The short-lived morning glory is usually grown in Central Europe as an annual climbing plant in the garden or in pots on the balcony. If a few tips are followed when sowing, the colorful flower funnels of the originally Mexican climbers will soon appear, even without much care.
When and how is it best to sow morning glories?
For successful morning glory sowing, it is recommended to grow the frost-sensitive seeds indoors between the end of March and the beginning of April. Before sowing, let the seeds soak in water for a few hours and then sow them at an optimal germination temperature of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius.
Seed properties
With the relatively small seeds of the morning glory, one gram of seed contains around 35 to 45 seeds. Since there is an almost unmanageable number of color variations, a number of subspecies with, for example, blue, pink or white flower funnels (€2.00 at Amazon) are also available in specialist retailers. The following properties must be taken into account when sowing:
- Dark Germ
- Morning glories are sensitive to frost
- optimal germination temperature: 18 to 20 degrees Celsius
- Germination time: around two weeks
It makes germination easier if you let the seeds soak in water for a few hours before sowing. You can also save a lot of time and effort when pricking out if you sow 3 to 4 seeds directly at the planned location or each in a separate pot.
Prefer morning glories indoors
Morning glories are extremely fast-growing climbing plants, but due to their sensitivity to cold temperatures they cannot be sown and planted out before the ice saints. You can give the morning glories a head start on growth in spring on the balcony or in the garden if you prefer the young plants to the windowsill. The optimal timing for planting in the garden is if you sow the seeds indoors between the end of March and the beginning of April.
Direct sowing of morning glories outdoors
From the end of May you can also sow the morning glories directly in the field. When choosing a location, make sure it is as sunny as possible with some protection from wind and rain. If pets and small children play in your garden, they should avoid getting close to the sometimes poisonous subspecies of morning glories. This problem can be solved if you sow the morning glories in hanging plant pots or balcony boxes at a height that is out of reach of children and small animals.
Tip
If you want to collect morning glory seeds yourself for the next season, you must allow the seed capsules to fully mature. This non-varietal propagation method can lead to interesting color crossings.
