Transplanting Morning Glories

:( not thriving after transplant

I started drafting this post a few weeks ago because I was truly hoping the result would be my reporting that the experts were wrong, and that you truly CAN transplant morning glories.  Unfortunately, my scientific lab results (my back porch and front porch) have in fact proven to me that you can't transplant morning glories once they are at a certain point.I had read that in a few places (links below)

• PlantFiles: Detailed information on Morning Glory, Grannyvine Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue' and 
• will morning glories transplant - Oklahoma Gardening Forum - GardenWeb 

but because I had success starting seeds and then placing them in flower beds after I was optimistic.   But a seed that was actually started in my hanging baskets, and then started to get out of control for that small space did not do well when I moved it into a flower pot on my back porch as you can see.  

I still have a few more that haven't failed me, as you can see by this small plant next to my hummingbird feeder.   My scientific "hypothesis", yet to be proven, is that if you plant them before they start to vine, they will be fine.  If you plant them after the vine has started to cling, then you are probably going not going to be happy with the result.

If you have done "data collection on transplanting morning glories, please share!  

White Watermelon?

Well friends, the elation and joy of successfully growing my first large watermelon was quickly deflated when I opened it to find it wasn't quite ready - at least I think that's what this means (see image below). I've searched every resource possible and I can only find one picture of a white interior of a melon and it's a honeydew.  Definitely not what this is! 

I planted my watermelons from seedlings on Mother's Day of this year (May 8, 2011).  When trying to figure out where I went wrong I found this article very helpful for future reference; Harvesting Melons: How do you know when a melon is ripe? - , as well as this one How to harvest garden Watermelon.   (Actually I truly NEVER knew after three seasons of attempts that it's actually better to "cut" the watermelon off the vine.  I was doing the "slip" method).   Using this last resource, if I count the number of days it's only been 66, so I'm shy of the 80 by approximately two weeks. (Unless I count time from seed to seedling by guessing what happened to them before I got them.)  I have several more growing, so I'll assess the ripeness again in two weeks or so using my new information I resourced. 

Of course I'll share the results, and would love to hear about your watermelon experience!  

Learning about varieties of Morning Glories...

It's almost like a scientific experiment, but that wasn't my intention when I started the project to try and find maintenance free, hearty, possibly perennial vine solutions for the birdhouse posts and the trellis under the porch.  I just wanted to get a variety of blooms and colors, and increase my odds at success.   I took several packets of morning glory seeds including:  Moonflower, two  tall/early blooming bunches (one of purples and one of the pink) variety, Heavenly Blue, Grandpa Ott, and Scarlett O'Hara and soaked them overnight.  I mixed them all up and planted them around my porch skirt/trellis, and within three weeks they are already climbing, and some are doing clearly better than others.  It also looks like there is a variety that is more prone to being eaten then others.  I can't wait to see if what I'm seeing in the foliage is consistent with the bloom variety.   I'd love to hear from fellow enthusiasts about their experience.