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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
Flowers
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
Attracts Songbirds

Planting, Growing, and Caring for Morning Glory Flowers

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

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. 

Buy Seeds Now

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 morning glory seeds are poisonous, 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 (up to 9 feet deep!), 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. These plants need a lot of sun to bloom their best! 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.
  • ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ 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

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

Wit and Wisdom

growing morning glories inforgraphic

Flowers
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Sylvia Anne Allen</span> Sun, 10/20/2013 - 11:57
my husband started growing morning glories this summer and has done awesome with them now we see all the seed pods on them how and when can we take the seed pods from them to keep the seeds ready for spring!!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 10/21/2013 - 17:59

Morning glories are a great seed to save--easy to identify and gather. After the seed pods have fully dried to brown, collect the seeds on a dry, sunny day. Let them dry and store in a sealed container until spring!

 <span>Tanya Shidler</span> Wed, 10/02/2013 - 04:43
This my 1st yr growin ne thing i grew mgs & they went crazy. i planted 4. they took awhile to bloom but once they did they bloom like crazy. they're beautiful. i didnt fertilize or water all summer. i was so tickled as this is my 1st yr growing anything. i grew aster marigolds sunflowers(which my mgs choked to death) nasturtiums and a couple others that grew. i had about 5 i grew that never came up but i feel successful just because of the mgs alone. this is a great flower for a beginner because it doesn't require much care. i had 2 white ones & a bright pink 1 and purple 1 that grew together. they are absolutely beautiful. glorious!!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 10/04/2013 - 16:01

Tanya, Thanks for sharing your beginner experience and congrats on your beautiful morning glories!

 <span>Kchag</span> Thu, 09/26/2013 - 14:35
I recently bought a home with a massive amount of morning glories. They are beautiful but they are everywhere. How can I tell if I have an annual or perennial flower? I read that I should cut them back at the end of the summer so it's that time but don't want to if it's an annual. If it's a perennial, do I cut them back almost to the ground or should I leave some of the vine intact? Thank you.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Sat, 09/28/2013 - 06:36

The morning glory vine is an annual and will generally die after frost. You can cut down in the spring. Up the plant can self-seed profusely. If you want to avoid this, gather all the seed pods and dead vines after the first frost, put in a bag, and give away or discard elsewhere; try not to let the seeds scatter.

 <span>Farmer 1956</span> Sun, 09/15/2013 - 11:29
One morning there were five blossoms on a vine of MGs and the temperature was very cool that day....those blossoms did not close until the next afternoon...and we checked for spent blossoms...none! Until the second day...?
<span>Patricia Beezub</span> Sat, 09/14/2013 - 16:09
my niece brought a morning glory home and it had 2 little leaves on it now it has 8 it is in a little pot and I don't know if I can plant it outside now I live in Pa.and the weather is cool
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 09/16/2013 - 14:48

Plant the morning glory in a bigger pot and put it outside in the sun. Bring it into a sheltered location if the temp. drops below 40 degrees.

 <span>Djb5718</span> Thu, 09/12/2013 - 18:48
Has flowers, losing leaves. Recently my morning glory is losing most of its leaves, although it's still flowering nicely and sending out runners. This is its second year, and last year it didn't start losing leaves until it got cold. It hasn't been cold, actually it's been hot. I thought maybe it needs more water, but I see the advice here not to water too much. This is in San Francisco.