If your back yard is used for entertaining and lacking a little beauty, then adding moonflowers can be the perfectΒ touch! The appealing fragrance of moonflowers in the garden come from large white or purple blooms on a climbing vine offering an amazing evening. Moonflower plants (Ipomoea alba) are perennial vines in sub-tropical areas, but gardeners with cold winters can successfully grow moonflower plants as annuals. Moonflower plants are related to the sweet potato vine and the morning glory, with flowers that open in the late afternoon into the night. These large, heart-shaped leaves further enhance the attractive moonflower vine.
How to Grow a Moonflower Vine
These do not need much ground space, as they readily climb upward. Provide a trellis or other support for the vigorous vines. Growing moonflowers can reach up to 20 feet (6 m.), happily weaving around anything within their reach. You can pinch back growing moonflowers at the top of the vine, as a part of your care for moonflowers, to force flowering downward. Moonflower vines can grow in large containers or you can plant them in the ground. More moonflowers can be started from root division of existing plants or from seeds. You can find these flowering seeds at our shop. Printhousedesign.com Sow Moonflower seeds early in the season after all danger of frost. Cover seeds with 1/4″ soil. They can also be started indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost to get a jump start on the season.
Care for Moonflowers
Water small plants regularly and provide additional water as moonflower vines grow. Moonflower plants like full to partial sun during the daylight hours. You will like the fact that Moonflower thrive in poor, dry soils. That makes them useful in areas where many other popular plants just won’t grow. It also makes them easy to grow with little care or attention. Just plant them, and away they grow!
Add mulch around the plants for appearance and to keep weeds down. Fertilizer can be applied, but is usually not needed. Moonflowers are susceptible to frost. They may survive the first light frost with only a little damage.
Why do moonflowers bloom at night?
They do this because night-flying insects mostly pollinate them. … One such insect is the hawk moth. The flowers are sensitive to small changes in light so that they are open when these insects are out in the evening.
****** WARNING*******
Every part of a moon vine is poisonous to dogs, cats and animals including the seeds, blooms, leaves and stems. … It can cause your pet to stagger, or move as though he is drunk. Tropane alkaloids contained in the plant causing all of this symptoms.IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that these plants should be kept away from small pets and children as all parts of the plant are toxic. The presence of tropane alkaloids in large and wildly variable quantities can cause a multitude of effects including but not limited to, severe anxiety, tachycardia, blurred vision, and nausea.
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