Hi Stacicx and welcome to the vines forum. A partial answer to your question about how long MGs live is most of them are annuals and will live only one season. Although there are perennial MGs, the ones that are being talked about that are growing in the winter are mostly the annual ones that a few of us are growing inside for the winter season, just like you grow them in the summer. I started mine just as I would in the spring, and am going to keep them on a sunny windowsill under lights.

There is no MG society like there is for roses and other flowers so as for naming them there really aren't any rules. Most people that cross them and create something new will grow it out for a couple of seasons to see if the color stays true then give it a new name.

Hi Staticx, I think most of the commercial strains of Japanese MGs are stable like what Ronnie has mentioned. There is that infrequent occasion when some natural cross-pollination occurred and you get something completely different from what you see on the seed packet. It isn't altogether a bad thing, though, in my opinion. Sometimes you get a new vine that is stunningly beautiful.

Joseph