How-to Guide
How to Grow Annual Morning Glory From Seed
The short answer
Annual morning glory (Ipomoea spp.) is a quick-growing flowering vine for warm, sunny spots. Its seeds have a tough, impermeable coat, so nick or file the seed and then soak it in warm water for 12 to 24 hours before planting; with warm soil, germination follows in about 5 to 15 days. Give the vine a fence or trellis to climb.
Morning glory plants may self-sow freely. To keep them from spreading where you don't want them, remove spent flowers before they set seed and pull volunteer seedlings while young.
Scarify and sow the seed
- 1Scarify — Carefully nick the hard seed coat with a knife or rub it with a file or coarse sandpaper so water can penetrate.
- 2Soak — Soak the scarified seeds in warm water for 12 to 24 hours; they should swell visibly when ready.
- 3Plant in warm soil — Sow after frost danger passes in a warm, sunny spot; germination takes about 5 to 15 days.
Support and site
Annual morning glory is a vining plant and requires a fence or trellis to grow on. It thrives in warm, sunny locations; in short-season areas cooler summers limit vine growth, and frost kills the plant.
Controlling self-seeding
Because the plants may self-sow, deadhead spent blooms before seed forms if you want to limit next year's volunteers, and pull unwanted seedlings while small. Note that annual morning glory (Ipomoea) is distinct from the deep-rooted perennial field bindweed, which is far harder to remove.
→ Do not confuse ornamental annual morning glory with perennial field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), a persistent lookalike weed with deep roots.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Oregon State University Extension — Growing annual morning glory — Hard seed coat needs scarification then 12-24 hr warm soak, germinates in 5-15 days, needs fence/trellis, warm sunny site, may self-sow, frost-killed