Morning Glory in Scotland? (Or other cool climate)

[Susan BBPM]

They're rated hardiness of H1c which means they won't tolerate temps below 5 degrees. From mid June I can be fairly sure of that, but our average highs for mid summer are only 18 degrees C.

A bit late to ask as I have 18 little plug plants underway, but trying to set my expectations. I grew them last year but put them out late May and they all died of cold.

 

[Zroota]

Can't they be grown as annuals there?

 

[Susan BBPM]

Can't they be grown as annuals there?

The RHS classes them has hardiness level "H1C - can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)"

Temperatures below 5 degrees C will kill them (as I discovered last year), but even below 10 degrees they are unlikely to thrive. It's the same hardiness group as tomatoes - we can't grow tomatoes outside as we simply don't get enough nights with temps above 10 degrees C. Even in a greenhouse we only get above 10 degrees C at night in July/August.

In England nights are warmer - they have a longer season. So I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time with morning glory up here? Just not warm enough?

They're currently thriving in pots in my greenhouse where I have soil warming cables on at night. I'm hoping to wait until mid-june to plant them out, but struggling a bit as they're getting pretty big!!

 

[Zroota]

The RHS classes them has hardiness level "H1C - can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)"

Temperatures below 5 degrees C will kill them (as I discovered last year), but even below 10 degrees they are unlikely to thrive. It's the same hardiness group as tomatoes - we can't grow tomatoes outside as we simply don't get enough nights with temps above 10 degrees C. Even in a greenhouse we only get above 10 degrees C at night in July/August.

In England nights are warmer - they have a longer season. So I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time with morning glory up here? Just not warm enough?

They're currently thriving in pots in my greenhouse where I have soil warming cables on at night. I'm hoping to wait until mid-june to plant them out, but struggling a bit as they're getting pretty big!!

May I know their species name? Because there are many Morning Glories.

Here in Sydney, Morning Glories (such as Ipomoea cairica and indica) are vigorous weeds and can be found in wastelands and parks choking up trees. Winter nights here are mostly below 10C, even reaching 5C in many nights and they are not affected. But then again, maybe seedlings will be (?) but mature vines are not phased at all by the cold nights.

Since your large ones in the greenhouse are getting huge, maybe you can transplant them in June when it's warm outside. Maybe they can be hardy and strong enough to survive as they're big as you say? Try testing one of them and see how it goes.

 

[Susan BBPM]

May I know their species name? Because there are many Morning Glories.

Here in Sydney, Morning Glories (such as Ipomoea cairica and indica) are vigorous weeds and can be found in wastelands and parks choking up trees. Winter nights here are mostly below 10C, even reaching 5C in many nights and they are not affected. But then again, maybe seedlings will be (?) but mature vines are not phased at all by the cold nights.

Since your large ones in the greenhouse are getting huge, maybe you can transplant them in June when it's warm outside. Maybe they can be hardy and strong enough to survive as they're big as you say? Try testing one of them and see how it goes.

Morning Glory 'Heavenly Blue'.

Last year I planted them out at the beginning of June, but we had a colder than normal few days and it killed them.

This year I started them earlier and they're heated to a minimum temp of about 14 degrees in the polytunnel. As I said, they're now much bigger than those I planted out last year. Forecasts say we should have a warmer than normal early June, so my hope is that they'll survive this time.

The other thing I tried last year was Purple Hyacinth Bean. They survived the entire summer, but grew about 6 inches max the entire season!! I think once checked by the cold they sulk for weeks on end. We have enough cold snaps in summer to ensure that these warmth loving plants never get growing.

I know people manage to grow them in England, but I've never seen morning glory growing up here. I'll let you know the outcome!

 

[Zroota]

Morning Glory 'Heavenly Blue'.

Last year I planted them out at the beginning of June, but we had a colder than normal few days and it killed them.

This year I started them earlier and they're heated to a minimum temp of about 14 degrees in the polytunnel. As I said, they're now much bigger than those I planted out last year. Forecasts say we should have a warmer than normal early June, so my hope is that they'll survive this time.

The other thing I tried last year was Purple Hyacinth Bean. They survived the entire summer, but grew about 6 inches max the entire season!! I think once checked by the cold they sulk for weeks on end. We have enough cold snaps in summer to ensure that these warmth loving plants never get growing.

I know people manage to grow them in England, but I've never seen morning glory growing up here. I'll let you know the outcome!

Aha, these are annuals. I have Morning Glory 'Scarlett O'Hara'. They are weedy and would self seed a lot in the grass (they can be pestering) and they die by the end of the season. It's a never-ending cycle.

If you're a fan of morning glories, try Ipomoea cairica and Ipomoea indica, which are perennials (they live for a long time), and see if they survive the winter there.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Thanks, I'll look into that!

There aren't many climbing annuals that do well here. Obviously sweet peas, nasturtium. Black eye susan vine also does OK. But most of the vigorous climbing annuals just don't like the cool summers here.

 

[Zroota]

Thanks, I'll look into that!

There aren't many climbing annuals that do well here. Obviously sweet peas, nasturtium. Black eye susan vine also does OK. But most of the vigorous climbing annuals just don't like the cool summers here.

