Hey there, I seemed to have been going through what you are, lots of vine and no buds..Everyone here was wonderful coaching me to be patient. Now my vines are filled with buds, and of course, I can't wait for the flowers..I think I am hooked. We shall see when I get my first moonflower..good luck, they will come. JoAnn.

Thanks JoAnn. Could you tell me what the buds look like?

Here are some moonflower buds. Early stage and a little later.
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And here is why I really really love moonflowers.
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One thing I forgot to mention. Look in the second picture left side behind the moonflower is another moonflower growing on the white shop. Well, I planted it at the same time, it doesn't get as much sun and doesn't have ANY blooms. But the sun is not so much the reason as that this moonflower has whiteflies. I experienced the same with Morning Glories. They still grow with lush green foliage, but no buds ad all. Shake your moonflower and see if whiteflies emerge and examine the leaves. If they are covered with small light speckles too, you have white flies. You can spray them with a homemade solution. Mix about 1 tsp Canola or Horticultural oil and 1 tsp dish soap in about a quart of water and spray them thoroughly. You might need to repeat after a few days. Hope that helps.
Primulaveris (who would love to smell like a moonflower)

Ok, then I have early stage buds! YAY! I hear that they smell heavenly...is that right? Yours are mighty pretty, Primulaveris.

Thanks dinkeydot! They smell like the finest French soap, even though I have never smelled any French soap :-) But you could sell a bar with that smell for $5.00 easy.
I just have to bury my face in one of them each time I walk by. I am an m-f-addict. BTW, they don't need to be pampered too much. I don't water mine often at all, and it is very hot down here. One thing I do is spray them once in a blue moon with some fish/kelp/water fertilizer solution. You get both fertilizers in a garden store. Just a sip of each in a spray bottle of water does the trick. It stinks like crap for the rest of the day. Best to do at night before you go inside. But ever since I do that I have so many more flowers. Just a suggestion. Those on the picture are grown from last yearÂs seeds.

I only have the early stage buds, your pictures are lovely. Can you tell us how long it takes to get from one stage to the other using the two buds in your photos..? Thanks..first timer here.

I never paid attention to it, but my guess would be only a few days. They have a fast "turnaround" with their flowers. Each flower blooms only one day. It falls off the day after or maybe 2 days after. But they produce so many flowers once they start, there is no reason to worry. I put my seeds in around April and it started blooming beginning of July. First only a handful and after 2 weeks it looked like on the picture and still looks like that today.

The dropped flowers make a bit of a mess after a few weeks. I really recommend sweeping up those that drop on concrete or a wooden deck, because they stick to it really bad after a rain. And in order to get some seeds you need to let them die off for a few weeks. Happy moon-gardening!

This is my first year with moonflowers, I have a 5 ft long tray of them on my balcony. I am thrilled with them. I've had 4 flowers so far and there are lots of buds... The flowers only open for one night, then the flower remains curled up until it eventually falls off. I thought they'd keep opening night after night. Is this normal or maybe because I'm so far north?? Should I be cutting the little bud part off after the flower part has fallen?

This is a great site, I'm glad I found it!!

Don't cut off the buds. Let them turn into seed heads and presto, next year's crop. They seeds are big and fun to share. I've been growing them for years and they never cease to amaze me.

I had my first Moonflower bloom last evening! It was just beautiful and did smell great! Now that I know what to expect I will be saving my seeds for next year. I never knew that the blooms would be so big! I'm very happy with this plant.

Oh good for you! I am still waiting..my first buds appeared the first week of August... I am hoping I get to see one soon too! Can you describe what they smell like?

Moonflowers smell incredibly beautiful... Almost like Easter Lilies except more fresh and less perfumy (if perfumy is a word!) It's my first year with them, I had heard about the smell, but nothing at all about the size, they're huge, 5 or 6 inches across. And the buds on mine took a long time to bloom, started with the weird looking brown thing, then out shoots a long green thing that opens up into the flower. It took about 3 weeks for the flower to come out and open.. The flowers on mine only open for one night, then it's a long wait for the next one to open... Next summer I'll plant a lot more so I'll get more flowers.

