Common Name: morning glory
Type: Vine
Family: Convolvulaceae
Zone: 10 to 12
Height: 10.00 to 15.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Description: Pink to reddish-pink
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
This is a tender perennial vine that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-12. In St. Louis, it is grown as an annual in moist, well-drained soils in full sun. This vine needs a support structure upon which to grow. It is easily grown from seed. Start seed indoors about 6-8 weeks before last spring frost date. Notch seed coat with a knife before planting to promote better germination. Seed could be started outdoors after last frost date, but the onset of bloom would occur unacceptably late in summer. Take new young plants outdoors about 1-2 weeks after last spring frost date. Once established, growth is rapid. Seeds may be harvested in fall, but only mature seeds that have fully ripened on the vine are of value. Plants grown in containers can be brought inside in fall for overwintering, albeit with some difficulty, but most gardeners simply start new seed indoors each spring.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Ipomoea mauritiana, commonly known as morning glory, is a vigorous, twining, tuberous-rooted, tender perennial vine that may be grown in St. Louis as a warm weather annual. It is native to montane forests, thickets, streambanks, seashores and waste places in southern China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Pacific Islands, but is now distributed throughout the Pantropics. It is noted for its funnel-shaped pink to reddish purple flowers (to 2" across) with darker throats which bloom in axillary or terminal cymes on stems clad with circular leaves (to 6-8”) that are palmately divided into 5-7 acuminate, elliptic to lance-shaped segments. Vines can grow to 30' long or more in tropical areas, but will typically reach 10-15’ in one year when grown as an annual.
Genus name comes from the Greek words ips meaning "worm" and homoios meaning "resembling", in probable reference to the sprawling underground roots of plants in this genus. On the other hand, some experts suggest the genus name is in reference to the worm-like twining plant habit.
Specific epithet is in reference to the island nation of Mauritus located in the Indian ocean.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Provides attractive ornamental cover for fences, decks, trellises or other structures around the home. Containers. Hanging baskets.