How to Grow Morning Glories: The Complete Morning Glory Flower Guide

Two delicate vivid blue and pink flowers of morning glory plant in a a garden in a sunny summer garden, outdoor floral background photographed with soft focus
Photo Credit
Cristina Ionescu/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Ipomoea tricolor, I. purpurea
Plant Type
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
Blue
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Hardiness Zone
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Special Features
Attracts Butterflies
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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Morning Glory Flowers

Catherine Boeckmann

Want to grow morning glories? This plant, with its romantic tendrils and trumpet-shaped flowers, is beloved by butterflies and hummingbirds. It’s often mistaken for a perennial weed with the same name. Learn how to plant and grow morning glory flowers!

About Morning Glories

NOTE: This guide is NOT about the perennial weed that shares the common name of “morning glory.” That plant is classified as a noxious weed in many states. Read more below. 

Morning glories are tender annuals, so they are sensitive to cool temperatures and late frosts. They bloom from early summer to the first frost of fall. 

Their fragrant, colorful flowers come in pink, purple-blue, magenta, or white colors. Pollinators love Morning Glories’ trumpet-shaped blooms.

Train twining morning glory vines over a pergola or arch, or use them as a dense groundcover. This drought-tolerant plant grows quickly—up to 10 feet in one season—and can self-seed fairly easily. Because of this, you’ll want to choose where you put this plant wisely! Otherwise, you may have more morning glories than you bargained for.

Warning: All , especially in large quantities. Keep them out of reach of children and pets.

Annual Versus Perennial Morning Glories

The attractive annual morning glory (Ipomoea spp.) is often mistaken for its perennial cousin, field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), a very troublesome, invasive weed native to Europe and Asia. 

Field bindweed—also called “perennial morning glory” or “creeping jenny”—grows similarly to our annual morning glory but sends out deep, deep roots (), which make it very difficult to get rid of and allow it to overwinter in areas where cultivated morning glories could not. 

To tell the difference between the plants, look closely at the leaves, flowers, and vines:

  • The leaves of the annual morning glory are heart-shaped and large (2 or more inches across). Field bindweed leaves are shaped more like an arrowhead and smaller. 
  • Annual morning glory flowers may be pink, white, magenta, blue, purple, or red. Field bindweed flowers only occur in either pink or white, and blooms are much smaller than annual morning glory.
  • Morning glory vines are usually thicker than bindweed vines and typically have small hairs.

In any case, if you come across a plant in your garden that resembles Morning Glory and you know you didn’t plant it, it’s best to err on the side of caution and treat it as a weed. 

Read Next

Planting

Choose a sunny spot. Plant in moderately fertile, well-draining soil to encourage good foliage growth followed by plenty of flowers.

Finally, choose a location that is sheltered from strong, drying winds. Give them a fence, lattice, or trellis to climb up so that vines don’t crowd out other ground-level plants.

When to Plant Morning Glories

  • Sow seeds as early as possible after the danger of frost is over.

Purple Morning Glories

How to Plant Morning Glories

  • Germination rates are improved by filing down the seeds just enough to break the outer coat and then soaking them for 24 hours before planting. This encourages them to send out a root (it looks like a little worm). 
  • Cover lightly with 1/4-inch of soil. Space seeds about 6 inches apart.
  • Water thoroughly at planting.
  • Seedlings should appear in about a week; some seeds may be stubborn and take 2 or 3 weeks to sprout.

Growing

  • Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer after planting. Do not over-fertilize, or the vine may grow more foliage than flowers.
  • Support this climbing plant with structures like trellises, pergolas, or arches.
    • Tip: Morning glories climb by twining their vines around a support, so make sure that whichever type of structure you grow them against has plenty of space for whorling! 
  • Morning glories are low maintenance; just be sure to water during particularly dry periods.
  • Mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
  • If you don’t want the plant to reseed itself, pinch off old flowers before they turn into seedpods. This can also encourage the plant to keep producing more flowers. 

Purple morning glory vining over a wooden fence

Types

  • ‘Heavenly Blue’ are the classic morning glories with rich azure (blue) flowers and white throats. These plants climb to 12 feet.
  • ‘Sٳ ’H’ has bright red flowers with a white throat. It climbs to 15 feet.
  • Here are more recommended morning glory varieties!
'Heavenly Blue' morning glory. Photo by Heike Loechel/Wikimedia Commons.
‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glory. Photo by Heike Loechel/Wikimedia Commons.
Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom

growing morning glories inforgraphic

Pests/Diseases

Morning glories are fast-growing and are rarely bothered by pests or diseases to a significant extent.

