How to Grow Morning Glory
Morning Glory At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Flower
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 2°C
Plant Family
Convolvulaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Morning glory cannot take frost, so sow it about 1 week after your last frost, once the soil feels warm. First rub each hard seed on a nail file until you see a pale spot, then soak the seeds overnight in warm water so they sprout faster. Sow them 1 cm deep, 20 cm apart, at the foot of a fence or trellis, and they come up in 5 to 10 days.
Morning glory can cover a fence or trellis in a single summer, with fresh trumpet flowers opening every morning and closing by afternoon. It drops lots of seed and can come up for years, so snip off the pods if you want to keep it in check. The seeds are poisonous if eaten, so keep them away from children and pets.
When To Start
Morning Glory needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Morning Glory?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Morning Glory Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Morning Glory Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Nick, soak and sow morning glory seeds by a support
1 week after your last frost· every year
Snip off morning glory pods to stop it spreading
10 weeks after your last frost· every year· optional
Did you water your morning glory seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your morning glory is climbing! Give the vines a trellis or string to twine around.
About 30 days after you plant it
Lovely! Look early in the day, the flowers open in the morning and close by afternoon.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Morning Glory's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
1 cm
Seeding Depth
20 cm
Plant Spacing
30 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–10 days
Growing Tips
- 1Give morning glory a hot spot in full sun.
- 2Plain garden soil is best, with little or no compost, since rich soil gives lots of leaves and few flowers.
- 3Water seedlings until they are growing well, then only in dry spells.
- 4Skip feeding for the same reason.
- 5Put up a strong trellis, fence or strings before sowing, since the vines can climb 2 to 3 m.
- 6Spray aphids off with water, and keep the seeds away from children and pets, because they are poisonous.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
300 cm
Mature Height
40 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
When to Pick
Blooms summer to frost; fresh flowers open each morning and close by afternoon
How to Harvest
- 1Guide young stems onto their support by winding them gently around it.
- 2Snip off the round seed pods as they form if you do not want seedlings everywhere next year.
- 3Leave a few pods to dry if you want to save seed.
- 4Pull the vines out once frost blackens them.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Morning glory flowers mostly pollinate themselves, so the seeds usually come true, though bees sometimes mix colours. Let a few round pods dry to brown on the vine. Pick them before they split, and crack them open to free the hard black seeds. Dry them for a week, then store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place out of reach of children and pets, where they keep for several years.
Seed Production
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