Growing Morning Glories: How to Plant & Care for Morning Glory Flowers

Planting new flowers in your garden is never a bad idea! They add a pop of colour and often, a fresh new scent to the environment too. Morning glory flowers make for an excellent addition to almost every garden. They are easy to grow and available in a lovely array of colours. And did you know they are one of the birth flowers for September?

Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know before attempting to grow and care for your very own morning glory plants.

What Is Morning Glory Flower?

Morning glory flowers grow on slender stems. They have heart-shaped leaves and are trumpet-shaped. These flowers come in a variety of colours including pink, purple, magenta, blue and white.

Not only are these flowers attractive to our eyes, but they also attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Morning glory flowers are known to perform well both as a ground covering and as a vine over a pergola or arch.

If you’re wondering why they’re called morning glories, read our article on the meaning of morning glory flowers and the symbolism behind this colourful bloom.

How To Grow Morning Glories

Planting morning glory flowers is not a daunting task at all. To make it even easier, consider the following factors when sowing your morning glory seeds. Keep in mind that the seeds of morning glory flowers are highly poisonous, particularly in large quantities and should be kept away from children and pets at all times.

When to Plant Morning Glory

The best time to sow these seeds is in late spring or earlier summer, once the ground has warmed.

Where to Plant Morning Glory

Morning glories are best planted in a sunny spot as they need lots of sunlight to bloom to their full potential. Make sure you plant your seeds in well-draining soil that’s moderately fertile. Choose an area protected from strong winds, and if possible, provide your morning glories with a fence or trellis to climb.

How to Plant Morning Glory

You can improve the germination rates of your morning glories by filing down the seeds just enough to break their coat. Be sure to soak them in water for at least 24 hours before planting, as this will encourage them to produce a small root. Place your seeds approximately six inches apart and once in the ground, cover the seeds with a quarter-inch of soil. Within the space of about a week, seedlings should appear.

How to Care for Morning Glory Plants

Caring for morning glories is fairly easy as they are very low maintenance. Ensure that you have your trellis or support in place to help them thrive. Once your morning glory vines find this support, they will learn to grow up it. If they don’t have anything to climb, they will simply grow in the ground.

Make sure that you water your morning glories regularly and provide them with about an inch of water per week. You can help them retain their moisture buy mulching the ground around the roots. Feed your plants a low nitrogen fertiliser every four to five weeks or as needed.

When Do Morning Glory Flowers Bloom?

After they have been planted, morning glory seeds need a bit of patience before they bloom. These flowers are known to take a few months, up to about 120 days, to go from seeds to flowers. However, once they start to flower, they do so vibrantly and bountifully.

As soon as the plant is properly established, it will start to flower. Morning glory plants are usually one of the last annuals to bloom in the garden in many regions all around the world.

Do Morning Glory Flowers Come Back Year After Year?

Depending on the climate that you are in, morning glories can come back year after year. In colder areas, morning glory plants can reseed on their own. However, in warmer more tropical climates, the plant is not likely to return the year after flowering.

How Long Do Morning Glory Flowers Last?

As with every flower, morning glories only last for a limited time. They are called “morning glories” as their cheerful blossoms open fresh each and every morning.

Sadly, they only last for one day but the vines that they grow off of produces countless blooms. When in season, they are plentiful.

Is Morning Glory Poisonous To Dogs?

Not all species of morning glory plants are poisonous to dogs, but caution should always be exercised, particularly if you are not all too familiar with these flowers and cannot identify the different varieties of the plant.

The plant contains lysergic alkaloids which are rapidly absorbed into a dog’s gastrointestinal system and can be toxic. Depending on how much of the plant a dog ingests, the extent of morning glory poisoning and the required treatment may vary.

Should You Deadhead Your Morning Glories?

Morning glory plants are very low maintenance and don’t require any pruning or deadheading.

Why Don’t My Morning Glories Have Flowers?

Morning glory flowers are usually abundant once they start blooming. However, to achieve that level of abundance, there are a few factors that need to be in order.

For one, the soil that they are growing in cannot be too fertile. Over-fertilised soil will help produce lush, beautiful foliage but will prevent blooming. If you have no morning glory flowers blooming on your plant, it could mean that the soil is overly fertile.

Another reason for a lack of flowers could be that they have not been placed in the correct place to give them the nutrients they need.

Easy and aesthetically pleasing, morning glories are wonderful plants that will make you happy every time you see them outside your window! For some find out more about morning glories’ deep meaning and symbolism.