This plant has been cultivated for over 100 years. Liana with beautiful large strongly dissected leaves of an exotic look and striking red flowers is thermophilic and succeeds better in the hot climate of the south. However, this does not mean that it cannot be grown in the middle lane. And here she is able to show herself in all her glory!
Slaughter's Kvamoklit (Quamoclit sloteri), more often referred to now as Slaughter's morning glory (Ipomoea sloteri) does not occur in nature. This is an artificial hybrid obtained by hand pollination of the fire-red morning glory (Ipomoea coccinea) Ipomoea pollen quamoclite (Ipomoea quamoclit)... It is hard to imagine, but all Slaughter's morning glories cultivated in the world today are the descendants of just one hybrid plant!
The author of the hybrid, Logan Slaughter from Columbus (Ohio, USA) has been working on it for a very long time. He crossed every year starting in 1897, but he never got the seeds. It was only in 1908 that the attempts were crowned with success, and one hybrid plant produced a single seed from which a plant developed, different from both parental species. In his offspring, the stubborn Slaughter received 500 seeds, which produced plants that convey the characteristics of the parental hybrid well. Initially, the new plant was named Ipomoea multifaceted (Ipomoea x multifida), and after a while she was given the name of the creator - Ipomoeus Slaughter (Ipomoea sloteri)... Name Ipomoea x multifida also not in vain, now it is worn by another hybrid, characterized by narrower leaf lobes. Slaughter's morning glory is an allotetraploid plant, i.e. each parent passed on to him a full diploid set of chromosomes.
Slaughter's Morning Glory is an annual climbing plant of the bindweed family. Stems up to 1.5-3.5 m long, thin, flattened. The leaves are opposite, occupying an intermediate position between the heart-shaped leaves of the fiery red morning glory and the feathery — morning glory kvamoklit. Large cordate-triangular leaves are dissected into 3-7 pairs of narrow lobes and a wider middle lobe, they resemble palm leaves and give an openwork appearance to the entire plant.
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The flowers are bright red, tubular, with a pentagonal limb and a yellow or white neck (for comparison: in the morning glory kvamoklit, the flowers can be pink or white, and in the bright red morning glory, they are more stellate). An additional decoration of the flower is five white or yellow stamens and a pistil with 1 or 2 stigmas. The flowers are rich in nectar, they delight bees and butterflies during the day, and close at night.
For bright flowers in tones of cardinal vestments, the plant received the English name Cardinal Liana (Cardinal Climber).
When it is still cool, the plant develops slowly, but with the onset of hot weather, it begins to grow rapidly and blooms in mid-summer. Flowering continues until frost.
The corolla of the flower, as it ages, bends back and finally sheds, leaving a ripening fruit. It is an ovoid green box, which dries up and cracks as it ripens, throwing out 2-4 seeds. Mature seeds are irregular and dark brown or black in color.
To get the seeds, the pods are harvested a little unripe, when they turn brown, and dried. It should be borne in mind that seeds obtained in cold climates are not suitable for sowing next year, but are suitable for southern latitudes. So in temperate climates, it is better to purchase seeds every year again from the trade network. The seeds are very toxic when ingested by humans or pets. Store them in a hard-to-reach place!
Reproduction of Ipomoea Slaughter
Slaughter's Morning Glory is grown from seed through seedlings. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 0.5-0.7 cm 4-6 weeks before the end of spring frosts, in our zone - from the beginning of April. You can sow directly into open ground at the end of April under the cover of a spunbond - with a later sowing, flowering will come later and the seeds will not have time to ripen.
The seeds have a dense shell. First, they are scarified with sandpaper, then soaked overnight. Germination lasts 1-2 weeks.
Grown plants are provided with support. They are planted in the ground in early June, when night temperatures exceed + 10 ° C, at a distance of 30 cm from each other. Plants do not tolerate transplanting well, so you need to try to keep the root ball when planting seedlings. The ideal option is to grow seedlings in peat pots.
Growing Ipomoea Slaughter
This thermophilic plant is planted in the open sun in well-drained, humus-rich, neutral or slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0 to 7.2). It easily tolerates short-term periods of drought, but it still develops better with a good supply of moisture (remember that its parents are tropical plants). The plantings are fed once a month with full mineral fertilizer, on poor soils - 2 times a month. Mineral fertilizers can be replaced by simply adding compost to the soil.
This liana beautifully braids lattice fences, arches, pergolas, obelisks, trellises. Carved leaves leave a view, so the plant is perfect for gazebos and other buildings. It can be used as a ground cover plant, especially where crops are planted that die off in the middle of summer - poppies, bulbs. Well tolerates planting in containers (with support) or hanging baskets, where it forms rich cascades.
