Morning glory in hanging basket gives your home a special type of look as its leaves fall gracefully from the basket. Morning glories of the Convolvulaceae family are popular flowers and people have been enjoying their beauty for ages. What makes morning glory plants so special? Read this guide to learn more about this amazing plant.
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Morning Glory Plants
Morning glories are plants in the genus Ipomoea. They are related to sweet potatoes but are planted for their pretty blooms and not as vegetables. Morning glories are very easy to grow as they tolerate a wide range of soil, temperature and other environmental factors.
These pretty plants attract butterflies and hummingbirds. They are truly loved by flower enthusiasts.
– Special Morning Glory Features
Here are some distinctive features of morning glory plants:
Plant appearance: Morning glories grow as crawling or climbing plants. They can grow 120-180 inches long depending on the variety, and they spread 12-24 inches wide.- Leaves: Aside from the flowers of morning glories, its leaves are the most distinguishable feature of the plant. Morning glory leaves are heart-shaped and can be 2 inches or longer depending on the variety.
- Flowers: The most common flower color in morning glory plants is blue, but flowers can also come in purple, white, pink, red or a combination of two or more colors. Morning glories bloom in early/mid-summer to fall, and its flowers are tubular and have a sweet fragrance. As the name of the plant suggests, morning glory flowers bloom in the morning and close in the afternoon.
Plant appearance: Morning glories grow as crawling or climbing plants. They can Morning glories have a lot of varieties and each variety has its unique color and appearance. What variety should you plant?
– Morning Glory Varieties to Plant
There are so many varieties of morning glory plants that you should grow. Some of the most popular varieties that are easy to grow are:
- Heavenly Blue: The flower of this variety produces a blue color. This variety can grow over 140 inches tall.
- Scarlett O’Hara: This variety has bright red flowers and can grow up to 190 inches tall.
- Star of Yelta: This is a special Heirloom variety. It produces purple flowers and can grow up to 120 inches tall. This variety blooms for a longer time than others.
- Flying Saucers: A special variety with 5-6-inch flowers. Its flowers are blue streaked with silvery-white, and this variety can grow up to 140 inches tall.
- Sunrise Serenade: This variety has double blooms in the blooming season. It does not climb like other varieties but is very beautiful when it starts to bloom.
- Grandpa Ott: Grandpa Ott is an heirloom variety. It has purple flowers with a red star in the middle. It blooms continually from early summer to fall and can grow more than 100 inches tall.
- Moonflower: This unique variety is sometimes referred to as another plant because it blooms at night instead of in the morning. It produces large white flowers as well.
You should consider buying multiple morning glory seeds so that you can get different colors of flowers. You can also buy the Mt. Fuji variety that produces flowers in various colors.
How to Plant Morning Glory in a Hanging Basket
Planting morning glory seeds in hanging basket is easy. Plant the seeds ¼ to ½ inches deep and be sure to spread them 6-12 inches apart. Cover the seeds with soil and mist them with water, then continue to mist them every day for two weeks after planting, even after they have germinated. You can start your seeds a few weeks before the last frost date indoors.
You should plant your morning glories in an appropriate potting mix, which should be lightweight and organic. You can buy the appropriate potting mix for your morning glories in gardening shops near you.
Remember that the hanging baskets should have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain.
– Hanging Your Morning Glory Baskets
Hanging morning glory is a cool way to display the plant. The leaves will fall gracefully and when the plant blooms, the flowers surround the hanging basket and beautify your home.
You should hang the hanging baskets in a place where your plants can receive at least 4 hours of direct sunlight daily.
Care
It is easy to grow morning glory in hanging baskets, but they will require extra care to maintain their beauty. Here are some useful tips for you:
– Water Requirements
You should water your morning glory plants regularly. Water the leaves by misting daily and pour water into the hanging basket three times weekly during the summer and spring months. You do not need to water the plants in autumn if you are growing them outside, but you should water them when growing them indoors.
– Nutrient Requirements
Morning glories pruned regularly do not need a lot of fertilizer. When allowed to grow to their full length, you will need to fertilize your morning glory plants regularly (twice monthly throughout the growing season) to maintain a beautiful bloom.
If you notice that your plants are dying when they are flowering, you should give them a proper flower dose with higher levels of potassium and phosphorus. You can give your morning glories half-strength fertilizer.
