How to Grow Moonflower

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment, we're going to learn all about how to grow a moonflower. Well, there's lots of different plants that are called moonflowers, and even lunaria or the money plant sometimes is called moonflower. But generally, what people are talking about when they talk about the moonflower is the ipomoeas, and they're a beautiful plant that's a morning glory and very easy to grow. So the ipomoea alba, which is just a white morning glory, is found throughout tropical regions all over the globe. So when they say tropical, it's near the equator, and anything that's...any climate that's very warm and has a lot of humidity and there's no seasons. So when it says tropical, they're from an area that has no seasons. So when you're growing them in a colder climate, you have to really grow them as an annual, and they're just a seed that you start in the spring. They make a large vine that blooms all summer, and with a gorgeous, white hibiscus-like flowers that are just gorgeous. They're really pretty because they bloom all summer through the fall, and they're great for a moon garden because they're a moonflower. Another reason they call them the moonflower is that they actually open up at night. And during the day, the flowers will close, and at night, they will open. You don't see them unless the moon is out, and they bloom at night. So they're a gorgeous, interesting plant. And the best part of the moonflower, the ipomoea, is the fragrance. The flowers have just a tropical, gorgeous, jasmine-type fragrance that just makes your whole garden just have the gorgeous, gorgeous smell at night. So they're an easy annual to grow, so start them by seed, let them bloom all summer, collect the seeds in the fall or by more in the spring, and start them again. But don't put them outside until it's really warm out. It's got to be at least 60 degrees at night before you can put them outside because they're from zones 10 to 12. That means they don't even want any freeze at all. Even below 50 degrees might damage them. But they're easy to grow, and they're a beautiful plant to add to your garden."