory needs feeding. This is especially important during the period of replanting the plant in open ground. Apply fertilizer every 20 days.
The necessary fertilizers are purchased at flower shops. Ipomoea is suitable as a subcortex for both cacti and decorative flowers.
You cannot overdo it with fertilizing, especially if it contains nitrogen. This component promotes active growth, but only greenery will grow, and flowering will become sparse, or the flower will not bloom at all. The dosage is most often used as for indoor flowers.
