Danger: Seed is poisonous if ingested Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested Handling plant may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction Plant has spines or sharp edges; use extreme caution when handling
Other details: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds This plant is suitable for growing indoors Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater Suitable for growing in containers
Soil pH requirements: 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
Propagation Methods: From seed; direct sow after last frost
Seed Collecting: Allow pods to dry on plant; break open to collect seeds Properly cleaned, seed can be successfully stored
Very fast growing vine with profuse blooms. Does best in my area in partial shade, but will grow in full sun. My vines got easily 15' long! Lots of seed pods and easy to harvest! Beautiful flowers that look more like a light or dusky pink or perhaps lilac color. The hawkmoths LOVED them!
On Sep 14, 2004, OhioBreezy from Dundee, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
A really nice shade of "pink" I have found, moreso than purple. I also grow Ipomoea turbinata (lavender moonvine) and it is definitely more of a purple than this one. This one is growing up 25 plus feet this year at my place. Seedpods are enormous and many. Seeds are black!
I have not grown this plant, but in "Flowers" by Pizzetti and Cocker (1968), a "purplish" moonflower, "...not more than 3" in diameter...", is mentioned, called Calonyction muricatum. In Hortus III (1976), the name has changed to Ipomoea muricata. From the image in this database, it looks like the purple changes to a bluish pink as it ages.
As to origin of I. muricata, Hortus III says, "Probably native to American tropics; now escaped from cultivation in the tropics of both hemispheres."
On Jul 7, 2004, OhioBreezy from Dundee, OH (Zone 5b) wrote:
A rather fast grower, vines up to around 8 feet. Does not do alot of spreading, flowers beautiful lavender in color with a little shade given, however, in full sun, the color of the bloom leans more toward a washed out pink color. Blooms last all day on an overcast day, usually blooming near evening and gone by mid morning, unless like I said, a cloudy or overcast day where they will remain open all day long.
This vine has reseeded itself for me for 5 years. With each succeeding year, it has climbed further. At the end of Sept 2003, it had reached past my second floor windows- (I draped kite string out the top of my second floor windows to the ground).** Note**- I find the more you neglect this vine, the more blooms.Fertilizing gives vigorous foliage growth.
If left to reseed itself, be diligent about removing stray vines, they WILL take over.
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