22/01/2019 - I. nil selection 2019

With the new year underway it's time to start planning for this season's garden. It is always a dilemma at the start of a season to choose which species will be the main focus. Ipomoea purpurea is guaranteed to grow and produce well but, if you really want to go for variation, rarity and size, Ipomoea nil is where it's at.

Unfortunately it is much more difficult to get good results growing Ipomoea nil in the Belgian climate. Still we have learned a lot over the last few years and are convinced that we can find a method that will give us consistent results within the next couple of seasons.

We have already made a preliminary selection of the Japanese varieties we are planning to grow this year. Of course this list may still change here and there in the coming months depending on germination rates and other factors. Of course we'll also still be growing some Ipomoea purpurea and other varieties on the side as well.

Two batches of 25 Ipomoea nil varieties have been pre-selected. Both batches will be kept on a 12 hour night length schedule from the start of germination for at least 4-6 weeks. This should induce early flowering. The first batch will be sown early March and another one about 2-4 weeks later. If the method proves particularly successful this could mean we might even be able to go for an additional batch later in the season.

Batch #1: Akatsuki no Shiva | Shiva At Dawn

Akatsuki Pink Denim

Baby Blue Ray

Blueprints

Bluji Fade

Cosmic Kelly

Country Blue Fuji

Fuji no Ao | Blue Of Mt. Fuji

Fuji Swirl

Keiryu | Music Of Mountain Stream

Kikyo Blue Halo

Kikyo Pearls

Kikyo Quasar

Kodachi Violet

Misty Blue Youjiro

Murakumo | Gathering Clouds

Ocean Mist

Ocean Silk

Pink Porcelain Blizzard

Pink Sparkle Fuji

Plum Pie

Raiko | Lightning

Supernova Blue

Tsukiyono | Moonbeams

Yoru no Hoshi | Night Star

Batch#2

Akatsuki no Murasaki | Purple At Dawn

Asa Kumo

Bamboo Pink

Black Queen

Blue Mutant

Blue Striated Ray Flow

Dark Purple Black

Fuji Shibori

Gesshoku

Hama no Yuki | Snow On The Beach

Heian no Izumi | Fountain Of The Heian Era

Heian no Umi | Ocean Of The Heian Era

Ishidatami

Kikyo Snowflakes

Maisugata | Dancing Figure

Miko no Mai | Sybil's Dance

Moondance

Peach Pie

Purple Blast

Sazanami #2 | Ripples Sparkle

Seiryu | Blue Dragon

Silver Shadows

Silver Stars

Ushio | Tide

Watercolor