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Convolvulaceae FAMILY

Ipomoea purpurea

Ipomoea purpurea

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual Climber
GrowthFast

Requires a fertile well-drained loam in a sunny position[1]. The plant is not very frost hardy, but it can be grown outdoors as a tender annual in temperate zones[1]. A very ornamental plant, there are several named varieties[1]. The flowers are blue, but they turn more pink later in the day[2].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water, or scarify the seed, and sow in individual pots in a greenhouse in early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 22°c. Plants are extremely resentful of root disturbance, even when they are quite small, and should be potted up almost as soon as they germinate[3]. Grow them on fast in the greenhouse and plant them out into their permanent positions after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away actively. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Ipomoea+purpurea>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books, London. · 1998 · ISBN 0-330-37376-5 ↩︎Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.
  3. [3]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  4. [4]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
  5. [5]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.