Morning Glroy Q

[1066]

Hi
I've been given a packet of morning glory seeds and was looking at the sowing instructions which say to place in a dark warm place approx 15 to 20 degrees. Now I don't have an airing cupboard and I sow / germinate most seeds on sunny window cills. What should I do? Any bright ideas out there?! The only thing I could think of was to sow them as usual, and then place them in a cardboard box with a lid on so it's dark and relatively warm. What do you reckon?!

or, of course, are the soiwng instructions on the packet a load of old tut!
Thanks
1066

[Jayb]

I don’t remember keeping the ones I sowed last year in the dark, so I checked a packet from T & M. They say to ‘soak seeds overnight in tepid water before sowing 1/8’’ deep. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag and place at 20-25C, germination 7-30 days. Do not exclude light as this helps germination’

So sealed in a bag in a warm sunny spot, should be fine 

[Pesky Wabbit]

And dont let the night time temp drop too much.

[1066]

Thanks Jayb for taking the time to check, that was kind    A placcy bag it is then 
And Pesky thanks for the extra tip 
Interestingly my packet says germination should be within 5 - 8 days, so maybe the dark does have an impact?

Thanks again
1066

[sunloving]

Just be warned that they are really tender, so much so that if the overnight temp falls below 15 c the leaves go white.

I always so mine early April with the zinnias as even in the greenhouse it can get at night well into april. They go like a bomb as well so can get a bit much on the windowledge!
good luck
x sunloving

[honeybee]

I just stuck mine on the kithcen window sill and kept my fingers crossed 

Morning Glory is a fasinating plant though. We grew ours in the conservatory and it grew to over 70 ft+

It is a beautiful plant but grew so fast it actually would grow in front of your eyes - believe me I am not exaggerating, so much so that hubby banned me from growing it again, he said we nearly had to move out of the house after the last experience as the plant took over all of our space 

[1066]

So if I'm succesful I should expect a triffid  Luckily I don't have a greenhouse so can expect something a tad smaller than 70ft !!!

And thanks for the info on when to sow / night time temps - April sounds good to me.
I plan to try them in the garden and the plot 

So fingers crossed, as they always look stunning to me 

[landimad]

If you do not try then we shall never know what you can or cannot do.
I would give them a go and hope that they turn out well for you.
I am willing to try most things and will be careful of all plants that are in the garden.
Morning glory are not the best to grow due to the seeds being poisonous. Found out the hard way by a friend who tried one only to be rushed off to A&E
He got over it but he got very sick very quick.

[1066]

Yes the packet does say not to eat them! What was your friend thinking of !!

My neighbour never has much luck with them so I'll do a few extra so if I have spares she can have some, she usually gets sweat peas and a few other things aswell but I know MG is a favourite of hers 

[grannyjanny]

Years ago I used to get AG magazine & one of their contributors said she planted hers in late May. It was 21st, OH birthday & they were fine. I've planted mine around this time & they were fine.

[saddad]

They come up fine in that big greenhouse we have on site... from where they fell last year. I have put a three inch layer of compost down to "reduce" germination but I bet there will still be thousands... 

[1066]

Humph you and your greenhouse saddad  next you'll be mentioning 20ft rows of basil    

Will check and see where in the country you are grannyjanny - thanks 

[landimad]

I have not got a greenhouse, just a plastic lean to.
They seem to do OK in that.
I had about 50 going round the garden, but they were a bit single stemmed and flowered lovely.
I look forward to seeing yours when you get the pickys.

[Baccy Man]

Yes the packet does say not to eat them! What was your friend thinking of !!

Consuming certain varieties of morning glory seeds gives a similar experience to taking lsd, people have been consuming them for centuries. Nausea/vomiting is the most common side effect.
http://www.erowid.org/plants/morning_glory/morning_glory_basics.shtml

[1066]

I'll be sooooo chuffed if they grow that I'll be sure to have plenty of pics to share on here 

BaccyMan - aaahhhh, now I understand! Thanks. Still plan to sow them and not eat them!!

[saddad]

Humph you and your greenhouse saddad  next you'll be mentioning 20ft rows of basil    

Will check and see where in the country you are grannyjanny - thanks 

Janet is in Cheshire... and it's not my greenhouse... and I no longer have access to it.. so there will be thousands taking over soon... 

[1066]

Ah sorry to hear about the access thing, had forgotten about the handbag slinging incident       , I do hope something gets sorted soon