Hey there, fellow morning glory lover! If you’ve ever watched those vibrant, trumpet-shaped blooms unfurl at dawn, you know there’s nothing quite like that magic—until you realize those twining vines are starting to sprawl everywhere, tangling with your tomatoes, tripping over your garden hose, and making your neat flower bed look like a chaotic mess. Been there, done that, and now that I run a plant support systems company, I’ve helped tons of people fix this exact problem. Choosing the right support for morning glories isn’t just about keeping them tidy—it’s about helping them thrive, so you get loads of those sunny blues, purples, pinks, and whites all season long. Let’s break this down like we’re chatting over a cold lemonade after a long day in the dirt, no stuffy garden jargon required. Plant Support Systems
First off, let’s get one thing straight: morning glories aren’t like your regular pothos that just trails. They’re twining vines, meaning they wrap their stems around something as they grow upward. That’s why flimsy stakes or string that’s too loose will just get swallowed by their rapid growth (we’re talking 10-15 feet in a single growing season for some varieties, yikes). Skip the flimsy metal clothesline poles or the tiny wooden dowels from the craft bin—those won’t hold up when your morning glory hits its stride. What you need is a support that matches their growth habit, is durable enough to handle their weight, and gives those tendrils something solid to grip.
Let’s start with the most popular pick for morning glories: trellises. Wait, but not all trellises are created equal—you’ve got to pick the right one. If you’re planting them along a fence or a blank wall, a wall-mounted trellis with a grid or lattice design is perfect. The gaps (usually 2-4 inches) are wide enough for those tendrils to twist through, and the vertical frame gives them a clear path to climb. I’ve seen customers use plain wire trellises, but make sure they’re galvanized so they don’t rust and leave orange streaks on your blooms. If you’ve got a small balcony or patio, a free-standing obelisk trellis is a game-changer. It’s tall (go for at least 6 feet—morning glories love to climb high!), compact enough to fit in a corner, and looks like a little garden sculpture even when the plants aren’t blooming. Pro tip: Don’t get an obelisk with smooth bars. Morning glories need texture to grip, so look for ones with wooden slats, wire mesh, or even wrapped rope (wait, that’s another option we’ll get to). Smooth metal is a no-go because their tendrils can’t get a good hold—they’ll slide right down, and you’ll end up with a mess at the bottom of the obelisk.
Next up: if you’re on a budget or planting a whole row of morning glories, netting is your BFF. Not the cheap plastic netting you get at the dollar store—get heavy-duty polypropylene or polyester garden netting with 3×3 inch squares. Stretch it between two posts (or even attach it to an existing fence) and you’ve got a vertical climbing wall that’s super affordable. I had a customer last year who planted 50 morning glory seeds along her backyard fence, and using netting instead of individual stakes saved her so much time. The netting is flexible, so it moves a little in the wind, which actually helps the vines grow stronger (no floppy, weak stems here!). Just make sure you don’t pull it too tight—leave a little slack so the tendrils can twist without fighting the net. Also, avoid netting with really small gaps (less than 2 inches)—the vines will get stuck, and you’ll have to untangle them, which is a pain and can damage the stems.
What if you’re growing morning glories in containers? Oh right, a lot of people love them for patios or window boxes. For container-grown morning glories, you don’t need a huge trellis, but you do need something sturdy. A teepee made of bamboo stakes or metal plant stakes works perfectly—just tie 3-4 stakes together at the top with garden twine, spread the bottoms out in the pot, and plant 2-3 morning glory seeds around the base of each stake. Bamboo is cheap, natural, and has a nice texture for the tendrils to grip, but make sure it’s at least 5 feet tall for a standard 12-inch container. Metal stakes work too, but again, look for ones with a rough finish—we sell some with a powder-coat texture that’s way better than smooth steel. Skip the tiny tomato cages—they’re too short and the gaps are too small for morning glories to climb up easily. I learned that the hard way when I tried using a cage for my first set of morning glories; they just grew around the outside of the cage instead of up through it, and I barely got any blooms.
Wait, what about if you want something more decorative for a porch or a wedding garden? Arbors or pergolas are a dream for morning glories. Imagine walking through an arbor covered in those big, bright blooms—total showstopper. The key here is to make sure the arbor has thick enough beams or crossbars for the vines to wrap around. If your arbor has open slats, that’s perfect, but if it’s solid wood, you’ll want to attach some wire or netting to the sides so the tendrils have something to grab. A lot of people use plain twine here too, but I recommend using heavy-duty garden twine (not regular cotton twine, which rots fast) that’s at least 1/4 inch thick. The thicker the twine, the more the vines can wrap around it without cutting into the stem as they grow. Speaking of cutting into stems—no matter what support you pick, never force the tendrils to wrap around something. Morning glories are pretty good at figuring it out on their own, but if a tendril is stubborn, you can gently twist it toward the support, but don’t yank. I’ve seen people tie vines too tight, and that leads to scarring or even broken stems, which is the last thing you want when you’re waiting for blooms.
