That does sound big for a morning glory but maybe the fertile soil as you said. I've only planted 'Heavenly Blue' and did get a couple of volunteers the next year. I remember it bugged me that one of the vines waited until nearly time for frost before it finally started blooming and it was in the same conditions as another that started blooming weeks earlier. Hope yours blooms for you. Did you have morning glories last year?

Christie -
Thanks for responding. I did have some last year. The blooms were kind of late, but I figured that was due to the fact I transplanted it late from a really shady spot where it wasn't doing well. It didn't get near that big. I don't know what variety they were - bright pinks and purples - my son brought home the seedling from preschool.
I also started 18 VERY OLD seeds from three different varieties (Milky Way, Star of Yelta, and Scarlett O'Hara) this spring. Only got three decent plants out of those, but they have a very different leaf form - not heart shaped, but cut in kind of dramatically, really pretty. One of those just now caught up, and has completely swallowed up a 15 ft. plum tree. The others are still 1-2 ft. (also planted under plum trees). The soil there is definitely not fertile at all, so I don't really know what is going on. I'm just looking everywhere for buds and not seeing anything but more and more leaf shoots.
I'm glad to hear yours eventually bloomed before frost. Seems to me mine did the same last year. I wonder if they just get that message in the air that it's now or never, and do their thing.
I'm going to keep trying. Hope you do the same. People don't seem to grow mgs around here much anymore. Too bad. Seems like they used to be really common.

My morning glories did pretty well, BUT....I planted both grandpa ott and star of yelta thinking the colors would be nice togather, the grandpa ott did great, taking over everything it can latch onto, the star of yelta never bloomed, maybe some are stronger then others? I really don't know very much about them but someone once told me they need cooler weather to do well, it would be fantastic if yours does bloom (my morning glories are also my sons, he always weedles one or two of the annual gardens out of me)the kids really think its awesome when they see something of theirs grow and bloom.
micke

Isn't gardening great!

Here folks are coaxing and babying along a plant I've been doing my damndest to kill for 5 years! I've got a really pretty type that has the nicest large white flowers. But they come up in my shrubs and in other places I don't want them! I'm sure they were planted by someone in the past and they most likely enjoyed them. But I want them gone from my bushes! I keep trying to dig them out but every time I think their gone the come back. :(

Oh well, the blooms are nice.

Rick

Well...I'm not exactly coaxing them. They are just doing their own thing, and I can see where they could probably get away from you. A friend of mine told me hers were planted a few years back and they are popping up everywhere now.
The good news is that the big plant finally bloomed Aug 7th, the day after my second post on this thread. The next biggest is now, if anything, bigger than the original, and it just bloomed this morning for the first time. They appear to be Scarlett O'Hara - really incredibly beautiful, pure color, and a large bloom. However, neither one is putting out many blooms at once. I sure hope the cooler weather coming up will help with that. I remember my Dad used to have a long chicken wire fence just covered in the Heavenly Blue ones. That's what I want to see. Maybe the Heavenly Blues are more floriferous?

My mom has lived in AR her whole life and says that morning glories are a late summer/fall bloomer.

That said-- if you're looking for a unique morning glory, search for "japanese morning glory" on Ebay. You won't believe the new varieties the Japanese have developed. Absolutely spectacular.