If you are a fan of big, bold colors, bush morning glory is a great choice for your garden. The plant shows off some truly stunning colored blooms in a trio of shades, with a yellow center, white mid-ring, and rich blue outer ring. If those colors are a bit too intense for your garden palette, there are several more subdued shades available as well. The foliage is a simple heart-shaped leaf in a nice medium green color that makes a good backdrop for the standout flowers.
Bush morning glory is an excellent alternative to morning glory if you don’t have the space for a large, sprawling vine. These shrubby annuals are not climbing or twining so there is no need to worry about them choking out other nearby plants.
Bush Morning Glory Overview
Where to Plant Bush Morning Glory
Look for a location in full sun with well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral soil. Their preference for soils with excellent drainage and their drought tolerance makes bush morning glories a great choice for use in rock gardens. You can also plant them in garden beds with other annuals or perennials. They grow equally well in hanging baskets, containers, or raised beds. Because of their small size, they are a perfect option for small spaces like a balcony or a patio.
How and When to Plant Bush Morning Glory
To plant a potted bush morning glory, wait until the danger of spring frost has passed and the soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees F. Loosen up the soil in the planting area and dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball for each plant. Place it in the hole and backfill with soil. Gently tamp down the soil around the base and water the plants immediately.
Space plants 12 inches apart.
Bush Morning Glory Care Tips
Bush morning glory is as easy and low-care to grow as its namesake, the morning glory vine.
Light
It is important to grow bush morning glories in full sun. In the shade, the plant tends to sprawl and become floppy. and unappealing. Lack of sunlight leads to poor blooming instead of a constant supply of blooms that you get in full sun.
Soil and Water
Bush morning glory is not finicky about soil as long as it is well-drained similar to the soil in the plant's native habitat in the Mediterranean. The ideal soil pH is between 6.1 and 7.8.
Seedlings and young plants need to be watered regularly to stay moist at all times. Once they are established, they will tolerate drought quite well.
Temperature and Humidity
Bush morning glory thrives in warm and hot weather and is not bothered by high humidity. However, this tender annual cannot tolerate frost and its life cycle ends with the first fall frost.
Fertilizer
Less is more when it comes to fertilizing bush morning glory. Overfertilizing leads to lots of lush green foliage and lanky growth but very few flowers. The plants are used to growing in fairly poor soils. In average garden soil, they might not need fertilizer at all. At the most, use a diluted fertilizer (half the strength of the amount indicated on the fertilizer label) a couple of times during the growing season.
Pruning
Bush morning glory does not need to be pruned but the plant benefits from light pruning at two different stages of its annual lifecycle. Pinching back the stems of the young plant encourages a bushier growth habit. As the summer progresses, the plant tends to look a bit scraggly. Cut the stems back by one-third to half to stimulate new foliage growth.
It is not necessary to deadhead bush morning glory; the plant is self-cleaning.
Potting and Repotting
Bush morning glory can be grown in pots and hanging baskets. Use pots with large drainage holes and a well-draining potting mix. Unlike bush morning glory in a garden bed, a potted plant has much higher watering requirements; in hot summer weather, it needs to be watered daily.
Repotting is not required as the life cycle of the plant ends with the first fall frost. In frost-free areas is usually becomes unsightly during the winter and is discarded.
Pests and Problems
Bush morning glory is rarely affected by serious pests and diseases. The most common pests on the plants are aphids and spider mites.
How to Propagate Bush Morning Glory
Bush morning glories are usually propagated from seed. They tend to self-seed and you can collect the seeds for future use, just be aware that if you collect seeds from a cultivar, the plants will not be true to the parent so it might be better to start with fresh seeds from a seed company.
Starting the seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last average frost date in your area gives you a head start on the growing season, plus you have better control over the germination than when you start the seeds outdoors in a garden bed. The seeds have a fairly hard outer coating, so score them with a file or give them a little knick with nail clippers to help them take up water more quickly. Plant seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in pots filled with damp potting mix and keep them evenly moist. As the seedlings emerge, give them a good light source; put them in a window facing south or west or place them under grow lights. Harden the seedlings off after the last danger of frost has passed, then transplant them in their final planting locations.
Types of Bush Morning Glory
‘Royal Ensign’
This variety of bush morning glory, also called 'Royal Blue Ensign', goes back to the late 17th century. The plant produces a prolific display of 2-inch, trumpet-shaped deep blue flowers with white throats and bright yellow centers.
‘Red Ensign’
The flowers are similar in size and shape to 'Royal Ensign' but in this variety, they are scarlet red with white stripes and a bright yellow center.
'Blue Enchantment'
This variety has deep blue, funnel-shaped flowers with bright yellow centers surrounded by white.
Bush Morning Glory Shrub
Convolvulus cneorum is another attractive plant species in the Convolvulus genus. It is a perennial shrub with evergreen silvery-green foliage and white flowers that look like morning glory flowers. It reaches only 1 to 2 feet in height but spreads 2 to 4 feet. Zone 8-11
Companion Plants
Signet Marigold
With its lacy foliage and low height (12 inches at maturity), signet marigold is quite different from the common marigold. It comes with orange, red, and yellow flowers. Planted in garden beds or containers, this annual provides months of colorful bloom in the summer and fall.
Flowering Tobacco
A relative of true tobacco, flowering tobacco, or jasmine tobacco, is grown for its intensely scented flowers. Perennial in Zones 10-11 and grown elsewhere as an annual, flowering tobacco plants make excellent annuals for adding splashes of color and scent all season long.
Golden Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium ‘Aureum’ is a perennial plant that is mostly grown for its lime-green foliage but it also has small daisy-like flowers. Zone 5-10
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is bush morning glory toxic?Unlike morning glory (Ipomoea spp.), this plant is not known to be toxic to humans or pets.
Unlike morning glory (Ipomoea spp.), this plant is not known to be toxic to humans or pets.
- Is bush morning glory invasive?Bush morning glory is not known to be invasive in North America but other members of the Convolvulus genus are, first and foremost field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) and the popular morning glory vine (Ipomoea purpurea).
Bush morning glory is not known to be invasive in North America but other members of the Convolvulus genus are, first and foremost field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) and the popular morning glory vine (Ipomoea purpurea).