Have you added the fragrance of moonflowers to your garden? Next Spring plant this climbing vine to enjoy large white flowers that offer an appealing evening scent. I photographed (9/27/14) these flowers open and waiting for me last evening at 7:00.

A member of the Ipomea family, moonflower plants are related to the sweet potato vine and the morning glory, their flowers open in late afternoon. They have large, heart-shaped leaves that add to the beauty of this vine. Moonflowers don’t need much ground space, as they readily climb upward. Provide a trellis or some other support and your moonflowers could reach 20 feet twining around a support. Moonflower plants grow easily from seed when planted in somewhat fertile soil, but they are adaptable to other soil conditions. Follow the directions on the back of your seed package on when to plant. Light requirements for growing moonflowers are adaptable too, but more sun equals more blooms.

This year I made a happy mistake, which I now recommend. After soaking, I put seeds in a starter tray and nursed them along as they began to sprout. Not one of the plants lived when I put them in the ground. The root system must not have been developed enough so when I say they grow easily from seed, I would skip the starter tray business and put seeds right in the ground.  Here is the happy mistake: I had some left over seeds that I threw in a pot and forgot about them. There will  be no more nursing the little darlings along, giving them light and misting. Next spring in the pot they go while I await beautiful blooms and evening fragrance to enhance a night time garden.

PS: In the same container at the same time, I threw the left over  morning glory seeds. Same story: the seedlings I fussed over died in the ground, but look what happened in the pot.  Lovely!

Think about these two vines this winter and come Spring, let’s put some seeds in a bigger pot, give them some sun, provide support, and sit back and enjoy.