Ipomoea tricolor
Ipomoea tricolor
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Ipomoea tricolor is a native of seasonally dry tropical regions. It is not very frost tolerant. Requires a rich well-drained soil in a warm sunny position[1]. A tender and short-lived perennial plant, it can sometimessurvive the winter in milder tropical regions when grown against a sunny but sheltered south-facing wall, though it is best treated as an annual[2]. A climbing plant, supporting itself by twining around the branches of other plants[2]. There are many named forms selected for their ornamental value[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[2]. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter then plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of side shoots in a peaty soil. Layering. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Ipomoea+tricolor>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
- [2]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.
- [3]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.
- [4]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [5]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.