Interesting, can you tell me what happens to them? Particularly black eyed Susans. So they grow for a bit and they die back quickly? I'm curious as I have never lived in a cool climate.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Interesting, can you tell me what happens to them? Particularly black eyed Susans. So they grow for a bit and they die back quickly? I'm curious as I have never lived in a cool climate.

Observation tells me that they simply 'sulk' for weeks if they get cold.

I've read that plants take a certain number of growing days to reach maturity - so for example, a veg or plant might take 3 months to reach maturity. That's easily doable in our season (June to september). However, tender plants such as peppers and morning glory need a certain day and night time temperature to be achieved for it to count as a 'growing day'. If it's too cold they won't grow that day. If it's too cold for a few days it might take them 3 weeks to recover after ideal conditions are reached before they start growing again.

So, a plant that will grow happily in anything above say, 5 degree's C, will reach maturity in our climate even if it takes 4 or 5 months to get there. But for tender plants requiring above 10 degrees C at night even a plant that takes 3 months to maturity might not make it as it gets so many set backs with cold spells - even in mid summer.

The general rule is to put plants out after the last frost, but it can still be very cold for up to a month after the last frost. Half hardy annuals will be fine, but not tender plants. The trouble is, if you wait until mid to late June for the weather to warm up enough your plants might find it too cold at the other end of the season.

Last year the morning glories went white, shrivelled and died over a period of about a week. They were planted out in June, but early june was chilly. Purple Hyacinth Bean survived the entire summer but simply didn't grow. Black eye's susan finally got going and did well once they got started. But from memory they didn't really start growing until mid july.

I'm hoping that by sowing them early and potting them up indoors until well into june might do the trick. But possibly I'll do even better (fewer shocks and changes to stall them) if I just hold off sowing until late May. I might sow a couple more this week as a test.

 

[Susan BBPM]

To give you a better idea of what I'm up against....

Month	Day	Night	Rain Days
January	6°c	2°c	13
February	6°c	2°c	10
March	8°c	2°c	9
April	11°c	4°c	6
May	13°c	6°c	8
June	16°c	9°c	8
July	17°c	11°c	10
August	17°c	11°c	11
September	15°c	9°c	8
October	12°c	7°c	12
November	9°c	4°c	12
December	6°c	3°c	13

 

[Mr_Yan]

Well I'll go with the flip side of the coin on this one. The previous owner of my house and garden had morning glories planted along the fence of the garden. The Ipomoea vine type with pink or blue flowers.

If these get established and flower they will re-seed and self sow FOR YEARS. The seeds can sit dormant in the soil for decades and germinate when the conditions are right.

Winter temps can get to -24 C (-10 F) and we average 2 meters (80 inches) sonwfall a season.

I have some self sowing morning glories I pulled out this morning. Two nights ago we were right about at freezing.

 

[Zroota]

To give you a better idea of what I'm up against....

Month	Day	Night	Rain Days
January	6°c	2°c	13
February	6°c	2°c	10
March	8°c	2°c	9
April	11°c	4°c	6
May	13°c	6°c	8
June	16°c	9°c	8
July	17°c	11°c	10
August	17°c	11°c	11
September	15°c	9°c	8
October	12°c	7°c	12
November	9°c	4°c	12
December	6°c	3°c	13

Yikes, your "summer" is akin to our winter here in western Sydney, only that your nights are warmer.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Well I'll go with the flip side of the coin on this one. The previous owner of my house and garden had morning glories planted along the fence of the garden. The Ipomoea vine type with pink or blue flowers.

If these get established and flower they will re-seed and self sow FOR YEARS. The seeds can sit dormant in the soil for decades and germinate when the conditions are right.

Winter temps can get to -24 C (-10 F) and we average 2 meters (80 inches) sonwfall a season.

I have some self sowing morning glories I pulled out this morning. Two nights ago we were right about at freezing.

I think the key thing is our spring isn't warm enough to germinate them. So even if seeds were scattered in the soil they wouldn't germinate here until mid summer by which time it would be too late to reach maturity and flower.

In order to grow them here you need to germinate them indoors and plant them out later when it's warm. However, the problem I'm having is that (it seems) you need to sow them 10 weeks or so before you plant them out by which time they're turning into trees!!! I never learn - when no one else in your area grows something there's probably a reason!!! LOL

EDIT: I just re-read your comment.....yours are germinating in freezing conditions? I think it must be a different variety?

 

[Mr_Yan]

Yup we had a frost as recently as 4 days ago. Generally we're frost free from May 15 to Oct 15. Looks like we get both warmer and colder than you do in Scotland.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Turnips, carrots, parsnips, leeks, cabbage, broad beans and potatoes grow well here. Our winters are fairly mild. But our summers are short and not that warm. We can grow a lot, but it requires a bit of jiggery pokery early in the season to create enough warmth to get things started. You can't grow things like tomatoes without a greenhouse and for things like melons and peppers you need some added heat at night.

I've now taken the heat away from my morning glories. They're still in the polytunnel which is getting to about 25C during the day and dropping to 9C at night. They seem happy. Fingers crossed that all will go well when I plant them out. Forecasts are indicating a warmer than average few weeks, so I might plant them out sooner rather than later.