Morning glories, Ipomoea purpurea, are quick-growing vines, popular for their colorful flowers that open each morning from summer until the first frost of fall.
Reaching between six and 10 feet in height, this fairly aggressive plant can take over a garden if you aren’t careful.
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Fortunately, they are easy to grow in containers, which can be particularly advantageous if you are worried about them spreading.
Read on to learn how to plant morning glories in pots.
What You’ll Learn
Advantages of Container Growing
I love growing morning glories! They come in all sorts of colors, can add vertical dimension to the garden when trained up trellises, and pollinators love them.
The only downside is that because they grow rapidly and self-seed readily, they have a tendency to take over gardens.
Sometimes they can wind around and suffocate other plants.
Fortunately, container growing is an easy way to keep these vines under control, reducing the risk of a hostile takeover.
This also gives you the freedom to set them anywhere, like a balcony or patio.
Since this plant is a perennial in warmer climates, you can even choose to grow it indoors, or move the pots inside for the winter.
How to Plant
Look for a pot with drainage holes that is at least eight to 10 inches wide, and six inches deep.
Plant in a light potting soil that drains well. Adding some gravel to the bottom of the container will help ensure holes don’t get clogged.
You can start seeds indoors in the container about four to six weeks before the last frost, or start outside once the soil has warmed to 60°F.
Soaking seeds overnight prior to planting can help improve germination. Sow seeds at 1/4 inch deep and water well.
Once seedlings emerge, thin to no more than two or three plants per pot.
For more details on how to propagate and grow morning glories, read our full guide.
Set the planter somewhere that receives full sun, and that is sheltered from strong wind.
Be sure to set a trellis in the pot, or set the container next to or beneath something the vine can climb and whorl around, such as a fence or archway.
Hassan Self-Watering Plastic Planter Box with Trellis
You can even find pots and planters that have a trellis built in, such as this one from Wayfair.
You can also plant them in hanging baskets and let them trail over the side.
Water two times a week or more during dry weather, and be especially attentive to soil moisture if you are keeping it indoors.
Tip: Morning glories work well planted with other climbing vines such as the moonflower, which blooms late in the day. Try planting both together in the same planter for flowers in the morning and the evening!
Growing Indoors
If you are keeping your morning glories indoors, remember that these vines need quite a bit of sun, at least six to eight hours a day.
They grow best in direct bright light and should be set in a sunny south or southeast facing window.
Make sure they have something to vine around so they stay contained. You may also choose to prune during the summer to slow growth and encourage blooming.
Deadhead spent flower heads and trim back lateral stems that sprout to keep vines from growing out of control.
Indoor plants should be watered with a fine mist during initial growth to keep the soil moist but not soggy.
Once plants are well established, water thoroughly a couple of times a week at the soil level, letting the soil dry out before watering again.
In late fall, cut plants back to about six inches tall and reduce watering. The vine will resume growth once spring arrives.
To encourage blooming, you may also feed plants every few weeks with a balanced organic fertilizer during the growing season, such as AgroThrive General Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, available from Arbico Organics.
It’s a Win-Win Situation
Learn to grow morning glories in containers and you will no longer need to worry about vines taking over your garden.
Instead, you can add color and vertical dimension to porches, patios, or even your living room.
Have you grown morning glories in containers? Share your tips and photos in the comments below!
If you found this information helpful, check out these articles next to learn more about morning glory flowers next:
We watered ours everyday and they grew like crazy, but didn’t start blooming til October this year. Which in Minnesota is rare to not get a freeze before October.
Same in NY and CT.
Your soil may have been too nutrient rich. The plant will often focus energy on getting longer and putting out more leaves if the soil is supportive.
Trying to grow for the first time here in Southern Nevada. Container is placed at base of palm tree. The palm tree has natural ridges for the Glories to climb. Can’t wait to see results. Will post a pic if I’m successful…
Some of your images are not morning glories.
The pink flowers are petunia.
The purple ones in the window box are million bells or something similar.