OH, thank you for sharing that, it is just what I wanted to know. I can't wait! I found a vine creeping into the lawn yesterday from the garden, it has buds on it too. I placed it back into the garden, it will probably climb up a cleome..I can't believe how large these vines get. I will definately plan better for this next year. I put them at the base of a few 5 - 6 foot shrubs..boy did I call that one wrong. The tag on the pot said 8 - 10 feet, I usually don't get the growth height on the tags so I thought I'd be ok..they are all over..Quite tall, woven through and wandering..it should be interesting when they finally flower..there are tons of buds...JoAnn

Well, I've got two flower buds. Two :( I would have so many more if my step-mother wasn't such an evil, miserable person...

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v94/Domyoji_Dweebie/plants/pic098.jpg[/IMG]

Would love to have some seeds if anyone is willing to share.

Yes, I planted a moon flower pod, but got nothing - how sad. Any advice on propogation? If anyone is interested in sharing, please post a reply, and we will work out a trade.

Moonflower seeds are hard as a rock. You can use a sharp knife to nick the seed so they can absorb water for germination. PLEASE be careful -wear gloves for extra protection. I knicked mine, placed them on a very wet paper towel, put in a ziploc bag and left them on top of the fridge for about a week until sprouts formed. Then I planted them outside. Mine now have dozens of little purplish buds. I should have flowers soon :)

I've had 4 buds not to open and fall off the next day. It's on the south side of the house, growing up the bay window. Vines are above the windows. What is being done wrong?

My moonflower vine has had a real rough time with flowering this year because of the heat and drought. As best I can gather is that, unlike morning flowering plants, the moonflowers bud has to sit there through the worst, most demanding sun and heat just before flowering in the night.

During those days just before a bud is about to flower, if the plant transpires too much moisture that bud will loose it's form and "wilt" preventing it from popping open.

For the last two weeks that's how it's been at my place but we had a cloudy day yesterday and I got 4 successful flowers budded as a result.

Who knew that any type of morning/evening glory could get "too much" sun?

My moonflowers ahve been blooming for about a month now - four or five at a time from one vine :)

My moonflowers are really taking off - FINALLY. I've had two, three, four for a few weeks now. This past weekend I had 8 in one night. This is from one vine. It was record setting hot in August, so maybe the cooler (92-lol) weather will prevent it from being so stressed.

This year is my first year with the moon flowers i have two vines my mom gave me and as with my blue morning glories they are late blooming think alot has to do with our drought we've had here in kentucky. i've had two blooms so far see a few more little buds but look long way from blooming hopefully i can save see from these two and have alot more next year, but unsure were the seed pods are on the moonflower and when to take them off the plant if anyone can help with this i would appreciate. i never had luck with no flowering plant before this year but i am learning must come with age lol.

I started growing morning glories a couple years ago, then I heard about moon flowers and bought some seeds. They sprouted okay, and I meant to keep track of which were moon flowers and which were morning glories, but now they are all hopelessly mixed up.

I have plenty of morning glory flowers, but as yet no moon flowers. However the last couple days I have noticed what I think are blossoms. (I wanted to post the photos but right now I don't see how). They look like those purplish things in the background of Primlaven's photo above.

Are these the beginnings of moon flower blossoms?

Well, well, well---my moonflowers are NOT well! I planted the first pack 5/5/8. A couple popped up like they knew what they were doing, but all their little friends didn't. So I planted a second pack on 5/27/8. Pretty much Déjà vu, and I have a large area to cover, so on 6/16/8, I planted five more packages! Then added a pack or two of Heavenly Blues too, and here it is mid-August, and those moonies haven't budged, and the blues aren't doing much better, but at least out doing the whites three to one in height. The moonflowers are still no taller than my thumb after three months. No, I don't live in an igloo, I'm in a very fertile Willamette Valley in zone 6, and I am stumped and stymied. Anyone have any ideas for me? Poor little things--if they didn't embarrass me so much, right by the front porch, of course, of course, I'd prolly feel sorry for them. Too late to plant anything else, so am hoping for a miracle from God through one of you. Bless you in advance for even trying to help. Ashie

Well pout, pout, sniff, sniff. Isn't anybody going to help me with my moony-flowers? I forgot to mention anyway that I put in some sweet allysum later on and it's three times as tall as the moonflowers and blooming to beat the band, whatever that means. And some of the blue morning glories I got smart and bought from a nursery, are blooming now too. Also in July I put in a couple packs of the bush morning glory, Convolvulus 'blue ensign' I think they're called, and they're up and blooming all over the place, so maybe I just better stay in at night when the moon (flower) is out and get my hiney up early when the morning (flower) is showing off. TTFN.

