How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Morning Glory Vines

Morning glory blooms announce the coming day as they open at dawn. They flower on twining vines that climb anything they put their tendrils on,and are perfect for bare fences, trellises, and arbors needing decorations. Their buds open purple, blue, pink, or white flowers by the dozens, making a spectacular show no matter where they grow. 

Nowadays, many cultivars are available! In this guide, we’ll cover some of the over 50 species of Ipomoea and discuss how to care for both annual and perennial types. Ipomoea also includes cardinal climbers and sweet potatoes, which appreciate similar conditions of morning glories. In hardiness zones 8 and below, all types grow as frost-tender annuals. 

Some cultivars are invasive in North America and can snuff out other plants as they ramble and roam. Consider growing a native species in zones 9 and above or limiting your vine’s spread with pruning. Keep reading and learn which ones are best for your garden!

What Are They?

Morning glory vines differ in flower color, length, and leaf size, although the various types behave similarly. They’re vining climbers or ground covers in tropical and subtropical ecoregions and annuals in all other areas. Grow them for endless summer blooms that birds, butterflies, and bees love to visit.

Native Area

Morning glories are native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, from Florida south to the tip of South America. They clamber on tree trunks in forests, along coastlines in sandy dunes, and on tall city structures—I’ve seen them growing over 20 feet tall in Los Angeles on power lines!

Other relatives are native throughout the U.S., like those in the genera Convolvulus and Calystegia. The common name “morning glory” can refer to any of the three, although it is typically for those in the genus Ipomoea. The other two types have the common names bindweeds and false bindweeds, respectively. 

Characteristics

These plants are long-spreading perennials or annuals. They sprout thin green leaves in a heart or ivy shape, and they grow alternately along the stems. In spring and summer, large flowers emerge from two to six inches long, depending on the species. 

These vines spread seeds, and their above ground stems form roots if the soil covers them. They appreciate warm temperatures year-round, moist but well-draining soil, and plenty of sunshine in their native range. Some species are drought tolerant, like the coastal beach morning glories Ipomoea imperati and I. pes–caprae.

Common morning glory, or field bindweed, is in the genus Convolvulus and spreads from underground roots and seeds. It’s an introduced weed in North America, and you should pull it as you see it before it spreads out of control. It’s much more invasive than vines in the genus Ipomoea, and you can treat it like a noxious weed by eradicating it!

Planting

These spreading vines appreciate pot, bed, and hanging basket cultures. Grow them wherever you’d like trailing blooms during the growing season. Let them cascade, or have them clamber up a trellis, cage, or support system.

Wherever you decide to grow morning glory vines, you’ll need to find plants or seeds to start. Seeds germinate readily, although nurseries often sell starts in pots by early spring. Choose whichever option works best for you and your garden’s climate. 

Growing from Seed

Start seeds outdoors after your last frost date, or sow them in pots a month or two before for a head start. Before you sow the seeds, nick them and soak them in a cup of water for 24 hours. Morning glories tend to have hard seeds, and nicking them helps them germinate more readily. This process is called scarification, and it’s helpful for many different seeds.

After nicking and soaking, your seeds are ready for planting. Plant them a half inch deep in the soil and water well. They’ll need more water in containers than in the ground, so keep a close eye on them to ensure they’re not thirsty. 

Outdoor sowings do better if they start while temperatures are warm. If you receive late frosts sporadically, wait until they disappear to sow seeds. Or, sow them in pots indoors and transplant them when temperatures warm in spring.

Transplanting

Move your tender seedlings outdoors once there’s no more frost. Seedlings are more sensitive than mature adults and need some babying to adapt to the outdoors. Harden them off for a week or two by placing them in dappled shade for an hour or two, and then increase this timing daily until they’ve been outdoors for an entire day. Keep their soil moist, and they’ll adapt readily.

After a week or two, your seedlings are ready for transplanting. Prepare holes where you want them to grow as deep as the rootball and twice as wide. Space them six to eight inches apart if you’re planting multiple morning glory varieties.

