i wouldnt cut on it ...

where are you.. big city name.. and how long do you think it will be before it can go outside??? .. not when you plan on doing.. it when can it actualy be done ...

day temps are irrelevant ... is night temps thats the key here ... it cant frost or freeze ...

i in my cold MI ... i would probably have it outside in bright shade .. to temper off to local temps.. and bring it in on nights were temps are too cold .. until i forget about it.. and then learn my lesson to not buy early .. lol ..

cant you rig up more of a trellis ... a pic might get you some ideas ..

but your gut reaction that it is not a houseplant is spot on ...

ken

I live in Wichita Kansas our last frost date was set for tomorrow which these next 2 days the night lows are about 33 and after that they are like in the 40-50s. so not sure when it can be done which is the part I'm worried/ struggling with. ill most likely do what you said and slowly move it into part sun/shade and Harden it off until then. I'm also thinking about upping the pot size just by 1 size because it is quite a small pot. I'm also going to rig up a trellis that attaches to the one thats in it rn with small wooden dowels if I can. its really wrapped around the trellis thats in there now.

lol.. there is no set last frost date ... ma nature scoffs at peeps who suggest so ...lol

its stressed form being moved from grower .. to seller to you ... its will be stressed from hardening off outside ... it will be stressed from moving it into brighter light when it goes outside ... and it will be stressed from planting ...

i would suggest you dont add another stress by repotting it a week or two before you plant it outside ...

get it outside in full bright shade.. north side of the house or something.. for the next two weeks.. and bring it in at night if it supposed to get down below about 35 or so .. and then plant it...

try not to love it to death in the mean time ...

ken

My moonflower story. First, I had no idea they're considered a vine so I didn't grow them that way.

25 years ago a friend sent me moonflower seeds from her plants. They form ginormous pods full of seeds.

I planted them in my flowerbed off the front porch facing east, so they got a good 7 hours of morning sun. They grew like weeds and bloomed like crazy.

Fifteen years later we added onto the house and the concrete covered the flowerbed of moonflowers. :( Oh, and 4 o'clocks. :( :(

A year after the house was finished, a long row of 4 o'clocks running along the east side of the house came up! I didn't plant them either.

At the same time a full row of moonflowers grew along the side of our gravel driveway in front of a row of cedar trees. Grew like weeds. Nowhere near the front porch area where they once grew and was no longer there.

They die every winter and come back from the seed pods they drop. Here's a picture from last year.

Trust me, you can't kill them. I don't even water these and it gets super hot here in the summer.

Getting ready to open for the evening. Sorry it's blurred a bit.