I am an American living in Costa Rica. I have planted Moon flowers for the first time, they now are about one foot tall. The climate here is about 75 to 80 year around and it gets down to about 60 at night. Will they live year around and will they bloom year around? Also what is a couple of good flowers to plant in with them?

Groucho

Hi Everyone,
I remember the first time I saw a moonflower in bloom. Thought it was amazing and said I have to have this plant. Like many of you I tried for years and only a few blooms. This year I tried the paper towel trick and it really helped get them off to a good start. They really help brighten my city back yard.

Peace
George

I was glad to see lots of posts here about these beautiful flowers, but dissapointed to see few posts to reply in response to many questions. I just wondered why no-one responds. I hope that my efforts aren't fruitless...or flowerless...lol.
Anyway, I have had varied results with my attempts to grow moonflowers, but I am diligent. Every year I learn more, and of course put my newly learned tips to use. I will say that I haven't yet tried a new spot to plant and plan to increase my area to plant this year. The first year, I was so excited when i found the seed packets that I plunked them into the ground without thinking and got beautiful results....blooms all over the place and didn't realize how they would vine and they were everywhere....attatched themselves to my irises', the fire pit, the fence..well you get the picture. The next year, nothing. I did a little reading and even tried re-planting, but I think it was too late in the season when I re-planted.
Okay, I admit I am stubborn, and the next year I planted them again, and did get beautiful foliage climbing all over and I even put up a trellis this time. The only dissapointment was I has very few blooms!(this time I did use the paper towel trick and let them stay soaked for anout 48 hrs) I was truly devastated and wanted that first years results again desparately(I have a passion for flowers...).
Here it is my 4th yr. and I am determined to see that first yrs results again. I have so many questions and will of course attempt to get some answers here and anywhere else I can find help. So, I see that many here have used the seeds over....but I am a beginner here so please forgive my ignorance.
How do I harvest the seeds?
Am I correct when I assume the seeds are in the flower after they bloom...but when? Do I bring in the flowers once they bloom and wait for seeds???? Then, where would be a good place to plant them(I live in NW Indiana, and these are annuals for me)?
I have been putting them on the north side of my house near a magnolia tree. The other thing is that I noticed the last time I did get a few little blooms they weren't very fragrant??? I am so dissapointed, but am eager to learn how to bring these beautiful creatures to life.
I don't want to give up, and will continue to read, but I admit that I am sad with my results so far. I usually have no problems with the flowers I plant..with one other exception but again I believe that it's placement. It's tricky here too due to the bad weather we have, but I am determined to improve my gardening skills even if it takes me until I'm at a very old age!!!!
Thank you if you got through all this and I appreciate any advice in advance....if I get any.
Thank you and I'm so glad I found this site and do so enjoy reading and seeing the pictures here.
Gail

Gail - it really sucks that this forum isn't a bit more active. That has frustrated me for years! LOL

This is my fifth year I think growing moonflowers and each year I want more production than the previous year so have tried different approaches with more or less the same result. The first couple of years I grew them along my front porch and they flowered nicely, but later than I preferred. In that particular location, they received only full sun during the morning hours. So, I figured more sun would result in more blooms. I tried another location with more sun, they appeared to put out about the same amount of blooms but I didn't enjoy them as much because of the location.

So then I read you shouldn't fertilize... so I didn't... but returned them that year to the same location by the porch. A few in the ground, a few in pots. Pretty much the same results again. Last year I decided a full sun location, no fert, outside my back door. In pots, I tied strings going up the greenhouse. The only difference from this approach was that I was more diligent with getting them started earlier so they bloomed a bit earlier. Also, I then untied the strings from a couple of them before the first frost and moved them into the greenhouse. I got very few seed pods... less than I had in previous years. But, with the moonflower pots still in the greenhouse, I have new growth on the old vine, so I'm a step ahead this year. Also have some seeds sprouting in pots outside.

Up to this point, I may have had up to 15 blooms a night for a few weeks. My goal is to achieve at least 100 blooms a night. The way things are going not sure how many vines I'd have to have for that. LOL Right now I have 12 seedlings plus the two old vines with new growth.

As far as the seed pods, unless you get early blooms you may have a bit of difficulty for the pods to develop before the first freeze in your area. Here in NC, our first frost is around the middle of November and there have been times when they just weren't ready. One year I tried to cut off the pods and bring them in hoping they'll be fine but it didn't work out that way. The few that I harvested last year don't seem to be as vigorous as the seeds I just bought.

