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If you want to add a pop of color to your garden, morning glories are the perfect addition no matter which variety you have. Even though morning glories are pretty low maintenance, some growing conditions can stunt how well they grow flowers. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to encourage your plants to bloom. We’ll start with some fixes you can try on established plants and move on to how you can plant morning glories in the future so they thrive!

1

Plant your flowers in a sunny spot.

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  1. Your flowers will only open and bloom if they’re in direct sunlight. When you’re planting morning glories, find a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight throughout the day. If you’re keeping morning glories in a container, make sure you place them outside or near a south-facing window so they get as much sunlight as they can throughout the day.[1]
    • Morning glories won’t survive well if you transplant them, so always plant your seeds where you want them to grow for the season.
    • If you notice the leaves have brown edges and look white instead of green, they may have sunscald. Provide a little bit of shade during the hotter afternoon hours to fix it.[2]
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2

Water them once a week.

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  1. Plants usually don't need to be watered more than once a week, despite what many people might think. Keep a rain gauge or moisture meter in the ground near your morning glories so you can track how much water they get. If it rains during the week, check the meter to see if your plants got 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Otherwise, use a watering can or hose to soak the soil. Let the soil dry out between waterings so it doesn’t get too over-saturated.[3]
    • During the hot summer months, it’s normal for the leaves on your morning glories to dry out. That just means your plant is putting its energy into making flowers.
3

Avoid over-fertilizing.

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  1. Morning glories can thrive in poor soil that doesn’t have a lot of nutrients, so you might not need fertilizer at all.[4] Run a soil test to check the nutrient levels in the soil. If you have very poor soil, then only use a 10-10-10 fertilizer once a month to give your plants the nutrients it needs.[5]
    • You can use granular or liquid fertilizer.
    • Avoid using fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen since you won’t get as many flowers from your morning glories.
    • If your plant is dying from over-fertilization, replace the soil and make sure it has enough sunlight. Be careful, though, because really bright lights can cause further stress.
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7

Wait until late summer if you planted seeds late.

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  1. Morning glories are already late bloomers, but planting seeds late also affects when you see blooms. During the hotter months of the year, it’s normal if you don’t see as many blooms. Once temperatures go back to normal closer to the fall, your morning glories will produce more flowers.[11]
    • All varieties of morning glories are susceptible to blooming later in the season.
    • Morning glories can bloom through the early fall, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see flowers right away in the summer.
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8

Start seeds indoors before the last frost.

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9

Plant them in well-draining soil.

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  1. While you need moist soil for morning glories, it shouldn’t hold water.[12] In the area where you want to plant, dig a hole that’s 1 ft (30 cm) wide and 1 ft (30 cm) deep. Fill it with water and let it absorb into the soil overnight. On the next day, fill the hole with water again. After 1 hour, measure how much the water level dropped. If it went down around 2 inches (5.1 cm), then your soil is perfect for morning glories.[13]
    • If your soil drains too slow or fast, try adding compost or peat moss to help improve the drainage.
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Tips

  • Morning glories are annuals, which means they die off every year, but they will drop seeds and may grow back again the following year.[15]
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Warnings

  • Check with your local garden center to see if morning glories are banned in your area. Some states label morning glories as invasive species.[16]
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About This Article

Lindsey Swett
Co-authored by:
Plant Specialist
This article was co-authored by Lindsey Swett and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Lindsey Swett is a Plant Specialist and the Owner of Niche Plant Shop in Boston, Massachusetts. She has over a decade of experience working in several plant settings, including golf courses, public parks, and commercial garden centers. Her focus now is on helping plant owners care for their indoor plants. Lindsey holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from The University of Michigan. This article has been viewed 42,385 times.
22 votes - 93%
Co-authors: 6
Updated: August 5, 2024
Views: 42,385
Categories: Growing Flowers
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 42,385 times.

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  • Gary Green

    Gary Green

    Mar 13, 2022

    "This article gave me confidence that my potted morning glory seedlings are growing properly. I learned that they..." more
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