Ipomoea purpurea “Bluejay” is an outstanding new colour. Eye catching clear blue flowers with a darker violet-blue five pointed star shooting out from its central, white throat.
This variety flowers early and will bloom all summer until frosts. A beautiful climber, it is ideal for climbing up trellis and fences or obelisks in containers.

Note – Ipomoea purpurea “Bluejay” is sometimes incorrectly sold as 'Flying Saucers', this variety has soft blue flowers with darker blue markings; not the blue/white "splashed" look of 'Flying Saucers'

Preparation:
Choose a sunny position with moist soil, they cannot grow or bloom properly in the shade. The seed coating is rather hard, and it will hasten germination if you stand the seeds in tepid water for a day or two before sowing.

Sowing: Sow indoors in late winter, or outdoors in early spring
Sow indoors in early spring no sooner than 3 to 4 weeks before the last expected frosts, and 4 weeks before you plan to plant them outside. Alternatively, the seed can also be sown directly where they are to flower once all risk of frosts has passed. Keep soil moist during germination.

Sowing Indoors:
Sow into individual pots or trays of seed compost. Paper or peat pots are preferable. Use well drained soil and cover to a depth of 3mm (1/8in). Maintain a temperature of around 20°C and keep compost moist. Germination will take place 5 to 14 days
Plants are extremely resentful of root disturbance, even when they are quite small, and should be potted up almost as soon as they germinate. Prick out to individual pots, transplant into 7.5cm (3in) pots or trays.
Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10 to 15 days before planting out in growing position after the last expected frosts. Space 15cm (6in) apart. Consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away actively.

Sowing direct:
Prepare the ground well and rake to a fine tilth. If sowing more than one annual in the same bed, mark the sowing areas with a ring of sand and label. Sow 1mm (1/18th in) deep in rows 7cm (3in) apart. Sow seed sparingly or they will choke out other seedlings.
The seedlings will appear in rows approx 3 to 4 weeks after planting and can be easily told from nearby weed seedlings. Thin the seedlings out so they are finally 30cm (12in) apart. Carefully replant thinned plants.

Cultivation:
Remove spent flowers to encourage prolific blooming….and if you do not wish to have volunteer seedlings next year!

Note:
Seeds are harmful if eaten.

Ideal for:
Clambering up Trellis, Obelisks and Trees. Also for Containers and Tubs

Nomenclature:
Ipomoea is from the Greek ips meaning ‘a worm’ and homoios meaning ‘resembling’ thus meaning "like a worm," referring to the twining habit of the plant's growth.
The species name purpurea, refers to the purple form of morning glory.
The common name Morning Glory refers to the plants habit of opening its new blooms at the beginning of each day.
It is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. Ipomoea is a member of the Convolvulus family, pronounced kon-volv-yoo-lus is taken from the Latin convolvere, meaning 'to twine around'.

This cultivar is named "Bluejay" after the bird, Cyanocitta cristata. The Blue Jay is native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, though western populations may be migratory. It is predominately blue with a white breast and a blue crest.
As with other blue-hued birds, the Blue Jay's coloration is not derived from pigments but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers. If a blue feather is crushed, the blue disappears as the structure is destroyed. This is referred to as structural coloration.
Toronto's Major League Baseball team is also called the Blue Jays.