Ipomoea pennata 'Cypress Vine'

Ipomoea pennata is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of all annual vines. The feathery foliage with thin, thread-like leaves give the plant a light, airy texture. In summer the plants burst into flower and are covered with hundreds of scarlet red, star shaped flowers.
Commonly known as the Cypress vine, this species of Ipomoea is native to Central America and Mexico and is widely cultivated as an ornamental, annual plant outside of tropical regions. The plants share many characteristics with the more familiar morning glory, although the appearance of the foliage and flowers is quite different. The star shaped flowers are an excellent source of nectar, they are attractive to butterflies and in hotter areas, are a favourite of hummingbirds. Other common names for this plant include Hummingbird Flower and Star Glory.

This Cypress vine is very easy to grow from seed but because of its vining habit, they will need some type of support to climb. This annual twining vine grows from to 1 to 3m (3 to 9ft) tall and are a useful and colourful, vertical addition to the garden. Suitable for growing up and over arbors, trellis or an obelisk, they can be useful for covering fences, and posts, and can also be grown in containers.
The plants prefer moist, rich, well drained soils but it will grow in just about any type of soil and will tolerate some dry periods. In poor soil add a general purpose fertiliser once a month to provide the fuel they need for their quick growth.
Start seeds when the soil has warmed up, this quick growing plant can produce blooms in as little as 45 days, and will provide you with continuous flushes of blooms from May right through to late autumn.

Sowing:
Soak the seed in warm water for a few hours before sowing, in order to soft the hard coat that protects it.
The young plants are frost tender, so sow indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your late frost date, or sow directly outdoors where the plants are to grow once the chance of frost has passed
Transplant seedling outdoors after the low temperatures exceed 10°C (50°F). Leaving it this late will ensure good germination.
Place one large seed in individual small pots of seed compost. Water the pots well after sowing and then wait until the seedlings appear. Watering sparingly afterwards.
Fleece if a frost or cool night is forecast. The seedlings will appear in about two weeks and quickly grow into young plants. These should not be planted outside until the first half of June, after the cool nights of May have long gone.

Cultivation:
This climber loves rich well drained soil in full sun. They will grow happily in a container, where they will last for a long time.
This vine needs a trellis or other structure on which to grow, or provide stout strings to support the vines. They are wonderful twining through other climbers such as roses and clematis on trellis, fences and arch ways.
Plants grow best in a rich, humus soil that is well-drained. Mix plenty of compost and manure into the planting site. Do not over feed nitrogen rich fertiliser, or you will end up with lots of leaves and vines, but few flowers. If you do feel the need to use fertiliser, begin the season with a high nitrogen formula at the beginning of the season. Switch to a high phosphorous formula prior to the blooming period. The flowers of this fast climber, will bloom all year round, in tropical regions.

Plant Uses:
Use this climber for growing up and over arbors, archways or pergolas, trellis or an obelisk, they can be useful for covering fences and posts in the garden, and can also be grown in containers.

Origin:
The genus Ipomoea, with over 500 species, is the largest genus in the family Convolvulaceae. The genus occurs throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and comprises annual and perennial herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs and small trees. Most of the species are twining climbing plants.
Ipomoea pennata is a species that is native to tropical regions of the New World from northern South America, Central American and Mexico.

Nomenclature:
Ipomoea is from the Greek ips meaning ‘a worm’ and homoios meaning ‘resembling’ thus 'like a worm,' referring to the twining habit of the plant's growth.
The species name pennata meaning 'feathered' and referring to the unique feathered foliage of this plant.
Formerly known as Ipomoea quamoclit and Quamoclit coccinea, and distinguished from other species of Ipomoea by the salverform corolla and exerted stamens and style. (A salverform corolla has a slender tube that flares abruptly into a nearly flat portion at the open end). It was regarded as a separate genus, the old name of Quamoclit is now merged with Ipomoea, and the term is is now obsolete.
Pronounced ih-poh-MEE pen-AY-tuh. Many Ipomoea species are known as Morning Glory, a name shared with some other related genera. It is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. The name of Morning Glory refers to the plants habit of opening its new blooms at the beginning of each day.
Ipomoea is a member of the Convolvulus family, pronounced kon-volv-yoo-lus is taken from the Latin convolvere, meaning to twine around.