Morning glory 'Rainbow flash'

Prefers full sun except in hot or dry regions such as parts of Chile, Baja Calif, NM, AZ, W. TX, Central Australia, etc. In those regions, best in partial shade.
Too much nitrogen will cause this plant to produce few flowers, and the ones produced will be of inferior color. This plant likes a high Sulfur content in its soil such as volcanic sands, hair or fur clippings, gypsum, eggshells, or some sort of bloom booster that contains sulfur.
Needs well drained soil and/or a container that drains well; over-watering or poor drainage can kill it.
This vine does not need a lot of root space, and tends to produce a vine that is smaller than most others in the same species. Although the vine can get to 13’ long, on average it usually tends to be about half that long.
Lends itself well to growing in hanging baskets and other smallish containers.

Try to plant in a location that enjoys partial sun and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Rainbow flash is thought of as tender, so it is imperative to wait until temperatures are mild before planting out of doors. Rainbow flash tends to grow best in a soil ph of between 5.6 and 9.0 meaning it does best in weakly acidic soil - weakly alkaline soil.

Sow indoors before last frost OR direct sow after last frost
Scarify (nick or scratch) seedcoat before sowing

Ensure a distance of 7.8 inches (20.0 cm) between seeds when sowing - look to sow at a depth of approximately 0.39 inches (1.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 26°C / 79°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Rainbow flash about 25 days before your last frost date.

Does not like root disturbance caused by transplanting. If you must start this indoors instead of direct-sowing outdoors due to short warm season, best plant in a large enough pot/basket that it can stay in the same pot/basket all year… Or use a biodegradable paper or peat container so that it can be potted up without removing the first pot.

Ensure that temperatures are mild (minimum night temperatures should be around 26°C / 79°F) and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Rainbow flash is a tender plant.

By our calculations, you should look at planting out Rainbow flash about 15 days after your last frost date.

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by early autumn.

First known in the UK under the heirloom name Captain Cook’s Rainbow since it was first found in Oceania (Indonesia) – and admired- by Captain Cook. Cpt. Cook and his shipmates traded for seeds and took them back to the UK. Once it was successfully propagated in the UK, they named it ‘Captain Cook’s Rainbow’.

Then- as generations passed, this heirloom name got corrupted via misspellings and via confusion with the Peter Pan Captain Hook— into ’Hook’s Rainbow’ which is a misnomer. This same error is very likely also how it wound up getting named Ipomoea hookeri.

First Botanically described by Spanish Botanist Antonio José Cavanilles; Year of Registration & Introduction: 1775. This plant became popular in Spain after being successfully grown there by Cavanilles, and in time the seeds were passed down and traded widely in Spain under the heirloom name ‘Estrella de Oceania’. They also made their way into Italy, where the name is spelled Stella de Oceania.

In these modern times, the original heirloom name with the outdated term Oceania is seen as archaic, and no longer desirable. The heirloom variety has been reclassified as Ipomoea tricolor Cavanilles in honor of the botanist, and also renamed ‘Star of China’ and ‘Rainbow Flash’ (and several other names), for modern marketing purposes. Cavanilles is typically abbreviated as Cav. in Botanical references.

Estrella refers to the star-shaped flowers and Oceania refers to its origins in the Asian-Pacific region. Originally found in what used to be called Oceania, which includes Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (aka Indo-China).

Legend about this plant: This heirloom variety supposedly was first found and appreciated on Captain Cook’s first voyage in ‘Oceania’ (actual location where the plant was found is likely Indonesia).

Its exotic beauty was much appreciated by Captain Cook and his seafarers, so they traded for some seeds. Once the seeds made their way back to Europe some of them were grown in Britain under the heirloom name ’Cook’s Rainbow’.
After attracting much interest in Europe as an ornamental, they were propagated further and then sent to Spain where they underwent botanical analysis by the Spanish Botanist, Sr.Cavanilles.
They became popular in Spain and in time were passed down and traded under the heirloom name ‘Estrella de Oceania’ in Spain. That name eventually became archaic, so the plant has been renamed several times.

Nowadays this is a popular garden plant in the lands of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indo-China, and other regions of China. In China and Japan this plant is usually sold as ‘China Star’, and in English speaking countries it is usually sold as ‘Rainbow Flash’.

The colors are more flashy (intense) than usual in this variety, possibly due to a smaller flower allowing pigments to concentrate. It has noticeably more red on its flowers than most of the common strains of I.tricolor such as the common blue strain ‘Heavenly Blue’ and the lilac strain ‘Wedding Bells’.

Scientific name is Ipomoea tricolor ‘Cav.’ (The abbreviation Cav. refers to Cavanilles.)

Also called Ipomoea rubrocoerulea because of its unusual red (rubro) and blue (coerulea) colour coloration, and by a few other botanical synonyms.

Stella de Oceania, Estella de Oceania, Captain Hook’s Rainbow, Ipomoea rubrocaerulea var. Hook, Ipomoea hookeri

China star, Star of indochina, Star of indonesia, Captain cook’s rainbow, Malay star, Star of thailand, Estrella de oceania, Ipomoea tricolor cavanilles, Ipomoea tricolor cav, Ipomoea rubrocaerulea var. cook, Ipomoea purpurea

¹ PlantFiles Database entry at Davesgarden
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/193411/