I no longer fertilize or water generously. Plants in the ground or in pots seem to produce about the same results. I have never had any reseed themselves but am happy with the new growth on the old vine. Would you know if that vine is still viable? Hmmm.. I wonder.

Would love to hear more specifics on your experiences.... whether you fert (could be why you got foliage and no blooms that one year?) how much watering do you do? Have you given much thought to why your blooms didn't appear to be as fragrant? When your first frost is expected? Have you ever seen any seed pods on your vines? What month do you generally begin seeing blooms?

Good luck.. and hope you stop back in!

Well, I got my first ever Moonflower bloom last night and it was absolutely beautiful. I've never had the gardens like I do now and had never even heard of a Moonflower until this year, but after seeing (and smelling) the bloom I got last night, they will be a staple in my gardens from here on out. The Moonflowers & the Morning Glories I planted seem to be thriving best in the gardens that are a mix of the clay all around TN and just basic top soil I added to even things out. I water regularly because other flowers in the garden require it and also fertilize with both Miracle Grow and 10-10-10 and everything seems to be doing fine so far. I know I've spotted 2 more blooms that are about to open on the other side of the garden, so I hope that's a sign that more will keep coming all summer long. All of my Moonflowers are in my front yard, which faces East and gets all the morning to early afternoon sun. The only thing really special I've done is try to give them things to vine up instead of just vining on the ground. I have figured one thing out the hard way though...

I have a garden on each side of the garage. The one on the right has a mix of regular clay/soil and top soil and the one on the left I had to dig about 6-8 inches down to get all the concrete and bricks out that had been buried there so it's pretty much 100% top soil. The one on the left looks dwarfed in comparison to my right garden and everything was planted at the same time. The Moonflowers over there are maybe 1/8 of the size of the ones on the right so it would seem soil is a big factor here. Kinda surprising to find that flowers would prefer the clay over top soil! LOL

Sadly the pics I have of the gardens around the garage are a bit outdated but I do have a pic of my Moonflower :)

Moon flower looks so beautiful.

Well, this week I saw my FIRST moonflower bloom! I was expecting it a couple of days later. Now I know when the stem of the flower gets about three inches long, the flower will be opening soon. The first one opened on Tuesday, I think. Today, Sunday, SIX opened. I even WATCHED one open before my eyes! They don't have a very strong fragrance at all -- you really have to get close to smell it, but I'm just happy the vines climbed, the buds appeared, and the flowers opened. I'm thinking of making some sort of trellis to attach to the ceiling of my balcony so the vines have more room to "climb" next year. I had about nine feet of vertical space, then the vines starting hanging from there. I'm still pretty happy, since this is my first attempt at growing moonflowers.

Soak the seeds overnight before planting. You may have better luck.

Can someone tell me if this is a moonflower bud? It is in the picture window in the house, I have a few of these and they look like buds, so thought I would ask, the moonflowers were planted in two different pots and I think they killed the morning glories that were planted in the middle square pot, but here is a picture of the bud I was talking about, I don't know if it is a morning glory or moonflower bud.

It's really hard to tell since it's so small yet. Off the top I'd guess a morning glory.

When we lived in Maryland, I grew both up both sides of the beautiful metal (but painted) outdoor stair rails we had.

Moonflowers ended up winning for whatever contest was going on and I moved the morning glories elsewhere (but I loved the contrasting colorful in the daytime and splendidly fragrant at night bit)!

However the moonflower buds were much, much larger than the morning glory buds, when they first showed up, so I'm just taking an educated guess here.

Since it's been three or so weeks, what did you get? :-)

I am new to moon flowers. I bought seeds and started them in pots then transferred them in the ground and put them on the east side of the property. I weaved them through the chain link fence. They are growing crasy. I watered them every other day because it has been a hot dry summer in nj. I have a lot of buds and beautiful flowers. I am going to try to get the seeds from the flowers when they drop off for next year. They are so beautiful and smell marvellous. I think putting them on the east side of the property helps the morning sun is just strong enough to give them what they need.

This is my first attempt at growing moonflowers. I found a plant in the garden center in late June that was all tangled with other vines. I carefully untangled it and brought it home

It climbed but only produced buds mid September. I'm hoping that I see at least one flower before we get a frost here in Western Ny! These are my bigest blooms. I am watching closely!

Lauretta