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EmailBotanical name: Ipomoea
Plant type: Flower
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Flower color: Red, Pink, Blue, Purple, White
Morning glories are annual climbers with slender stems, heart-shaped leaves, and trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, purple-blue, magenta, or white. They have a beautiful shape before they unfold in the Sun and romantic tendrils that lend old-fashioned charm.
In warmer areas, train climbers over a pergola or arch, or use as dense groundcover. The vine grows quickly up to 15 feet in one season, and can self-seed fairly easily, too.
The flowers bloom from early summer to the first frost. Their big, fragrant, colorful flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Note that the seeds are highly toxic if ingested.
Planting
- Grow annuals in a sunny, sheltered site. They need a lot of sun.
- Plant in moderately fertile, well-drained soil.
- Choose a site that is sheltered from cold or drying winds.
- Sow Morning Glory seeds early in the season once the ground has warmed to 64 degrees F.
- File the seeds just long enough to break the coat and soak them for 24 hours before planting them. (They look like little worms.)
- Cover lightly with 1/4-inch of soil. Space about 6 inches apart. Water thoroughly.
Care
- Apply a balanced liquid fertilizer after planting and monthly.
- Support climbers and trailing species.
- Morning glories are low-maintenance. Water during dry periods.
- Mulch to retain moisture and avoid weeds.
Pests
- White blister, rust, fungal leaf spots, stem rot, thread blight, charcoal rot, and wild occur.
- Deer can be a nuisance.
Recommended Varieties
- 'Heavenly Blue' are the classic morning glories with the rich azure (blue) flowers with white throats. It climbs to 12 feet.
- 'Scarlett O'Hara' has bright red flowers with a white throat. It climbs to 15 feet.
Free E-Cards
Share these pretty morning glories from our e-card gallery!
Photo credit: Audrey Lucas
Special Features
- Attracts Butterflies
- Attracts Birds
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Comments
By Donna Abrams on May 23
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I live in 5B zone. We planted morning glories from seed in our newly purchased green house . They are about an inch tall in the little cups. It says to plant the entire cup, but when shall I plant them? Thanks so much.
By Tim Treece on May 23
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Do morning glories flower better or do they need morning sun?
By Connie komomua on May 21
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I have the same problem as anonymous on May 18. Two to three inches and then they simply stopped growing. They have been siting there for three weeks now with no growth. Some are in pots and some are in the ground, the ones in pots are in full sun and the ones in the ground are in full to partial.
By Joan glassmyer on May 23
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How can I control the mg? They keep coming back and take over the front porch and garden. We pulled them out 1st year. Came back
By Anonymous on May 18
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I have been trying to grow Morning Glories on the chain link fence on my patio. I soak the seeds, plant them, they start to grow. They get to about three inches tall, bloom, then die, or some small critter eats all the leaves off it and they die. Any suggestions?
By Anonymous on May 11
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Will it matter if I let my morning glories trail down vs up? I would like to plant my seeds in a deep planter that hangs on the deck railing.... letting the vines cascade downward. Will this be a problem?
By Anonymous on May 20
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No. Morning Glories are beautiful planted in hanging baskets or window boxes. My sister grew her morning glories in a window box and let then grown down. Was a beautiful cascade of flowers.
By Anonymous on May 10
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I read that before I plant morning glories I need to scratch the seed open and then soak for 24 hours. But when the natural seeds drop to the ground to re seed they, of course don't do that. Why can't I just plant the seeds.
Thanks
By Anonymous on May 16
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Well, you CAN. It's just that more will successfully germinate this way. The seed has kind of a hard coat, and the soaking/filing helps the plant to break through that.
