The morning glory (Ipomoea), which comes from Mexico, does not produce the same abundance of flowers in all gardens. With the right care, you can ensure strong plants and numerous flowers on your morning glories.
How do you properly care for morning glories?
For successful morning glory care, you should pay attention to sufficient watering (possibly daily in midsummer), a humus-rich and moisture-retaining soil, occasional fertilizer with potassium and avoiding pests such as aphids or spider mites.
How often should you water morning glories?
The respective watering interval for the morning glory also depends on where the quickly climbing morning glory was planted in the garden or on the balcony. In mid-summer, due to the large leaf mass, daily watering may be necessary (also due to the drying out of the soil in the sunshine). However, you can increase the soil's moisture retention capacity by applying a thick layer of mulch made from grass clippings around the base of the plant.
What should you consider when transplanting morning glories?
The morning glories have relatively sensitive roots, which is why direct sowing in pots for the garden when growing indoors is an option for a particularly smooth move to the outdoors. When planting in a bed, the planting hole should be large enough to completely accommodate the entire ball of soil in the growing pot.
Can the morning glory be cut into shape?
The morning glory tolerates pruning well, but sprawling shoots can also simply be redirected in a different direction. In the fall, the plants can be easily pulled out and composted.
What pests and diseases cause problems for morning glories?
Strugglingly growing morning glories are usually not affected by diseases, but rather suffer from care errors. While aphid colonies can be sprayed off with a sharp jet of water from the garden hose (€41.00 on Amazon), you can combat the so-called “red spider” spider mites by spraying them with a little cooking oil.
What and how much should the morning glory be fertilized?
In a humus-rich garden soil, morning glories usually find enough nutrients for their growth, but occasional fertilizer applications can visibly increase this. But pay attention to the following factors:
- Excessive fertilization promotes a lot of leaf growth and can reduce the number of flowers
- the fertilizer should contain potassium if possible
- water sufficiently with the fertilizer application
Can morning glories be overwintered?
Basically, morning glories are one of the rather short-lived plants. Since they cannot tolerate frost, they would have to be cut back and overwintered in a pot indoors. However, this is hardly worth it due to the easy propagation from seeds and the rapid growth.
Tip
When planting the morning glory, you can easily plant it at a slight angle in the ground to show it the way to the corresponding trellis or fence.