Info about Florists
Growing Moonflower from Seeds
Moonflower is a nocturnal plant. After the sun set, the flower will open up its flowers and glow throughout the night. When the sun rises, the moonflowers will shut their blooms. Moonflower is a climbing plant so you will need to put poles nearby. The poles or climbing stakes will allow them to reach out for the sunlight to perform photosynthesis. Moonflower can grow up to 12 – 18 feet in height within a year.
The best time to sow the moon flower seeds is during the spring after the danger of the frost. If the area is frost free, you can sow the seeds in the early spring. You can also start by sowing the seeds indoors 6 – 8 weeks before the last frost.
In the night before planting them, you must chip off the thick husk on the seeds. The size of the seeds is just like the corn kernel. To remove the husk, you can use a metal file to file the seed. The knife can also be used to score the seed. If you have a nail clipper, you can use it to nip the seed husk so that it can come off.
Moonflower are propagated from seeds
After that, the seeds should be placed in a cup of warm water. The seeds and the husks must be put together in the cup to help the plant to germinate faster.
Moonflowers prefer a site that is exposed to the full or partial sunlight throughout the day. Moonflowers can adapt to almost all types of soil including poor and dry soils. For this reason, Moonflower can be easily grown in any areas that other popular flowering plant won’t grow. It requires minimal care or attention so you don’t have to maintain them regularly. You can plant them in a location where you can enjoy them by looking out from the window in the house. The moonflower is a climbing plant so you should prepare a trellis or stakes near it.
The seeds should be planted in a hole of ½ inch deep. After sowing the seed, you can shovel the soil back to cover the seeds. You must regularly water the seed so that it can grow properly. When watering the seed, make sure the ground is moist. After 7 – 14 days, the seeds will start to sprout new plants.
When the sprouts reach a considerable height, you can thin them and space them 12 inches apart. If the planted near a rail, you can put several sticks nearby to encourage it to climb on them.
You can add mulch around the plants to make the ground more fertile. Mulching will also help to improve the drainage system and prevent weeds.
Moonflowers have attractive foliage and fragrant smell. You can plant moonflowers among the patios or sidewalks so that people can watch them while strolling. Moonflowers can be damaged by the frost. During the first light frost, they may survive with a little damage; but if the frost is severe, they will not be able to withstand it and die.