5" is a little short to actually start twinning.
Give 'em a little time.
They'll learn.

Thank-you, for some reason i was under the impression that as soon as they've start growing they start looking for something to latch on to..kinda hungry for twinning..lol
I'll most probably be posting in a little while, saying help..there taking over...lol...patience...

tabks again

I have moon flower seedlings about the same length and I actually tied them loosely to the trellis. Otherwise they wer trying to latch on the plants on the sides.
Padma.

mine (heavenly blue) started to climb after about 6-7 inches. it looks like just like an any old plant till that point and and one day there's a stem that shoots up at the top that's the stem that start to climb. from that point they grow 5 inches or more a day. first you might have to guide them to the trail. different vines climb differently. i don't know if you have to use different kind of trails or not. but i did mine differently - it might not be necessary. my snap pea has sort of gridlock kind and morning glory is just a single string tie to wherever i want it to go cause they wrap the whole stem around the string. first you might have to guide the stem to the trail so it can just start wrap around. i had to with mine. if the stem is long you could also sort of wrap it for them. it'll look loose but in short period time the'll tighten up on it's own. it's pretty neat. remember they only wrap counter clockwise. if you guide to the other way they'll just unwrap themselves.

Thank-you for your advice, been away and come back to me glories, climbing beautifully....
When would i expect them to start flowering...couple of mths??

i was actually wondering about the same thing. mine have been about i guess about 3 months or a little less- they are growing so rampant they are just growing, growing.....around 10-15 feet maybe more but they aren't showing any sigh of flowering. i don't really know what to do, i don't know if it's normal or not. i don't know what i'm doing wrong. i don't really wanna fertilize more cause i read they attract pest if they are too well fed- i don't know if it's myth or not but it's in my book. does anyone have any, i mean really any idea or sugggestion? guess?????? thanks.

I noticed on my first couple of years, when growing MG's inside the balcony, instead of against the railing, that I had very long plants and very sparse blooms... and the plants weren't very robust either... kind of leggy.

This year, I've planted them against the railing, where they get a good deal more sun than the other placements, and I'm getting quite vigorous growth and so far averaging about 5 blooms a day... but the number of buds is astounding... I keep expecting to wake up to a wall of color one of these mornings :0)

How much sun are your plants getting? Morning glories like a LOT of sun...

I've read here that MG's don't care for fertilizer, and the seed pack says they thrive in poor soil... but I think they thrive in good soil as well... I put a scoop of slow release in all of my plantings, and I fertilize with two scoops of Miracle Grow in my watering can about once a month, and it's working for me.

If your location has a tendency towards pests, a lot of new tender growth (which is often set off with a dose of fertilizer) can attract them... but it seems to me (someone correct me if I'm wrong here!!!) if you are not seeing a pest problem now, you can most like safely fertilize.

Hi...

Thanks Ruggy,

Suzi7..id be wondering to,hope you get some advice,

My glories are about 1-2ft high, they get the direct sun from 2.30 onwards..i havent noticed any pests..
so i guess what im saying is, have they got a while to go, to flower and if they dont flower, say in a 5 weeks time add miracle grow, or should i add M-grow now???

Also id like to grow some more vines, but ones that flower in the day..not just morning..any ideas..pink jasmine sounds wonderful..does that flower in the day..

ps if they dont get the sun in the morning, will they not open.flower....

thanks ruggy, i read the same thing about them liking poor soil, or if the leaves too lucious it attracts pest or something. unfortunatly they do have some pest problem. when i grew it from the seed and when i repotted i underfertilized than other plants. the pest is real mistery. i've try to figure it out, but i haven't seen anything like it. it's tiny weeny soft body type it's light tan or yellow sometimes blackish- i guess when adult. they are definatly not aphids- they are smaller and sort of very thin , short dash line looking. they are making some holes in the leaves, there aren't many but i don't know what they are , i just have to go daily patrol and spray whever i see them. they are in the balcony railing facing the west and a little bit of north, so i think they get plenty of sun light during the summer. maybe it's the seed, i bought it from gurney's and it was cheap and actually i wasn''t crazy about the quality of the seeds. but it's weired otherwise it's growing so much so fast... maybe i'll just expect to have MG flowers next year with good seeds.... thanks for replying.
and ppcatz-i personally love vines. they are so pretty. my new favorit is black -eyed susan vine, i always liked clematis , jasmin..... balcony looks so wonderful with lots of vines

My MG's have ramped up to 10-15 blooms a day since I posted this!

I get sun from about 3 pm on, and have fertilzed several times, about once a month. I planted my seeds on April 4th... and have had blooms for about 2 weeks or so, I'd say... so maybe 3 months from seed to bloom for me?

they climb on everything and anything at my house all over my house. I love using fishnets.
Or fishing line.
just run some 5 pound test and watch them take off. .....and over..............Mine have been blooming since june 25.

My MG's are now going close to 100 blooms a day! Check out the newest link in my garden gallery (2004 - 07-10_17 - Morning Glories) at http://www.matthewdillon.com/garden!

Here is a link that might be useful: Balcony Garden Gallery