Seed preparation
Morning glory seed has a hard coat that keeps water out. Treat it just before sowing and sow it straight away; do not let treated seed dry out again.
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Flower growing guide
Morning glory is a fast, easy annual climber with trumpet flowers that open in the morning. Soak or nick the hard seed, sow it in warm soil in full sun and give the vine something to climb.
Morning glory seed has a hard coat that keeps water out. Treat it just before sowing and sow it straight away; do not let treated seed dry out again.
Nick or file a tiny spot on the seed coat, away from the scar where the seed was attached, until the pale interior just shows. This is an alternative or addition to soaking.
Not needed. Morning glory is a warm-season plant and cold treatment does not help.
Soak the seed in room-temperature water for up to 24 hours. Seeds that swell are ready to sow; nick any that stay hard and soak them again.
18-24 °C (64-75 °F). Outdoors, sow only after the risk of frost has passed and the soil feels warm. In most of India sow at the start of the warm season or with the monsoon.
About 1-1.5 cm (1/2 in). Firm the soil lightly over the seed.
Free-draining seed compost in pots; outdoors, any moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil. Avoid rich, heavily manured beds.
Keep evenly moist until seedlings appear, but not soggy: soaked seed rots in cold, waterlogged compost.
Seed is covered and does not need light. Move seedlings into full sun as soon as they emerge.
Soaked or nicked seed in warm compost germinates quickly. Untreated seed or cool conditions give slow, uneven emergence that can stretch to about 90 days.
If you start seed indoors, sow two or three seeds directly into each small individual pot a few weeks before planting out and keep the strongest seedling. Morning glory roots do not like being separated and moved.
Plant out after frost without breaking up the root ball, in full sun at the foot of a trellis, fence or string supports. Water in well.
Once the stems start to twine, guide them onto the support. Twining stems wrap around thin supports, so give them strings, netting or wire rather than a flat wall.
Common morning glory covers 1.8-3 m (6-10 ft) of support in a season, and 'Heavenly Blue' types up to 3-6 m (10-20 ft). Put up the support before sowing.
Water in dry weather so the vine keeps growing, but do not feed regularly: lean soil gives more flowers.
Each flower opens in the morning and fades the same day. Plants flower from early summer into autumn in temperate climates and through the warm season in the tropics.
Morning glory seeds are poisonous if eaten. Store packets and saved seed away from children and pets.
Soak the seed overnight and sow it in warm, sunny soil for a quick screen of morning flowers.
It is strongly recommended. The hard seed coat slows water uptake; soaking for up to 24 hours or nicking the coat gives quicker, more even germination.
Yes. The seeds contain alkaloids that can cause vomiting and, in larger amounts, hallucinations. Keep them away from children and pets.
Too much nitrogen, rich soil or shade. Grow it in full sun, stop feeding and the vine will flower more freely.