How to Grow & Care Morning Glory in Hanging Basket?

Growing Morning Glory in a hanging basket is a fantastic idea to display the plant as it will trail down gracefully with lush foliage and bell-shaped flowers.

Voila! Your Morning Glory will bloom and attain a few feet by late summer.

This may startle you with the snap tip, so read the article thoroughly!

When to Plant Morning Glory in Hanging Basket?

Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) is called so because the beautiful flower unfurls in the morning.

Ideally, if you are sowing directly in a hanging basket, you should plant Morning Glory seeds in early spring, usually around March.

Morning glory is a quick flowering plant that will bloom within 120 days of planting seeds, but the condition must be ideal this way.

Alternatively, using a germination kit under an LED grow light, you can also start sowing seeds 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost (February) when growing Morning Glory indoors.

The seedling will sprout within three weeks and attain a healthy shape in about two months, after which you can move it into the hanging basket.

So, start by obtaining fresh seeds from the mature Morning Glory in late fall when the flowers fall to make way for small round pods.

How to Plant Morning Glory in Hanging Basket?

First, collect the container or basket that is at least 8-10 inches wide and 6 inches deep with a drainage facility.

Here are some quick tips to germinate and successfully grow Morning Glory in a hanging basket!

• Before sowing, soak the seeds in water overnight to loosen the hard seed shells.
• Prepare moist, lightweight, well-draining soil with neutral pH of 6.0-6.8. Otherwise, use any all-purpose houseplant potting mix with peat moss and perlite.
• Pour the potting mix into the hanging basket, and spread 2-4 seeds per basket, ideally a 1/4 inch deep.
• Water well and let it hang outside in direct sunlight; optimally, over 6 hours of sun is ideal.
• Mist the potting mix every day until the seeds germinate but avoid flooding it with water.
• It will require another 2-3 weeks until it attains an ideal height with multiple leaves. 

A single hanging basket can endure about 2-3 Morning Glory plants as these species grow out of twining vines.

Tips to Care for Morning Glory in Hanging Basket

Morning glory plants are fast-growing annuals, reaching 6-10 feet in a single season, with some varieties growing even higher.

• Morning Glory flowers will flourish when provided with optimal direct sunlight; hence choose a south-facing location with at least 6 hours of light each day.
• Water the basket once or twice a week with an inch of water, but avoid making it soggy. Remember, flowers in the hanging basket dry quickly, requiring a water at regular intervals.
• Ensure the hanging basket has a few drainage holes, and add pine mulch over the soil to retain moisture for increased root growth.
• It flourishes in an ideal temperature range between 65-85°F during the growing period (spring and summer).
• The hardy flowering species can tolerate the lowest temperature up to 45°F, but move it indoors if the temperature drops below 45 degrees, usually hardiness zone 9 or below.
• The plant has no specific humidity need. In fact, it will retain the required moisture from the slightly moist potting mix.
• Fertilize the budding plant every 4-6 weeks in summer with an all-purpose fertilizer (NPK 10-10-10), but cut back in mid-fall.
• Cut back trailing vines up to a third of the stem a few times during summer to allow bushier foliage growth and encourage flowering, but wait a year before you decide to prune the young plant.
• Trim dead flowers, foliage, and long vines in fall after the blossom dies out to prepare it for dormancy.
• Alternatively, you can grow Morning Glory in trellises.

If you are searching for other blooming plants to grow in a hanging basket, consider Sweet Peas.