– Light Requirements
Morning glories love full sunlight but can also grow in afternoon shade. It is better to plant your flowers where they can receive up to 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, but they can still thrive with at least 4 hours of sunlight daily.
Always remember that morning glory plants are light lovers.
– Temperature and Humidity
If you live in USDA hardiness zones 3-10, you will grow your morning glory as an annual as the plant becomes a perennial in zones 11-13.
You should not expose your morning glory to temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit for long, as it cannot withstand cold temperatures. The optimum temperature to grow morning glory plants is 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A humidity level of 50-70 percent is sufficient for these plants.
– Pruning
Morning glory plants in hanging baskets should be pruned regularly to maintain their beauty. Morning glories that grow unpruned in hanging baskets appear bushy and do not bring out the beauty of your home, so you should prune your plants regularly.
When you have selected a specific number of stems to fall from the hanging basket, prune off the other stems that grow. You should also separate the stems of your plants to prevent them from tangling with other stems.
Repotting Your Morning Glories
You do not need to repot your morning glory if you grow it as an annual plant. For perennials, repot your plants every two or three years when the potting mix becomes compacted. Make sure that you do not damage the morning glory roots when repotting the plant.
Trellis
Growing morning glory in pots and hanging baskets is the most beautiful way to grow the plant. Morning glory care in hanging baskets, however, can be demanding as you need to prune the plant regularly and always pay attention to its leaves. An easier method of growing morning glories is by planting them in a trellis.
Planting morning glories with trellises is easy as morning glories are climbers and always need something to climb. Simply guide the leaves and place them on the trellis. In time, the plant will grow upwards and cover the entire trellis.
Another frequently asked question about this plant is if it is possible to propagate morning glories in hanging baskets. Continue reading to find out.
Propagate
There are two major ways to propagate morning glory plants.
– Seed
Morning glory seeds germinate quickly and have a high rate of germination. To plant the seeds, soak them in water overnight and plant them in their hanging basket the next day. Plant the seeds ¼ inches deep and water them by misting them until they germinate.
– Cutting
You can propagate your morning glory by rooting a stem cutting. Collect at least 6 inches of stem cutting from a healthy morning glory plant, making sure that there is at least one node in the cutting. Dip the cutting in a rooting hormone and plant it in an appropriate potting mix or garden soil.
Water the cutting by misting it, and in less than two weeks, you should notice signs of growth. New leaves growing indicate that the plant has rooted successfully. Continue to water the plant by misting it until it is ready to be transplanted into the hanging basket two months later.
Problems
Some common problems faced by people who grow morning glory plants include:
– Pests
Your plants can be attacked by pests such as snails, spider mites, aphids and other insect pests. You can repel these pesky bugs using a pesticide. You should pick pests from your plants and kill them immediately if you can find any.
– Plant Competition
If you do not regularly prune your plants, they may climb over other plants and prevent them from receiving sufficient light. Growing morning glories in hanging baskets can help solve this as these plants need to be pruned when planted in hanging baskets.
– Toxic Plants
Morning glory plants are toxic when consumed, so you need to prevent your children and pets from consuming the leaves, flowers and other parts of the plants.
FAQ
What months do Morning Glories bloom?
Morning Glories typically bloom during the summer months, particularly from late spring to early fall.
Do Morning Glories like hot weather?
Yes, Morning Glories generally thrive in hot weather. They are sun-loving plants that prefer warm temperatures for optimal growth and flowering.
What grows well with hanging Morning Glories?
Hanging Morning Glories pair well with other trailing or cascading plants like petunias, nasturtiums, or trailing lobelia. These combinations create beautiful cascades of color and foliage.
Conclusion
Morning glory in hanging baskets is a very beautiful plant that you should grow in your home. Remember the following points when growing potted morning glory:
- You should regularly prune your morning glories in hanging baskets to maintain their beauty.
- Water your morning glories regularly. Pour water into the hanging basket three times weekly and mist the leaves daily throughout the growing season.
- If you are growing your morning glory in USDA hardiness zones 3-10, you will grow it as an annual. It is grown as a perennial for other zones.
- Annual morning glories do not need a lot of fertilizer and you do not need to repot them. As for perennials, you should repot them every two or three years.
- If you cannot maintain your morning glory in hanging baskets, you can grow yours in trellises.
Will you grow your morning glories in hanging baskets? Make sure to follow the tips in this guide and you’ll soon have a healthy and happy plant!
