Hardiness Zone: 10b
Thanks,
Marisa from Santa Maria, CA
Yes! Growing morning glories in containers is an easy way to avoid the potential of a hostile takeover in your garden. Moonflowers are not considered as invasive as morning glories, but they also grow well in pots. In fact, I would recommend planting some of each (4 to 5 seeds) together in the same pot. When the daytime blooms of the morning glories fade, the moonflower blooms will replace them in the evening.
There is some debate over whether or not morning glory roots grow best in shallow or deep containers. I have grown them in shallow planter boxes as well as deep containers. They have done equally well in both. The most important thing is that you give them something to climb on. It doesn't need to be a heavy-duty support, just make sure you have it in place before you sow your seeds.
Also, exercise caution when fertilizing. A little compost or a slow release organic fertilizer mixed in with a quality soil is all you need. Too much fertilizer, and you'll get lots of green and very few flowers. I don't use any on mine.
Moonflowers and morning glories are related and have similar growing requirements. Give them full sun and moist (not wet), well-drained soil. Remember that containers tend to dry out quickly, so check their moisture levels often.
Ellen
I live in an apartment and aways grow mine in pots.
Put them on a shelf or a concrete block of some kind, though or their roots will just go throuh the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have 2 problems with my morning glories grown in a planter box. The planter box is 2' wide x 7" x 6'. I followed the seed package instructions and planted 6 seeds, spaced 6" apart. I live in Rocklin, CA (zone 9); the planter box faces west. I can't keep enough water on them. Unless I completely fill the box with water 2 or 3 times a day (such that water comes out the drainage holes), the leaves wilt. I don't recall the species of morning glory, but suspect that I need a species that doesn't root as much, or simply use fewer seeds. 
Secondly, my trellis is 6 1/2 high and the vines are growing too high and bunching up on the inside (see photo). Is there a species of morning glory that doesn't grow as high and is better suited for my trellis?
I LOVE morning glories!!! They are so versatile. They can be quite invasive...but that is what I love about them. When they fill an otherwise blank space with the lovely purple flowers. I love watching the butterflies dart amongst them.
They are thirsty creatures, so where you have them must have the right (or wrong) combo of wind and sun that is drying them out too fast. Have you tried one of those self watering globes on them? One of my mother's neighbors does that with hers and hers are prolific. I personally don't like the glass ones because we get too much wind and they break...she must have hers anchored well because it has withstood some high wind days. I need to take a peep up close when she isn't home ;)
Anyhow...them growing too tall is a challenge...they love to grow...but her's my mindset, think of them as dogs that you can train! You can redirect the vines back down and weave them in to the trellis so they fill in bare spots...this site has a better explanation than I can give:
homeguides.sfgate.com/
For next year, you can also try them in a high planter and let them trail down. Then you can snip off the vines when they get too long. When you do this, they look like a purple waterfall! SO PRETTY!!
This is another good site for ideas:
www.gardeningknowhow.com/
Happy growing!!!
You may have a problem trying to keep this many vines watered as the west side may be getting 6 or 7 hours of pretty intense sun/heat.
I recently moved to an older home with a large but not well-cared-for back yard. Aside from cutting back some wild plants and digging weeds, I have not done much to it, yet. It appears that I have some (well-more than some) morning glories growing along the ground. I would like to dig these up and put them in hanging planters.
I have several questions about growing them in hanging pots. Will the plants survive transplanting? Will they hang down instead of growing up if I do not put a trellis in the pot? Are they self-seeding? (I assume since they really are considered weeds by some that they do spread by themselves). I have included a picture. If these are not morning glories does anyone know what they are?
By BeaC from San Francisco, CA
Those leaves don't look like morning glory, and I don't see that it's a vine either, but it's hard to tell with the picture (not enough detail). Could be moss rose. Any chance you can post a picture that's closer in?
It looks like the morning glories that I'm always combating in my yard, but a clearer photo would be nice. I don't think there is much you can do to kill them. I even find them in my garden shed and growing up through the walls into my garage.
You should be able to pull up a long white root and plant it anywhere. I would probably bury a bunch of the green vine in the pot as well so that you have it come up several places.
Do let us know how they turn out. I have a love-hate relationship with the stuff. Pretty flowers but it is insidious!
Your picture looks like something called "Bindweed" which is a weed, all though it is related to domesticated morning glories. I would get rid of it if you can or it will take over anything else you may want to plant in that area. There are 2 kinds of garden morning glories. One of them starts with seeds and, yes, if planted in a container they will hang down and/or grow up. They aren't particular. These are annuals that come in a lot of colors and propagate themselves with seeds that can wind up everywhere.
The other one is a perennial in my yard (near San Jose, CA) and is seedless. I have seen this one only in blue. It propogates itself by sending out runners that send roots down into the dirt wherever they make contact with it. They are very invasive! That is our single-wide trailer in the photo under all those vines! You could probably keep them under control by only growing them in pots and cutting off the runners.
You can always tell morning glories by the big heart shaped leaves. I tried growing them in hanging planters last year and they were not happy at all. They kept trying to climb UP anything they could reach... like into the apple tree, along the fence, etc. Those I tried to train to grow downwards from the planter always looked a little sick.
I don't think you really want to do this. Field Bindweed is the more common name for the little white morning glory plants and they will take over the world if you let them. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to hang out in your baskets, but you'll have quite a time getting them out eventually.
They look like petunias.
You have a vine weed or bind weed and I do mean weed. Farmers here in Montana have to spray it out of the field.
Those are petinuas and yes, they will grow in a hanging basket. Be sure to pull off tbe flowers when they die to keep them full of blooms. Butterflies live them!
The flowers look like those of bindweed rather than morning glories.
Will morning glories grow in containers on a deck?
By Joanne
They sure will! I grow them in a window box under a trellis every year.
Please, all this drama about morning glories taking over the world! I hope your not serious? Enjoy some fun and beautiful flowers that aren't in a straight line row after row. Now that is something to worry about. Every garden in the world doesn't have to look the same! Please grow some crazy vines all over. The world has enough controlling situations.
