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The Best Morning Glory Varieties for Stunning Garden Color

pink and blue Morning Glory Varieties
Written By: Robin Sweetser Gardener
Almanac Guide to Herbs

Most of my favorite flowering vines belong to the plant family Ipomoea. While the classic morning glory is the most common member, this family includes over 300 species—ranging from the sweet potato to fast-growing twining climbers.

Morning glory vines can reach ten feet or more in a single season. In fact, their quick coverage made them a popular “privy plant” in the past to camouflage outhouses. As their name suggests, the blooms open in the morning and gradually fade by afternoon, wrapping their vines tightly around wood, wire, string, or each other. Fittingly, in the language of flowers, Ipomoea symbolizes bonds and attachments.

'Clarke's Heavenly Blue' Morning Glories
 ‘Clarke’s Heavenly Blue’ Morning Glories

Top Morning Glory Cultivars (Ipomoea purpurea & tricolor)

While many gardeners love the classic heart-shaped leaves and sky-blue flowers of ‘Clarke’s Heavenly Blue’, morning glories offer a rich palette of colors and forms:

  • ‘Scarlett O’Hara’: Features rich, wine-red blossoms with a pure white throat.
  • ‘Kniola’s Black Knight’: Showcases deep purple blooms highlighted by a striking hot-pink throat.
  • ‘Flying Saucers’: Displays unique, silvery-white flowers streaked with vibrant blue.
  • ‘Sunrise Serenade’: A double-flowering variety with large, ruffled red blossoms that stay open longer than single varieties. (Note: This cultivar needs a bit of help climbing and should be tied to its support).
  • ‘Grandpa Ott’s’: A vigorous heirloom climber with dark blue flowers and a red star in the center. This is the famous plant that helped launch the Seed Savers Exchange!
'Scarlett O'Hara' morning glories
‘Scarlett O’Hara’

Unique Ipomoea Species to Try

Beyond standard morning glories, several related species bring distinct shapes, scents, and wildlife benefits to the garden:

  • Moonflower (Ipomoea alba): Resembles a large white morning glory, but its fragrant blooms open at night—making it essential for moon gardens.
  • Cardinal Climber (Ipomoea × multifida): Features deeply cut foliage and bright red, tubular flowers that hummingbirds find irresistible.
  • Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit): Similar to the Cardinal Climber with matching red trumpet flowers, but boasts fine, fern-like foliage.
  • Spanish Flag (Ipomoea lobata): Produces racemes of small tubular flowers that transition from bright red to orange, yellow, and finally white. A single plant can hold hundreds of multi-colored blossoms at once, resembling tiny flags.
'Kniola's Black Knight' morning glories
‘Kniola’s Black Knight’ 

Growing Morning Glories

All Ipomoeas prefer a sunny location with well-drained soil and tolerate drought. No need to fertilize them, in fact overly fertile soil will promote lush leaf growth instead of flowers. Soak the seeds overnight before planting to soften the seed coat and speed germination.

Flowering vines are fast growers and will cover an unsightly spot in your yard in no time.They are charming when grown on a trellis or twined around the railings of your sunny porch or deck. They can be trained to form a living fence or privacy screen, provide shade, or just add a wall of color. As an architectural element, they lend a new dimension to any garden. Time to think about growing up! 

Read more about growing this vine on our Morning Glory Plant page.

Vines

About The Author

Robin Sweetser

Robin Sweetser

Gardener

Robin Sweetser is a longtime gardening writer, editor, and speaker. She and her partner, Tom, have a small greenhouse business, selling plants and cutting flowers and vegetables from their home and lo...

Read more from Robin Sweetser

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Comments

<span>Otter Dreaming</span> Tue, 09/02/2025 - 07:51
I planted Grandpa Ott's once, years ago, and have been trying to get rid of it ever since. I pinch flowers and pull out vines, giving it no refuge. And still I find it vining horizontally through flower beds, coming up amidst pole beans, hiding behind flower pots and strangling coneflowers.
<span>Marge</span> Sat, 09/05/2020 - 11:04
I was gifted a morning glory plant. It grew slowly o Until late summer,then I had large leaves few flowers. This year it did not come up again. I planted in a south east corner by the house
<span>Dave</span> Sun, 07/28/2019 - 00:35
Was surprised to see the interest in morning glory and the different colors, always thought it was only white flowered and considered a pest. I found my while hiking in Ukraine, came across an large abandoned building surrounded by a tall wire fence that was a huge wall of these beautiful different colored flowers, was so impressed I took some seed pods and grow them every year in western Canada. They make such a wonderful cover for a fence and the flowers change color during the day. Wasn't until later discovered they were morning glory.
<span>Mike</span> Thu, 05/02/2019 - 19:28
I have the bluish-purplish morning glories, planted seeds more than 10 years ago and of course they just reseed and come back. There are so many seedlings every spring that I need to thin them out. I originally planted a variety pack of red, white and blue, which resulted in all purple. OK, that happens. I've had other seeds produce a color that was not intended. In subsequent years, I've added packs of red and other colors to mix in with the purple. Nope. As stunning as the purple is, it would be more spectacular to have red along with them. I'm going to try some red this year, too, but after 5 or more attempts, I don't have high hopes. Any ideas why I never get another color? I never heard of soil conditions affecting morning glory colors.
<span>Chelsea</span> Fri, 09/07/2018 - 07:54
Hey! I have the exact morning glory flowers that are pictured in the last photo at the end of the article. I've been trying to ID the name, and am not finding it elsewhere . Can anyone help with what this variety is called ? It resembles the tricolor size and foliage , almost like heavenly blue with a purple tint to it (not dark like grandpa ott)
<span>Bev</span> Sat, 03/31/2018 - 11:04
Hi I just moved to Gardnerville Nevada I would like to plant morning glories on my fence that gets full sun till about 4:00 in the afternoon would that be enough sun for them?
<span>Mike</span> Thu, 05/02/2019 - 19:23
That's plenty of sun. I don't know the intensity of the sun in the part of Nevada you mention. If any problem at all, it could be too much light and heat. The heat might be more of an issue than the light. Try some in a few areas and see what happens. But keep in mind that once you get blooms, they are going to reseed and you'll likely have them there pretty much forever.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/robin-sweetser">Robin Sweetser</a> Sat, 10/22/2016 - 09:11

I would not recommend eating any part of the morning glory even though Poison Control sources claim that the flowers are okay and the seeds are the poisonous part. You can get similarly colored vinegar using chive blossoms, which are totally safe and edible. The vinegar will take on a mild onion flavor as well - an added bonus for salad dressing!

 <span>Cindy Donahey</span> Thu, 10/20/2016 - 14:32
You can put morning glories in vinegar and the color will leach out to make a stained glass sort of liquid, which can and should be kept in the sun. I have had some for years. This can be diluted with water and I am not sure how long that lasts. You can also use citrus juice, but there are all,sorts of questions about edibility. Morning glories are glorious in a bowl for the day. They can be dried at the end of the day on a pillowcase. Dried morning glories produce the same affect as fresh,
<span>Karen Holroyd</span> Wed, 08/17/2016 - 10:10
Last year I had dozens of morning glories of all different colors; so far this year, not one single bloom or even a bud! The vine has a lot of bright green healthy leaves but no flowers. I am so disappointed, however I read something that said they could be "late blooming" varieties, and not bloom until as late as September. I am still hoping....