Grandpa Ott; Never again...

19 years ago

3 years ago I planted 1 plant of G.O on a trellis beside my porch. I planted 2 others on the fence around my veggie garden. Oh what a beauty they were to behold every morning! I really hated when a frost killed them in late fall but I deligently collected every seed I could find.

Early last May, to my surprise, there were 1000's of G.O seedlings growing under the arbor and along the fence. I kinda freaked that 3 plants could produce that many volunteers so I pulled them all! Within a week they were all back.

I was sure the pole beans I planted along the fence last year would eventually shade out the G.O and they'd be unable to bloom. NOT! So, I laid down a thick mulch of shredded hardwood but that didn't stop them either. Thus began a summer long ritual of pulling morning glory seedlings every week. This continued until a frost. I made sure that none of the flowers that made it by me were able to go to seed.

Well lo and behold the warm temps we've had the last week has brought out a new crop of G.O seedlings. Not as many as last spring this time but a lot. Will it ever end!!?

I'll just stick to growing my old standby heavenly blue from here on.

Featured Answer

ron_convolvulaceae

8 years ago

@aka_peggy , @tracey_nj6 - The following was posted - "I kinda freaked that 3 plants could produce that many volunteers so I pulled them all! Within a week they were all back."....You shouldn't plant Ipomoea purpurea where it is going to be difficult to remove volunteers, although if you cut an annual type of MG seedling , below the cotyledons, it will NOT grow any further and a lawnmower set to very low or a simple weed-wacker works fine in removing any unwanted volunteers...Sometimes seeds will stay dormant in the soil for a couple years, although 'strangely', even though I study Morning Glories with some intensity, and frankly I do know how to identify different species, unlike most of the people posting all over the web, I have NEVER had the type of 'other-worldy' invasivness that some people report, so something is 'askew' somewhere in the 'formula'...I own 3 groups devoted exclusively to MG's, Moderate a 3rd and contribute to a host of professional sites on MG identification...The suppliers don't have packages labeled correctly as far as the species , or the cultivar...Scarlett O'Hara should be Ipomoea nil, not Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea nil is not generally a big self-sower, so, dis-information causes problems when disseminated by merchants or annoyed growers...I rarely come through this site anymore , because of the loss of functionality (e.g., no more internal messaging), although anyone interested to contact me , can do so by clicking onto my name and looking at my homepage.

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Comments (10)

ARUM
19 years ago
Reminds me of that dang "Noah" MG!!! :0) arum
susanlynne48
19 years ago
I think I've almost gotten rid of the vine in the front sunny area of my yard. I leave the ones in the backyard. It is partial shade, and they bloom great, but don't produce as much seed. A lot of the seed they produce gets mowed, too.

I felt the same way about Scarlett O'Hara last year. I think I managed to get most of those out, too. Any of the I. purpurea cultivars seem invasive to me.

Nonetheless, it's still not as bad as shiso (perilla)! I am still pulling out seedlings of that after planting one about 4 years ago. I try to get them all, and lo and behold there is always one hiding AND BLOOMING under a big plant - enough to scatter seeds from here to eternity.

I hate the smell of this plant, too! Yuck!

Susan
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aka_peggy
Original Author
19 years ago
Susan, I have seeds of shiso I was going to plant this fall...or maybe not:)

I also have scarlett o'hara that I was afraid to plant after my experience with Grandpa.

Oh well.
aka_peggy
Original Author
19 years ago
UPDATE!!

And Grandpa Ott just keeps on coming. Seeds are still germinating by the dozens...even 3 years after planting.
I went out this morning and pulled 5-6 dozen seedlings.

This vine is determined to grow!!!!!!!!
jenny_in_se_pa
19 years ago
Yep, I have "Scarlet O'Hara" and "Grandpa Ott" seedlings popping up everywhere. Haven't had to plant MGs in 4 years now. LOL It's always a surprise to see which one predominates out of what I allow to grow out (last year it was the "Scarlet O'Hara" with only a few "Grandpa Ott's").
goldenbuckeye
19 years ago
I planted GO 5 or 6 years ago and I'm still pulling them out.
aka_peggy
Original Author
19 years ago
"I planted GO 5 or 6 years ago and I'm still pulling them out."

Oh no...don't say that!! LOL!! What have I done?!!
tracey_nj6
19 years ago
My Grandpa Ott's hasn't reseeded at all, even though I know loads of seed had dropped. Now, the Orange Noah; seedlings EVERHWYERE! This year I'm growing Scarlet O'Hara...
Elisabeth Castillo
8 years ago
I love Grandpa Ott's and I'm not really clear why their proliferation is a problem? They're so pretty.