I LOVE Morning Glories!!

[Smart Red]

I have a quick question. How long do your flowers actually keep their colors from generation to generation? I make a point of keeping my eye out for feral MG vines as we drive hither and thither, and I can't help noticing that, while the vines are quite common, in nearly all cases, the actual flowers are always white So either the white kind are unusually adept at living feral or a lot of MG's revert to white after a few generations.

I have several volunteer Grandpa Ott still growing here and there despite the fact that I haven't grown them for over 5 years. Still that deep royal purple and still beautiful, although I think the flowers are a bit smaller then the originals.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Yes, but Ott seems to be one of the ones immune to the fading. Of the few colored wild patches I know, the largest is one of Ott visible on the train I take into NYC from one of the stations. That patch is still fully purple.
I think what it may be is that, after a while MG's revert to whatever flower color they would have in the wild. Ott's wild color may be that deep purple (the species name is purpurea, after all ). On the other hand the Annual kind is I believe tricolor, and one of the possible flower colors of wild tricolor is I think white (the others are pink and blue, if I recall)
And of course there is a reasonably likelihood that a lot of what I see growing wild is REAL wild bindweed, most of which has white flowers anyway. It's just seemed odd to me that, if MG are as prone to going wild as everyone claims, there aren't just as many colored ones out there on the roads as white ones.

 

[Smart Red]

As I mentioned, the seed from my sky blue and my red morning glories failed to germinate. I figured it was an MGO thing to keep people from saving seed. Since they didn't make viable seed, I have no idea whether they would have stayed true in color.

I do see a lot of bindweed flowers and -- in places -- a few larger white flowers that I suspect are MGs rather than a healthy stand of bindweed.

 

[canesisters]

I think that some colors are more dominant than others.
Years ago I planted a zillion seeds at the bottom of a lattice trellis. Equal parts red, white & blue. It was very pretty!
The next year I had a few red, a few blue, a lot of white with red stripes and some white with blue stripes.
The next summer they were almost all white, just a few pink striped ones here and there.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

That's sort of what I have noticed as well. Except for Ott, nearly all of the colored wild ones I've seen have been pink star, and the stars are often very very pale. It seems blue only stays with human intervention.

 

[so lucky]

My MGs that have reseeded for the second time are almost all white, with a slight pink stripe. They were pink, blue and white three years ago. However, as others have said, some Grandpa Otts in another area have reseeded for about 5 years, staying true to color.

 

[rebbetzin]

Hmmm, I have noticed over the years, (about 20 years now) My blooms are different from year to year. Some years more purples, but, I NEVER get white ones. I did one year get a very pretty light lavendar with a ruffled edge on the flowers, but when I planted the seeds from those flowers, they were not the same. I have tied off my striped ones, and will see if they come back with stripes.
They for sure take over the garden if given half a chance!! But, I transplant many seedlings when they come up where I don't want them.