Unfortunately my 12 year old plant of Ipomoea verbascoidea has succumbed to root rot ðŸ˜. Fortunately I started another plant a couple of years to continue its presence in my garden morning glory family.
This particular morning glory attracts a lot of wasps not only to the blooms for pollination but in general. The one I have is covered in all different types of wasps. They bury themselves inside the plant.
I know it is full summer when this blooms. The hotter and more sunny it is, the better it blooms. It took 4 years to reach blooming size; planted in almost pure sand.
This heirloom morning glory features unusual, double, ruby-red flowers. It's a strong climber with dark green.(Seed Saver's Exchange)'Sunrise Serenade' morning glory 'Shooting Stars' nemesia. This yellow-and-white-flowered nemesia only grows 1 foot tall and has a strong branching habit and a delightful coconut fragrance.
By Calif_Sue (Sebastopol, CA - Zone 9a) on Dec 18, 2021 8:50 AM concerning plant: Ipomoea pellita
Present in the eastern parts of South Africa in Mpumalanga, Swaziland, the eastern Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and the Eastern Cape, often in grassland.
This plant is highly invasive in several states. It is easy to propagate and spreads by way of cuttings and seeds. It prefers wetlands and waterways, and is illegal to sell as a vegetable in many areas. Pretty white or pink-throated flowers appear on the plants in summer, giving way to many small seeds. This is a traditional Asian vegetable. Its place of origin is not known.
A common vegetable you can buy at Asian supermarkets, it is easy to grow from cuttings. The stems are usually cooked without the leaves and are hollow.
In chinese they are "Kong xin cai", basically "Hollow Vegetable".
There seem to be 3 different "forms" or "types" of this.
There is my favorite form, a purple flowered one, a white flowered one, and another form that has very small flowers (also white).
Ipomoea hederacea is an annual species of morning glory. It is known that it comes from the Americas, but from what exact part is still disputed; some say it is from the Eastern United States, while others say it is from South America. It is most closely related to the conventional morning glories, Ipomoea nil and purpurea (it also hybridizes with them, but hybrids with purpurea are sterile). Unlike its close relatives, Ipomoea hederacea is rarely cultivated, and in fact is most often viewed as a weed, especially in agricultural settings, where it easily climbs up other plants.
It is a vigorous climber with seeds that can remain viable in the soil for up to 10 years or more. The leaves are three-pointed and hairy, and the flowers are purple or a vibrant blue, trumpet-shaped with a white or yellow interior. The flowers are only open in the morning (hence the name "morning glory"), and soon give way to many small capsules containing many tiny black seeds.
Ipomoea hederacea is listed as a noxious weed in several states and should be avoided if you cannot control it. Its seeds have a high germination rate, the plant climbs vigorously, and the plant reseeds a lot. If you want to grow it, you can keep it under control by deadheading (removing faded blooms) so that the plant does not become a weed.
If you want to grow it, scarify and start the seeds indoors a few weeks before the last frost, and transplant outside when there is no more danger of frost. This plant grows very quickly and will scramble over everything in its path, so do NOT plant it near any other plants. In a few months, the plant should start flowering. The flowers are only open in the morning, and are gone by the afternoon. Remove spent flowers to prevent new plants from popping up in your garden. If you want to save a few seeds for next year, leave 1-3 capsules and pluck them when they are ripe.
This beautiful plant seeds very freely, can become a weeding headache. It's also vigorous, given the right growing conditions, and can take some shade, though it really does best in sunnier spots. Best to trim out the seed pods and save weeding later, especially after frost comes and the foliage dies.
This tropical vine is a perennial in its native range in Mexico and Central America, but it is used as an "annual" in northern climates. I bought one in a pot at a large garden center-nursery that carries a large selection of woody and herbaceous plants in May of 2013, and grew it on a support next to my garage. It grew fast to about 8 feet long and did well in the moist, well-drained good quality, slightly acid soil. It is not well-known and I have only seen a few in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic USA.
This is a pretty variety, although the pretty double flowers do not set seeds; only the single flowers do. I would advise gardeners to pick the tips off when the seedlings are old enough so the plants can branch more. Otherwise, they will be skinny long vines. This variety blooms late in my zone 6 region, so seed production is very low, but buying a seed packet is not a big deal.
One notable thing about this plant is the way the mature red/orange seeds will drop down from the opening
seedpods, hanging in a cluster from little silk-like threads. They look for all the world like some kind of berry.
I couldn't wait to see this flower from seeds I ordered from Parks in spring 2018. The vine was a little flimsy, but the ruffly double flower was impressive, so I saved seeds and will plant again in 2019.
The Lady Doorly's Morning Glory plant - is this a noxious weed in Australia. I have been given a clipping hoping to have it strike but do not want to grow if it is a weed. Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks Bonny