Japanese Morning Glory 'Star of India'

This was such a nice surprise as the packet was listed as Jishi in 2004 and I decided to grow out all the older seeds. Well, this turned...Read More out to be Star of India aka/or from the old cultivar Royal Robe. VERY nice flower and I hope to get seeds from this. Out of the 10 seeds, this is the only one that came out like this, all the rest were totally different I. nils.

I started my vine in a pot late March. It was alm. the first to bloom and I left it in it's pot til late Aug. when it died.
Mine ...Read Morenever grew more than a 18" - 2' tho many of my mg's grew huge in a large pot. However, I got a couple of blooms almost everyday and fell in love with the deep purplish-blue hue and the awesome star! Last month I decided to photograph it w/both digital, and 35mm(...the most reliable to achieve true color) and shot the star in different hours and in different light. Will post pictures soon; it was amazing as I never noticed the transformation quite like this, in previous weeks of blooming. I loved these blooms!

This cultivar was first selected out of the first offerings of the "Sunrise Mix"(aka Akatsuki mix ala Sakata) made available through a c...Read Moreo- member of the Flower & Herb Exchange in 1998,which is when and where I first acquired seeds of this cultivar ...
I have grown the Ipomoea nil Early Call mixes for most of my life and have never seen this come out of any Early Call mix...
I am of the strong opinion that what is being called 'Star of India' is one of the several natural color variations of the "Royal Robe" cultivar as first made available through the F&HE in 1998...
The "Fragrant Path" company first offered their 'Star of India' synonym at least several years after it was first available through the F&HE.
There is also a pink mutation of the "Royal Robe" that sports a white throat and very similar corolla markings as the RR,but in a medium light pink...the pink mutation of RR caries the gene to produce the original darker blue progenitor type.

This particular Japanese Morning Glory has been very easy to grow, not near as picky as some of the other types. The flowers are deep, d...Read Moreark blue with a white picotee edging that varies from flower to flower, and gradually turns purple to dark pink as the flower ages. There is also a pink mutation, which shows the star much better since it's a lighter color, but it's not as outstanding as it's darker counterpart. Sets seed fairly easily compared to variegated cultivars.