Morning Glory Red And Blue

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Ipomea red-blue (lat. Ipomea rubro-caerulea) - a representative of the Ipomoea genus of the Bindweed family. South America is considered to be the homeland. The culture is actively cultivated by gardeners and flower growers in Russia, European countries and the United States in order to decorate personal backyards, as well as city parks and gardens.

Characteristics of culture

Ipomoea red-blue is represented by perennial climbing plants, which are cultivated as annuals in culture. This aspect is due to the weak winter-hardy properties of plants. They are characterized by highly branched stems, which, with proper care, reach 5-6 meters in length. The foliage of the species under consideration is opposite, medium or large in size, heart-shaped or ovoid-heart-shaped. The foliage surface is wrinkled, without pubescence. The petioles of the foliage are long.

Ipomoea flowers are red-blue funnel-shaped, blue or sky-colored, no more than 10 cm in diameter. Closer to fading, the flowers acquire a purple or purple-pink color. Blooming of one flower does not exceed one day. An important feature of plants is the closure of flowers in the evening. As a rule, this happens after 18-00. In general, flowering lasts throughout the summer, in Central Russia from the first decade of July to the third decade of September, in the southern regions - until the third decade of October. The fruits are cone-shaped capsules that contain long, convex black seeds.

Interesting varieties

Of the varieties that have won recognition among flower growers, the Heavenly Blue variety can be noted. It is characterized by large flowers of blue or purple color with a white-yellow core. Equally attractive is the Early Call Mixture. It is characterized by large lavender, blue or pink flowers in the form of phonographs with a white stripe along the edge. Also noteworthy is the Pearly Gates variety. It has milky flowers with a yellow core.

Growing features

Sowing red-blue morning glory, you can forget about it once and for all. The fact is that the plant is actively self-sowing, in the spring the sprouts hatch and grow. It is important to thin out the seedlings in time, otherwise they will fill large areas and interfere with each other. This will affect the abundance of flowering and growth. Seeds, in turn, must be sown directly into open ground. Sowing can be carried out in shallow grooves, and then thinned out, or in depressions, 2-3 seeds per well. It is recommended to sow in the second decade of May, best of all under a film, so that possible night frosts do not destroy young, still immature plants.

Subtleties in care

It should be noted that all types of morning glory are not demanding in relation to care. It is enough to systematically water, apply mineral complex fertilizers in the spring, watering at the root. Organic matter is only required if the soil is very poor. The first time will also require weeding, then the plant will grow and cover the soil with its green mass. As soon as the red-blue morning glory reaches 10 cm, you need to build a good and, most importantly, strong support. It is not forbidden to plant a plant along a chain-link fence or a wrought-iron fence.