Yellow Morning Glory Foliage – Treating Yellow Leaves On Morning Glories

yellow leaf moring glory
yellow leaf moring glory
(Image credit: lina smith)

Morning glories are beautiful, prolific vines that come in all kinds of colors and can really take over a space with their brilliance. There is a risk, however, of yellowing leaves on morning glories, which can give the plants an unsightly look and damage their health. Keep reading to learn about what to do when your morning glory leaves are yellow.

Reasons a Morning Glory Has Yellow Leaves

Why do morning glory leaves turn yellow? Yellow morning glory foliage can be caused by a few different things. Morning glories are, for the most part, hardy plants that can grow in a variety of conditions. Move it too far out of the plant’s comfort zone, however, and it will not be happy. This is usually evidenced by yellowing leaves. A likely cause is too much or too little water. Morning glories thrive with about 1 inch (2.5 cm.) of rainfall per week. If they go through a drought lasting longer than a week, their leaves may begin to yellow. Water your plants to an inch (2.5 cm.) per week if rain is absent, and the leaves should perk up. Similarly, too much water can cause problems. As long as drainage is good, lots of rain alone shouldn’t be a problem. If water is allowed to stand around the plant, however, the roots could begin to rot, causing the leaves to yellow. Yellowing leaves on morning glories could also be caused by overfertilization. Morning glories don’t really need fertilizer at all, but if you do use it, you should apply it when the plants are young and just starting to grow. Fertilizing a mature plant can cause yellow leaves. Another possible cause is sunlight. True to their name, morning glories bloom in the morning, and they need plenty of sunlight to do it. Make sure your plant receives at least six hours of sunlight per day, and that some of it is in the morning, or you may see yellowing leaves.

Natural Causes of Yellow Morning Glory Foliage

Yellow leaves on morning glories aren’t necessarily a problem and could just be a sign of the changing of the seasons. In areas with cold winters, morning glories are usually treated as annuals. Cool nighttime temperatures will cause some leaves to yellow, and frost will cause most of them to yellow. Unless you bring your plant inside to overwinter, this is a natural sign that its lifespan is almost up.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.