It’s a Marvelous Night for a Moonflower

Posted in Around the Garden, Gardening Tips on October 2 2012, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is the NYBG‘s Gardener for Public Education.

The other week I was out in the Home Gardening Center teaching Garden visitors how to divide their favorite perennials. The demonstration ended and several visitors lingered around the display table in the Ken Roman Gazebo, inspecting the divisions and their various root systems.

This is the informal part of the demonstration when we unwind by chatting informally about our gardens, comparing seasonal notes, and planning for our future. It was during one of these conversations that a woman suddenly exclaimed, “You know, what I would really like to grow next year is the moonflower!”

The funny thing is that I had been admiring a moonflower just several nights earlier while downtown in the Financial District. I passed around several pictures taken on my smartphone, listening to the “oohs” and “aahs” of the small crowd.

The moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is a night blooming member of the morning glory family. It is a tender perennial in the American tropics and is used as an annual in the north. It has heart-shaped (cordate) leaves and flowers that are in the typical saucer shape of a morning glory. Ipomoea alba’s pristine white blooms reach five to six inches in diameter and exude a delicious perfume.

These flowers open up late in the day and flower through the night, closing in the morning. The visitor wanted to grow this vine in a large container on her terrace in the city. The nocturnal blooms are ideal for professionals who enjoy their gardens in the evening. The bold white flowers glow at dusk.

Moonflowers prefer rich, well-drained soils. Start them from seed in the spring. Either nick the large seed with a file or soak in lukewarm water to accelerate germination. I soak all of my morning glories for two to four hours or overnight before I plant them. They are easy to grow, but this always helps speed up the process and improves my rate of germination.

For those New Yorkers who are interested in “location, location,” the moonflower can be found near the Financial Center. It’s at the corner of Murray Street and West Side Highway. There is an outdoor soccer field in that neighborhood. The moonflower is wrapping itself around the chain link fence that encloses the sport pitch. It looks glorious. If you are not a night owl and are looking for a daytime equivalent for your garden, try morning glory, Ipomoea tricolor ‘Pearly Gates’.

Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.