Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Glorious Bush Morning Glory

Convolvulus cneorum


March is the month that Bush Morning Glory (Convolvulus cneorum) really struts its stuff in the low desert. It is a silvery mounding shrub that looks good year-round, but when it blooms, it is glorious. It will continue its heavy blooming from now until about May 15, and then it will have intermittent bloom periods through early fall, but none will match its current copiousness. The white funnel flowers completely cover the shrubs, which are about four feet in diameter.

I’ve found that Bush Morning Glory shrubs are not particularly long-lived. Each summer, I lose a few, as I discussed in a previous post. My first thought was over watering, so last fall I changed the irrigation emitters from one gallon per hour emitters to ½ gallon per hour. However, the shrubs were never leggy, a sure sign of over watering. I asked a local nurseryman about my problem and he told me that I could reasonably expect a two to five year life span for these shrubs. My shrubs are now three years old. If I lose more this summer, I’m going to assume it’s from old age.

6 comments:

Ezequiel Coelho said...

What a great photo!!
The light is fantastic!

Best wishes to your Garden (and to you too :D)!

Jocelyn H. Chilvers said...

It's always such a treat to see "vista photos" of your garden---it's fascinating how your unique plant collection works together in your desert environment. Beautiful!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Wonderful, I love your Bush Morning Glories, they are divine! Not long lived but great nevertheless. Enjoy them while you can. :-)

Xole Karman said...

Oh, that's too weird! We get a purple convolvulus here in Canberra, but it's a weed—grows everywhere and is almost impossible to get rid of. I spent two days last month pulling the stuff out of one of my front garden beds! It sure looks pretty (and well-behaved) in your garden.

kate said...

The Bush Morning Glory are stunning in your landscape. I love the photograph with the sun sending interesting shadows onto the pebbles.

Even if you lose some each year, it's well worth growing.

Julie said...

How did I miss this post? These are so beautiful in all their white GLORY!!! Happy Easter weekend!