Take your seedlings out of their pots and loosen their roots,  then use your fingers to tease them and point them downwards. This helps them latch onto new soils, giving them a jump start in their new homes. Place the loose roots in the prepared holes, and backfill the soil until it reaches their base. Water well, and watch as your plants clamber onto anything they touch. 

How to Grow

After transplanting, most morning glories thrive with little care. You’ll have to work harder to limit their spread than to foster it! Give them the conditions they love, and they’ll grow without complaint.

Annuals may reseed in temperate climates, and some varieties that say “annual” may be perennial in warm zones. Follow these care tips for endless blooms on annual and perennial vines.

Light

Morning glories need full sun throughout their lifetime to grow successfully. Give them at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. Provide afternoon shade in the hottest climates. If they have access to water, they’ll do fine with more than eight hours of direct sunlight. The only time they’ll need less is during hardening off for seedlings in pots. 

Water

Morning glory vines need regular water during the growing season. If rainfall is frequent, they’ll need much less to ensure their soil stays moist, not waterlogged. Native species, like beach morning glories tolerate less water after establishing themselves and function well with natural rainfall. If you’re growing a tropical type, it’ll need regular irrigation from spring to fall.

Soil

These clambering vines appreciate moist, well-draining, and fertile soil. Give them potting soil in containers with perlite or vermiculite for drainage. Amend poor soils a few weeks before planting if growing them in the ground.

Mix in compost or an organic mulch at the site and let it sit. At planting, add a layer of compost on top of the root zone to keep it warm, safe, and well-fed.

Fertilizing

Morning glories typically don’t need fertilizer and perform well in nutrient-poor soils. If plants have enough water and sunlight but display signs of suffering like leaf drop or yellowing, they may need fertilizer. Give them a normal dose of organic fertilizer according to the package’s instructions from spring through summer. 

Maintenance

Maintenance may be necessary for perennial species in warm winter zones. If you’re growing moonflowers, blue dawn flowers, or the beach morning glories, they’ll keep growing to no end. 

Prune their ends as you wish to limit their spread, and avoid having them clamber near rooftops or power lines. Native perennials tend to behave better than non-native ones, although all of them can quickly take over sections of your garden without pruning.

Propagation

Morning glories propagate readily and easily from cuttings, seeds, or divisions, and they layer well. Use whichever method works best for you and your garden setup. Layering is much easier, although you can take many more cuttings than stem layerings. If you need to turn one vine into a hundred, use cuttings. Otherwise, division, seed-saving, or air layering work well in the home garden.

Cuttings

Take cuttings off of annual or perennial morning glory vines from spring through summer. Take four to six-inch stem cuttings with a leaf node at the bottom and top. Take the lower leaves off, and let a few remain on the stem’s tip. Then, stick your cuttings into pots with potting soil. 

Keep their soil moist and not soggy; they’ll root in two to four weeks. They’ll need partial shade and high humidity while they root—move them under a porch or patio and add a humidity dome on top of their pots to trap moisture. 

Transplant cuttings with plenty of roots into your garden from spring through fall. If you have frosts in your area and are propagating annual types, bring them indoors for the winter and transplant them in spring. Move perennial varieties into your frost-free garden during mild weather from autumn through spring.

Division

Plant division works best for mature, perennial varieties with expansive underground root systems. If you’ve been growing blue dawn flowers, moonflowers, or beach morning glories for longer than two or three years, you can divide them this fall. 

Water the root zone thoroughly a few days before you plant to divide your plants. Then, dig them up and inspect their roots. Look for new shoots that sprout off the main one with roots of their own. Separate these, or use a sharp knife or pruners to cut them off. Then, pot up all the divisions with moist potting soil.

They’ll adapt to new conditions and sprout more roots in their pots. Transplant them a month or two after division when plenty of new vines grow from their base and roots sprout from the holes on the pots’ bottoms. 

Soil Layering

Soil layering works without damaging your plant, meaning you can keep a mature specimen thriving and clone it simultaneously. Soil layering involves pinning down a stem below the soil so it sprouts roots while still growing off the main plant. 

