Tiger Foot Morning Glory (Ipomoea pes-tigris) - Seeds - The exotic eye-catcher

The tiger-foot morning glory, botanically *Ipomoea pes-tigris*, is an extraordinary, fast-growing climbing plant from the Convolvulaceae family. It owes its memorable name to its striking, deeply lobed foliage, the shape of which resembles a tiger's footprint. With its dense, hairy foliage and elegant funnel-shaped flowers, it provides vertical, exotic greenery on trellises, fences, or a summer balcony in no time at all.

Scope of delivery: 8 seeds each

The most striking feature of *Ipomoea pes-tigris* is undoubtedly its palmately divided foliage, which usually has five to nine deep lobes. Both the stems and the leaves are covered with fine, protruding hairs, giving the entire plant a fascinating, almost velvety texture. In its natural habitat, this fine hair serves as an effective protection against excessive sunlight and evaporation.

As a twining climber, the tiger-foot morning glory requires a stable support, on which it can easily reach heights of two to three meters during a warm summer. A fully sunny to at most semi-shaded, extremely warm, and sheltered location is ideal. The substrate should be structurally stable, humus-rich, and, above all, excellently drained. Generously enriching the soil with mineral components such as pumice, zeolite, or lava prevents waterlogging, to which the root system is extremely sensitive and reacts quickly with rot. Regular, thorough watering is important on hot days, but water must always be able to drain away well. Since the plant is absolutely frost-sensitive, it is cultivated as a classic annual in Central Europe and should only be moved outdoors after the "Ice Saints" (mid-May).

From midsummer onwards, the morning glory opens countless delicate funnel flowers, which shine in bright white to soft shades of pink and violet. Typical of morning glories, the flowers open in the early morning hours and close again in the intense midday sun, giving the plant a dynamic, daily transformation.

The natural distribution area of *Ipomoea pes-tigris* extends across the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and large parts of Australia. There, it prefers to grow in open forests, on forest edges, and in warm, coastal areas. In traditional Asian and African folk medicine, parts of the plant were historically used for various external applications. In the rest of the world, it is now primarily valued as a botanical curiosity and a fast-growing enthusiast variety for unusual garden designs.