By Anonymous on April 30
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Hi, I'm interested in planting morning glories on a short fence to make a green wall. Which kind should I use to have the greenery year round and the flowers for as long as they bloom? I live in San Diego and they will get full sun. Or, do you have any other suggestions? I have a brown thumb and used to have the perennial which survived me! Thank you :-)
By Anonymous on April 24
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hello,
i have been growing morning glories in my college dorm just for fun, and a while ago their leaves started to wilt and turn a pale yellow color. i thought it was because the plastic tub i was growing it in was constricting their roots. so today i reppotted them without disturbing the soil. but now im wondering if i may have been overwatering them? would that explain the pale yellow leaves and wilting?
By Anonymous on May 17
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Yellow leaves are due to over watering, if you have a plastic pot it's probably not getting a good enough drainage. Only water when soil is dry. I have found if you water it to religiously, you will get vine growth but no flowers. Hope that helps!
By Anonymous on April 24
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I live in a rental so I prefer to stay with plants I can take with me.Last year I had luck starting a plant by stem. I had read that you can basically start a new plant by just putting them in good potted soil with drainage and sun.Is this a normal thing to do,or did I just get lucky?
By Anonymous
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I read that the seeds are very toxic is this true for dogs too? I want to plant in the dog run to grow along the back fence.
By Almanac Staff
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Morning glories are toxic if your dog ingests the plant or seeds. It is listed as a toxic plant for pets on the ASPCA website.
By Anonymous
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My roommate planted Morning Glories out of a packet a few years ago. They come back every year and she has never re-seeded. Is this normal?
By Anonymous on April 24
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no it is done by magic...........gods magic.......my magic and yours ;)
By Anonymous
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Someone told me that the hybrids won't come back every year, but seeds that aren't hybrids will. Where did she get the seeds?
By Anonymous on May 20
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I have produced a hybrid myself. As a rule of thumb; The first generation will produce seed but they may not be hybrid but just carrying on one of the original strands it's a 50/50 chance
By Anonymous on April 29
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She bought them from Lowes or Home Depot - they were the packets of seeds. The packet even said annuals on them, just wasn't sure if anyone else experienced this!
By Anonymous on May 5
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I have them in a house we bought. They do come back every year if the seeds winter through. All I do in one they go to seed shake the fence. I don't even cover them in dirt as they are becoming invasive. I am zone 6 a
By Anonymous
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I have a morning glory growing on a cement wall with lattice last year it did great this year the leaves look burnt and not growing as much could it be getting too much sun or could it have a pest?
By Almanac Staff
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If the leaves look dried out, it could be wind burn? Has it been cold and windy? There are some varieties of morning glory that are more hardy than others if your wall is in a place that gets hit harder by weather.
By Anonymous
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I have an oak tree in my yard that I would like to plant morning glory around. Would this damage the tree in any way?
By Anonymous
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No it won't harm the tree if it is well established ie more then a few years old
Your biggest problem would be wether or not the morning glories will get enough sun
By anonymous
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We do not think that morning glory vines are strong enough to kill an established solid oak tree. Keep in mind that the vine prefers about 5 hours of direct sun to flower well so it would not grow well in the shade of a tree.
By Anonymous
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I grew morning glories last year in a pot, but this year we are moving and I will have an actual garden with an arch to grow morning glories on.
Most of the recommendations say to grow them about 8 inches apart. What if I am looking for a look like this?:
http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users16/gummibearsss1/default/morning-glories--large-msg-128827347584.jpg
Or this: http://images.meredith.com/bhg/images/2008/10/p_BHG138955.jpg
Do you just kind of "break the rules"?
Any advice is appreciated. :)
By Almanac Staff
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You can plant the seeds closer than 8 inches apart, but be careful so that the plants don't shade each other and that you have enough support for lots of vines.
By Anonymous
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I've heard that if you plant a morning glory in a pot it should be a clay pot. Is this tru or can you use a ceramic pot?
By Almanac Staff
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We haven't heard this. Just know that clay or "unglazed" ceramic pots --while more natural-- are porous so the soil will dry out more quickly than plastic containers and you need to water more often. When you plant edible flowers, be sure to use a non-toxic pot.
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