Now let’s talk about what to avoid. First, don’t use anything toxic that could leach into the soil. We get a lot of questions about pressure-treated wood, and while old, well-aged pressure-treated wood is usually fine, new pressure-treated wood has chemicals that can be bad for plants. If you do use it, make sure it’s been weathered for at least a year, or go for natural cedar or pine, which are safe and durable. Second, don’t use supports that are too short. Morning glories can grow up to 15 feet tall, so if you buy a 4-foot stake, you’re setting yourself up for failure. You’ll either have to keep cutting the vines (which stunts growth and reduces blooms) or let them flop over, which defeats the whole purpose. Third, skip any support that’s going to fall apart mid-season. Flimsy plastic, thin wooden dowels, and cheap string will break when the vines are heavy with leaves and blooms, and you’ll have to re-stake them in the middle of summer heat, which is not fun.
Another thing to consider: sun exposure and wind. If your morning glory is in a super sunny spot (which they love, by the way—they need at least 6 hours of sun a day), the support will get hot, especially metal ones. Black metal trellises can get so hot in midday sun that they might burn the tendrils or the bottom of the vines. Look for light-colored metal, or wooden or bamboo supports, which stay cooler in the sun. If you’re in a windy area, you’ll want a support that’s anchored well. Free-standing obelisks or teepees might need a little extra stability—you can put them in a large, heavy pot (for containers) or drive the bottom of the stake or trellis a foot into the ground if it’s in the garden. Netting is actually pretty good for wind because it’s flexible, but if you have really strong winds, you might need to add a middle post to keep it from swaying too much.
Wait, let’s talk about variety too. Not all morning glories are the same! Some are dwarf varieties, like ‘Mini Blue’ or ‘Star of Yelta’, which only grow 2-3 feet tall. If you’re growing these, you don’t need a 6-foot obelisk—something smaller, like a 3-foot stake or even a decorative garden stake works. But the classic varieties, like ‘Heavenly Blue’ or ‘Grandpa Ott’, can get super long, so you need the taller supports. That’s a quick way to pick the wrong support—forgetting to check the mature height of your specific morning glory plant. I always tell customers to jot that down when they buy seeds, so they don’t end up with a vine that’s way too big for its support.
Also, think about maintenance. If you hate pruning, pick a support that’s easy to work with. Trellises and netting let you easily reach in to deadhead spent blooms or pull out any stray vines that are growing where you don’t want them. Teepees and obelisks are also easy, but if you’ve got a super dense vine covering, you might need to gently untangle a bit to get to the base. The nice thing about our supports is that they’re designed to be low-maintenance—no assembly required for most of them, and they’re weather-resistant so you don’t have to take them down every winter (though you can if you want to re-stain or clean them).
Let me share a quick story that sums this all up. A few years back, a customer named Maria came to me panicking. She’d planted a bunch of ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glories along her backyard fence using those tiny plastic tomato stakes she had lying around. By mid-July, the vines had grown so heavy that they had bent the stakes in half, and half the blooms were lying on the ground, covered in dirt. She was devastated because she’d been waiting all spring for those blue blooms. We went with heavy-duty garden netting stretched between two galvanized posts, and by August, the netting was completely covered in blooms—she sent me a photo, and it looked like a blue wall! We also gave her a tip: when planting, space the seeds about 6 inches apart along the base of the netting so the vines don’t have to compete for space. That small change made all the difference.
Another customer, Jake, has a small balcony in the city. He wanted morning glories for a pop of color, so he went with a free-standing mini obelisk (we had a cute one in his favorite color—soft gray) for his 14-inch balcony pot. He planted two ‘Mini Red’ morning glories, and they climbed all the way to the top of the obelisk, spilling over a little, and he had blooms every single morning all summer. The key there was getting the right height (5 feet, perfect for a balcony) and the textured metal bars that the tendrils could grip. He told me it was the easiest part of his balcony garden to maintain, which is a win for city folks who don’t have a lot of time.
So, to wrap this up, here’s your quick cheat sheet for choosing a morning glory support:
- Check your morning glory’s mature height: Dwarf = 2-3ft support, Classic = 6+ft support
- Pick the type based on your space: Fence/wall = trellis or netting, Small patio/balcony = obelisk or teepee, Large yard = arbor or tall trellis
- Skip smooth, flimsy materials: Look for textured wood, wire, or rough metal with wide gaps for tendrils
- Factor in sun and wind: Cooler materials (wood, bamboo) for hot sun, anchored supports for windy spots
- Avoid anything toxic or prone to breaking mid-season
At the end of the day, the best support is the one that works for your space and your morning glory. If you’re still unsure, don’t hesitate to reach out—we help people pick the perfect support all the time, and we’ve got options for every budget and garden size. No more messy, sprawling vines ruining your garden—just loads of those gorgeous morning blooms all season long.
If you’re ready to grab the right support for your morning glories, get in touch with our team to chat through your specific space and needs. We can help you pick the exact trellis, netting, or obelisk that’ll make your morning glories the star of your garden. Don’t let those cute vines go to waste—give them the support they need, and you’ll be rewarded with blooms that’ll make you smile every dawn.
Climbing Plant Supports References
- "Growing Morning Glories: A Complete Guide." University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2022.
- "Twining Plant Support Structures: Design and Function." Journal of Horticultural Science & Technology, vol. 10, no. 2, 2021, pp. 45-52.
- "Container Gardening for Vining Plants." National Gardening Association, 2023.
Yizheng Wanteng Composites Co., Ltd.
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