The container grown Small White Morning Glories have done
remarkably well. Of course, they
received plenty of water and were not disadvantaged by the on-going drought.
I just discovered this native species at Blue Jay Barrens
last year and took advantage of a large seed crop to scatter some around in
likely habitats. I also threw a few
seeds into an unused pot. This is a
plant of moist areas and those scattered seeds didn’t do very well this
year. The container grown plants have swarmed
over the branches I used as a trellis and reached their vines out in search of
any other nearby support.
Hundreds of seed pods are developing, so it looks like there
will be plenty of seeds to keep this annual species going next year.
There are a few wild grown vines, but they are quite short
and have just begun to climb.
The native Morning Glory is growing in disturbed soil at the
edge of the bird feeding area. Wild
Turkeys scratch this area bare every winter, so growing conditions are perfect
for annual species.
Joining the mix with the Small White Morning Glory is the
non-native Ivy-leaved Morning Glory.
This species is commonly found in crop fields and gardens or other areas
of bare soil. Fortunately, conditions on
the dry barrens are too severe for exotic Morning Glories, so I don’t have to
worry about this species running off across the prairies.