Morning Glory Pests and Diseases
Pest/DiseaseTypeSymptomsControl/Prevention
AphidsInsectMisshapen/yellow leaves; distorted flowers; leaf drop; sticky “honeydew” (excretion) on leaves; sooty, black moldKnock off with water spray; apply insecticidal soap; inspect new plants carefully; use slow-release fertilizers; avoid excess nitrogen; encourage aphid predators such as lacewings, ladybugs, spiders
Fusarium wiltFungusPlants wilt (sometimes one-sided) in daytime; later, entire plant wilts/dies; stunting; yellow leaves; poor flowering; roots rot; stem cross-section reveals brown discolorationDestroy infected plants/ roots/surrounding soil (do not compost); remove plant debris regularly; disinfect tools; resistant varieties; avoid excess nitrogen; in acidic soils, raise pH to 7.0; weed; 3- to 5-year rotation
Leaf minersInsectMeandering blisters in leaves caused by tunneling larvaeRemove infested leaves; weed; use row covers; till soil early in season; rotate plantings
Leaf spot (fungal)FungusVaries; leaf spots on lower leaves enlarge and turn brown/black; fuzzy growth or pustules in lesions; disease progresses upward; leaves dieDestroy infected leaves/ severely infected plants (do not compost); remove plant debris regularly; disinfect tools; resistant varieties; good air circulation; avoid overhead watering
RustFungusVaries; orange pustules on undersides of lower leaves/stems; spots on upper leaf surfaces; foliage distorts/ dies/drops; stunting; poor flowering; plants weakenedDestroy infected parts/severely diseased plants; remove plant debris regularly; disinfect tools; resistant varieties; good air circulation; avoid overhead watering; weed
Flowers
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s found each other. She leads digital content for the website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

Hi Sara, I just wanted to mention that after 5 years of watering in the evening, I have finally discovered what has been causing my rust and disease outbreaks - Watering in the evening! It turns out that moist damp soil overnight is exactly what diseases, particularly yellow rust, need to have an outbreak. For the last several years, I've been spraying with Daconil, trying to clip every leaf that showed the disease, figured it must be coming from the surrounding trees. So this year, my schedule having recently changed, I decided to water in the morning. No more diseases. None. The only thing that I have trouble with this year is spider mites. I've tried everything on those and it only "helps" slow them down, not eradicates. My advice about watering is water in the morning before 10am everyday. That gives the soil and any incidentally wet leaves all day to dry out before the evening sets in and diseases try to spread. If it rains and your plants are new, they may can skip a day. If they are established, month or more, they may still need a little water even if it rains - depending on how much it rains. I let mine dry out a day if they got over 2 inches of rain in one day. Anything less, and I keep a watchful eye on the soil to make sure it doesn't dry out too much. The drying out is important as it triggers the plant to bloom more.

Audi Gutierrez (not verified)

7 years 7 months ago

I have a spot for moonflower and the trellis is already set up but the area isn't very shady and barely gets any sun, only for like an hour in the afternoon. CANi plant these there? I really want these and have no other place to put it

Jenny (not verified)

7 years 7 months ago

I decided to plant morning glory after seeing a neighbor's fence covered in bright flowers and green foliage last month. I've done some more research, and didn't realize the plant would die during the winter. Is that also true for warmer climates? I live in San Diego, CA.

We have a 20 ft wide by 6 ft tall west-facing trellis that gets sun nearly all day. Is there a quick-climbing, hopefully flowering plant that I should use instead of morning glory?

Many thanks!

Morning glories are indeed annuals and die off after one season. We suggest you try clematis or jasmine for beautiful vining flowers if you do not want to grow morning glories.

Cathy (not verified)

7 years 7 months ago

So last year I harvested seed from the morning glories that were in the yard of our new house. I'd like to start new plants from seed but I don't understand the technique required to "nick" or "file" the seed before soaking and planting. What is the best way to accomplish this without damaging the seed?

Hi Cathy,

I use an emery board to gently file down the area behind the "eye" of the seed. Just until you can barely see a little white. Not too deeply or you can damage the embryo. Then soak for 12 - 24 hours in a 50-50 warm water / hydrogen peroxide solution. When the seed swells and cracks, time to plant it about a half inch down under loose soil. Keep moist every day. In really warm sunny conditions, the seed can sprout within 3 days. In "normal" conditions it could take 7 to 10 days to sprout.

You can use a razor or sharp knife to nick the seed. But if you are worried about damaging the seeds, you can just soak them overnight.

that is not needed if you soak the seeds in lukewarm water over night when you see them in the morning most will have a root already with in 24 hours ever seed will have a root

Susan (not verified)

7 years 7 months ago

I would like to start some Heavenly Blue morning glories in a pot where ground soil is not available but my father had always recommended direct in-ground planting because Morning glories have a tap root. How deep should my container be to accommodate this tap root? Thanks!

Hi Susan!

Heavenly Blue morning glories will grow a taproot down to 3 feet deep in the soil. The pot does not have to be quite that tall, but too short and it could stunt the plant’s growth. Whatever you decide to do, pick either in-ground or pot, but don’t do both. Morning glories have delicate root systems that can snap easily when transplanted.

We hope this helps!