Morning Glory, also known as Ipomoea purpurea or Convolvulus purpureus, is one of the best flowers to decorate the walls of the house. It belongs to the family of Convolvulaceae, which has more than 50 genera and 1000 species. It is a fast growing plant with heart shaped leaves, and different colors like white, red, blue, purple, yellow, pink and magenta. As the name suggests, the flowers bloom in the early morning hours. These plants can be easily grown in pots. Let us know how to grow Morning Glory from seed?

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How to Grow Morning Glory Vine from Seed in a Pot or Seed Tray?

  • Fill the seed tray with a good quality seed starting mix / potting mix or you can make it yourself. You can also use pots instead of seed trays.
  • Plant two seeds in each cell or three seeds in each pot.
  • Cover the seed with a thin layer of the same potting mix. Although not necessary, you can also cover the seed tray or pot with newspaper or clear/colored plastic sheet to retain moisture.
  • Keep the potting medium moist, don’t overwater or let it dry out.
  • The ideal temperature range for optimum germination rate is 21 C – 30 C (70 F – 85 F).
  • Seeds will germinate in between 6 – 25 days depending upon the quality of the seed and the weather of your place.
  • After germination, remove weak shoots. In the case of pots, remove the weakest plant and allow the two plants to grow as they protect each other from heat and burns.

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Seedlings

  • Begin to harden off the plants at least 7 days before transplanting.
  • Prepare garden soil or potting soil by adding well-ripened compost or fertilizer at least 7 days in advance.
  • When the plants have at least 8-10 leaves then only they should be transplanted.
  • There should be a distance of 20 inches between two plants on the ground or plant two plants in a medium sized pot.
  • Insert 2-3 matchsticks into the hole with the plant. This will give your plant much needed sulfur and potassium. Water it well.

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Suitable time for flowering

Although Morning glory flowers throughout the year, but it flowers the most in summer.

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Morning Glory Plant Care

Essential soil

It does not require any special type of soil. This vine can be planted in any soil. The soil should not be too wet, the soil should be dry at the time of planting. If the soil remains wet during this time, there is a danger of fungus. A suitable soil pH of 6 – 6.8 is considered best but it is not necessarily the same. A little sand should be mixed with the soil while planting Morning Glory, this keeps the soil loose and retains moisture.

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Fertilizers and Manures

Although this vine does not require any special type of fertilizer, but once in every 4 to 5 weeks during growth, low nitrogen fertilizer should be used. If there is a decrease in flowering, then high phosphorus fertilizer should be used immediately. Only manure should be used while planting the plant. Compost is best suited as a fertilizer.

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Water

This plant should be watered regularly because this plant also does not require a lot of water at once, but it is more appropriate to give a little water in the morning and evening. Keep in mind that it has to be given only so much water that there is always moisture near its roots.

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Need for Sunlight

For this, 6 to 8 hours of sunlight is necessary, but it is very important to protect it from the afternoon sun, because the afternoon sun is very strong, which the plant cannot tolerate and becomes prone to drying. The afternoon sun should not fall on the pot at all. If MORNING GLORY is planted in a place where sunlight is not reaching, then this plant will dry up due to lack of sunlight. Therefore, sufficient amount of sunlight is necessary.

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Pests and Diseases

There would hardly be any disease that would affect it and there would hardly be any insect that would harm it. Fungal problems such as leaf rot, stem rot, white spots on the leaves can occur due to excessive soil moisture and increased moisture. But it is not necessary that all these problems come due to increase in humidity. It is necessary to avoid animals in the initial period, otherwise they will uproot it.

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