To create layered cuttings, start by finding a long stem with plenty of leaves. Nick a part of it with your fingernail or a knife, being careful not to completely cut the stem off. Bury the injured part below the soil and pin it down with stakes so it doesn’t pop up. Water well, and wait for two to six weeks or longer.

With continuous moisture, the nicked stem will rapidly put down roots and sprout new growth. When this occurs, cut off the stem from the main plant and leave the new roots on it. Then, plant the rooted stem indoors or outdoors where you’d like it to thrive.

Seed-Saving

The best way to propagate annual morning glories is with seeds. They produce them by the dozens in late summer and autumn, and you can easily collect them to sow next year. Look for brown, bulbous seed pods that replace spent flowers. Pick a few of these pods and pop them in a brown bag.

They’ll crack open and drop precious seeds in the bag as they dry. Put the seeds in an airtight container, then store them in a cool, dark location like a pantry or cupboard. They’ll stay viable in storage, and you can plant them when you’re ready next spring.

Popular Varieties

Dozens of popular varieties exist for us home gardeners, with all sorts of blossom colors like pink, white, purple, and blue! Consider starting one of these proliferous bloomers from seeds, or look for starts at your local nursery.

‘Heavenly Blue’

Baby blue shades decorate this cultivar’s petals. They start white in the center and shift to light blue on the petals’ margins. ‘Heavenly Blue’ may reach over 15 feet in a single year, so give it space to hang, clamber, or roam. 

‘Chocolate’

‘Chocolate’ is a unique variety of Japanese morning glory, Ipomoea nil. It’s not native to Japan and originates in the tropical Americas. Many breeders create new types of this species there, so they call it the Japanese morning glory. ‘Chocolate’ is a special cultivar with rosy brown blooms and variegated leaves. It’s one of the most stunning varieties!

‘Flying Saucer’

Similar to ‘Heavenly Blue,’ ‘Flying Saucer’ sprouts five-inch-long blossoms with blue shades. This one differs because it has blue and white lines that make a fun pattern on the petals. This variety reaches ten feet or longer, so give it ample room to spread and grow.

‘Grandpa Ott’s’

My favorite variety is ‘Grandpa Ott’s.’ It’s a vigorous perennial type in hardiness zones 10 and above, although it works well as an annual in all other zones. ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ sprouts dark purple flowers with light hints of pink in their throats. It may self-sow in warm zones—pull up seedlings as you see them or let them flourish into new vines.

Common Problems

Morning glories are relatively pest and disease-free, although they can suffer in adverse conditions. Keep your vines moist under full sun with good airflow, and they’ll grow without issues. If they do have pests or diseases, use these methods to get rid of them.

Pests

Spider mites, aphids, and whiteflies all infest morning glory leaves in dry, hot conditions. They thrive during long periods without rainfall because they spread throughout the vine and form colonies. Since all three hate wet conditions, you can remove them by spraying them with water daily. You’ll kill some of them, and the others will struggle to take hold of the wet plant.

If they are still on your plant after two weeks of spraying water, you may try using an organic pesticide. Note that most pesticides can harm beneficial pollinators and predatory insects that feed on bad bugs. Spray in the morning or afternoon when they’re less active, and follow the package’s instructions. Some less harmful options are neem oil, insecticidal soap, or peppermint oil.

Native species of Ipomoea may host butterfly and skipper larvae, which feed on your vines. Most morning glories are hardy enough to handle the pressure, returning from vines that are sometimes eaten to the ground. If you don’t want these on your vines, you can hand-pick them and relocate them to wild or cultivated nightshades. Otherwise, let them feed and let the cycle continue.

Diseases

Morning glories are relatively disease-free, especially the annual types that die before cold winter arrives. They may receive rust or other fungal infections in wet, humid environments. Remove diseased foliage as you spot it, and reduce watering to keep humidity levels low. If the diseases persist, apply an organic fungicide like copper or sulfur on the leaves in the morning or afternoon. 

Frequently Asked Questions