With the days getting shorter and chillier, my Japanese Morning Glories (Ipomoea nil) seem to be hurrying up to bloom while they have time (I haven't told them that they get to come inside yet!).😃
I noticed the first buds on 'Star of India' a couple weeks ago and predicted that they would open in 10 days-2 weeks...oh great, just when I was going to be leaving on our Niagara Falls/PA trip! I even joked that I would have to stay home as I really didn't want to miss the first flower! Thankfully, my sister was kind enough to keep an eye on them for me and photograph the first flower, which opened 2 days after I left. 😊
I missed 5 flowers while I was away, but was greeted the day after I got back by this small but very pretty bloom, which even has a reverse tube mutation! The exciting thing about Morning Glories is that they are so changeable...even weather conditions can have an effect, so I never know exactly what the next flower will look like! The first flower actually looks more like the true 'Star of India' than subsequent blooms so far, but the lady who so kindly shared her collection of seeds, warned me that they may be cross-pollinated and that I might not get an exact match, but she did guarantee that whatever I got would be pretty. I love surprises, so that was alright with me! 😊
A larger flower opened on Thursday. I love all the pinkish streaks in the blue!
The same flower looks like silk in the sunlight!
Yesterday was cold and wet, so this flower actually didn't open until late afternoon, but it sure was worth the wait!
Some of the other varieties are starting to get buds now and I also hope to be able to show you the flowers of the more exotic I. pubescens and I. transvaalensis before too long! I'm looking forward to many more blooms on these plants this Fall and Winter. 😊
I'm looking forward to seeing the others. These are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo am I! I'll probably be taking pictures of every single flower that opens this winter! :)
DeleteVery pretty flower, but what a mischief to bloom once you'd left! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the striations in the flower are due to cold stress? They don't like temps below 55, so once they come in, the flowers might look different.
I know, that was just my luck! :D
DeleteIt could well be from the cold...it will be interesting to see what happens when they come indoors!
What a lovely bloom...the 'platinum ring' sets off the Sapphire of your Star of India beautifully. You are becoming quite the expert on these blooms.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it! Growing these MGs can be dangerously addicting and I am told there is no cure. :D
DeleteLovely blooms. When I saw the title I thought at once of the Nasturtium 'Empress of India', one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteOh I knew that name rang a bell somewhere! I wonder if they would look good growing together?
Delete