I grew them for years and I remember they were usually slow to get going. Late August they will be rampant and blooming their heads off.

Depends which cultivar you are growing too, Flying Saucers is faster and Milky Way is slower and a smaller plant overall. Grandpa Ott I think is smaller. Heavenly Blue grows like weeds. Just out of my faulty memory here. I'm sure your MGs will catch up.

similar problem...

I tried a dwarf variety this year and plane old purple morning glories which I collected seeds from last year... The dwarf has been stuck at 4" all summer (all 15 plants)and the good old purple kind I normally collect seeds from every year is already huge. Not sure why but I won't bother buying morning glory seeds again next year...

-Andrew

Whew, I'll stop worrying then. Thanks

Shauna

Shauna have you tried moonflower before? I tried it for about 4 years and the only time I ever got flowers on it was by Halloween and it had been in the house already for over a month. Didn't try it again since, but maybe this year with all the heat, it may do better?
Laurie

Well, now I feel better as well, since my tallest morning glories are about 8 inches tall. They are in a poor spot, however, right under the apple tree. The intent was to get them to climb up the tree. They are growing slowly but steady I suppose.

I take it they do like heat. When I lived in an apartment block the caretaker had some on the east side of building. Though it wasn't necessarily full sun, it was quite intense sun and heat, against the concrete wall of the building. They seemed to do fairly well there.

Glen

No, I haven't grown either before. These are a whole new experience for me. The trellis is against a grey fence facing east. I think they get shaded about 2 PM so they are getting quite a bit of direct sun. I wondered if they liked it hotter and I should have them on the south facing fence. ????

Shauna

I'm not sure if MG like extreme heat, but I know moonflower does.

The plain old blue ones are Heavenly Blue. They grow really fast. My favourites are Flying Saucers, they are large also and the flowers are blue/white variegated, really pretty.

I used to grow them in the "pressure cooker" - a south-east corner up a white stucco wall and it was probably a little too hot for them because they wilted a lot, but the Flying Saucers seemed to stand up to it pretty well and they even forced their way through a window screen and invaded my bedroom once. Yeek! Flying Saucers in my bedroom!

Hmmm this is an interesting thread....I have tried morning glories several times....and really haven't been impressed. I have seen the pics and heard the stories as well of them taking over.....NOT for me.

Canary bird vine in another and black eyed susan vine is another.....that do about the same as the morning glories for me.....usually one stem that might get to two feet if I am lucky.

Maybe my garden is to open and not warm enough for them...I was over at a friends...and she grew canary bird vine for the first time this year......its huge....but she had it snuggled right in against her house. So maybe that is the difference.

Sierra

Well don't feel too bad everyone, I can't grow sweet peas. They just do not do anything.

In my experience the best variety to grow in our climate that is fast, vigorous and actually will bloom early is IPOMOEA purpurea 'Grandpa 'Ott's'. To get them to grow and flourish in our climate is to start them early in the house, according to my records this year I started them May 10th and the germinated May 14th, donÂt transplant them out too early, they hate the cold or any bit of frost, after June is ideal. I like to grow them in a large pot with a trellis of some sort behind them, fertilize the heck out of them at the beginning of the season, and then stop fertilizing to achieve the blooms. They do best in hot full sun. I tried taking a photo of Grandpa this afternoon but itÂs so darn windy that I canÂt get a good photo just yet. If I wait till this evening, the flowers will close up!

Same thing with Sweetpeas, but they can be transplanted out earlier ;)

Sharon

Do sweetpeas prefer things a bit cooler? Mine are planted on the east side of the house against a brown wall, and they only just started taking off. And i've had a heck of a time convincing them to climb! LOL

Thanks for the morning glory advice, Sharon. Mine are not blooming yet, just climbing up some cosmos to get to the lattice behind them. From what you say, i planted them out too early, but next year i'll have a greenhouse to give them a good start and that they can live in until the weather is better for them.

My heavenly blue seemed to take off after I moved it to a south facing stucco wall(planted in a pot with a trellis) however, many of the leaves have tissue paper thin areas on them. What sort of pest causes this? I'm about to give up on growing morning glories, every year they just seem to get going and then the leaves start to look real ratty for some reason or another just as they are about to bloom. It's very disappointing especially when its said they're so easy to grow. Maybe one more try next year with Grandpa Ott as someone has suggested. Another annual vine that I tried this year that is quite attractive is the dolicos lablab(purple hyacinth bean); I have it planted with heliotrope and it looks quite nice together and the fragrance of the heliotrope is a bonus!

Geez Debbie, I have no idea what is causing your MG to get like that, do you have them growing in a real windy site?

My Dolichos lablab ÂRuby Moon Hyacinth Bean that I planted this year look pitiful, they are maybe 12-16" high so far. LOL, it could be because they are not planted in the best soil and the fact that it is a part of the garden that does not get watered or attention as the other parts of the garden does. I'm watering that area right now as I type ;)

Marica, yes SP do like it cool, but nowadays there are so many strains that are heat-resistant to hot weather and beside isn't gardening in the north always cool, LOL.....I couldn't believe how cool it was tonight, I had to put on a jean jacket to water a few pots after work. I have a funny feeling that were going to get the big "F" early this year!

Sharon

This year my MG's and SP's are happy but I couldn't get Scarlet Runners to grow ! Too wet and cool around Calgary earlier this year and they like hot! All contributes to the challenge of gardening in this climate!!
Marge