Convolvulus sabatius
Blue Rock Bindweed
Common names: Blue Mauritius, Dwarf Morning Glory
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- May–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −3 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Frank Vincentz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Blue Mauritius, botanically Convolvulus sabatius, is a low, cushion-forming bindweed native to northwestern Italy and North Africa. Unlike many of its relatives, it does not twine. Instead, it grows flat and allows its shoots, up to 60 cm long, to trail over the rim of a pot. Reaching only 15 to 20 cm in height, the plant stays small and bears grey-green, softly hairy leaves. The funnel-shaped flowers are a delicate lavender-blue with a pale throat. They open in sunshine and close in the evening and in overcast weather. Flowering runs from June to September, often from May and into October when grown in a container. It is suited to hanging baskets, window boxes and bowls, or to the edge of a dry stone wall. It pairs well with lavender, rosemary and other plants that prefer sun and well-drained soil. It is not frost-hardy in this region and overwinters in a bright, cool place.
Care instructions
Place Blue Mauritius in a warm, full-sun position with at least six hours of sun per day. Plant it outdoors only after the Ice Saints in mid-May (from calendar week 20), as cold nights and wet conditions are its enemies before then. Use free-draining container potting mix with added sand and make sure the pot has drainage holes. Water regularly but moderately: the root ball may dry on the surface between waterings, as waterlogging causes root rot. From May, fertilise every two weeks. If the shoots become long and bare in midsummer, cut them back by about a third; the plant will then sprout anew and continue flowering. Spent flowers do not need to be removed. Insufficient sunlight is the most common reason for sparse flowering.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringMay–Oct
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, sandy, humus-rich
The ground morning glory grows best in free-draining, sandy soil with some humus, not too rich in nutrients. In a container, mix standard potting compost for container plants with about a third of sand or fine grit. Lime does not bother it; a pH from neutral to slightly alkaline is perfectly fine. It copes poorly with heavy, dense soil and wet in the root zone: then the roots rot and the shoots collapse.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
May–Aug
The ground morning glory flowers for months and appreciates regular but sparing feeding. From May to August, give it a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants every two weeks and then water with plain water afterwards. In fresh soil enriched with compost, a single dose of mature compost in spring is often enough. Too much fertiliser promotes long, soft shoots with few flowers. Do not fertilise in autumn and winter.
Overwintering
The ground morning glory is not hardy, but it can withstand a short, light frost down to about minus 3 degrees. Bring it in during October or early November, before the first lasting frost, and shorten the shoots by a third. The winter quarters are bright and cool at 5 to 10 degrees, such as an unheated stairwell or a cool conservatory. Water only enough that the root ball does not dry out completely, and do not fertilise. From mid-March, move it somewhere brighter and water a little more; from mid-May it may go back outdoors.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
The surest way to propagate the ground morning glory is from tip cuttings. Between June and August, cut 5 to 8 cm long shoot tips without flowers, remove the lowest leaves and insert them into a mix of seed compost and sand. Place the pot somewhere bright and warm at 18 to 22 degrees, out of direct midday sun, and keep the soil lightly moist, but not wet. After three to four weeks the cuttings have rooted and put out new growth. Pot them on individually and overwinter them bright and cool. That way you have strong young plants next spring, even if the mother plant does not survive the winter.
For your garden
Grow Blue Rock Bindweed yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?