The root system of a plant is an important thing to take into consideration while growing any plant in the garden or near your house because if the plant has an invasive root system it can cause risks.
Thus, while growing Morning Glory plants which is a vine flowering plant that people grow for ornamental purposes in the garden, you may want to know if it has an invasive root system or not.
Therefore, let’s get into the explanations provided below to know the root system of Morning Glory in detail.
Morning Glory Root System Explained
Morning Glory has over 1000 species, depending on the species it can either have an invasive or a non-invasive root system. The most prevalently planted/cultivated Morning Glory species everywhere have an invasive root system but mainly the ones grown in cold weather have a non-invasive root system.
Morning Glory is the prevalently used name for more than 1000 species of ornamental flowering vine in the lineage Convolvulaceae, and these vine plants can have both an invasive and non-invasive root system.
And most of the species among all of the Morning Glory plants are known to have an invasive root system that is stubborn and difficult to maintain, as well as, almost impossible to uproot fully.
As it’s known to most of you that an invasive root system refers to the root system of plants that interrupts streets, driveways, or sidewalks, tries to grow through the sewage pipes, and causes risks.
So even though Morning Glory plants are ornamental vine plants, upon growing them in the garden or nearby the house, most species’ roots will go deeper and aggressively cause risks by interfering with streets/walkways or sneaking into the pipes underneath.
Among all the Morning Glory species with an invasive root system the most commonly grown ones are Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium), Blue Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica), and Common Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea), these Morning Glory species are commonly grown in different regions of the USA and have achieved the recognition of being plants with the invasive root system.
However, not only these above-mentioned Morning Glory are invasive, Morning Glory species that grow in places such as Australian bushland are invasive too and they crowd out as well as smother other plants too.
Well, as it’s already mentioned above that Morning Glory plants can be both invasive and non-invasive, the invasiveness of Morning Glory roots solely depends on the species and where it’s being grown up.
Morning Glory species that are cultivated in a cold weather are especially the ones with non-invasive root systems such as Ipomoea nil.
Does Morning Glory Have Deep Roots?
It might seem a little bit surprising but yes, even though Morning Glory is vine plants, they do have very deep roots that spread a long way underneath the ground causing risks.
Morning Glory flowering plants may not be huge in size like big trees but their root system can even go deeper in the soil than any vine plant’s roots. In fact, Morning Glory is identified as one of those plants with deep roots that go and grow too deep in the soil during their entire lifetime.
Thus, if there’s any Morning Glory nearby your home or if you are growing one, be prepared that the roots of the plant are going to grow to a great depth and the roots will develop over anything that comes in their way of growing.
You can expect the deep roots of Morning Glory to sneak into the pipes deep in the ground and wrap them around while growing, and you have to battle with the roots for years.
Besides, the Morning Glory plant grows several lateral roots and these lateral roots also go quite deep as much as 1-2 feet. Therefore, it is clear that the Morning Glory plant has deep roots.
How Deep Are Morning Glory Roots?
A Morning Glory plant’s roots are usually as deep as 20 feet in the ground over the years of maturing.
Morning Glory plants have really deep roots, so upon planting a Morning Glory over the years of its maturing and growing the roots will develop to a depth as much as 20 feet in the ground.
Not only the main roots, but the lateral roots of Morning Glory plants also grow to a good depth of about 2 feet in the ground.
Morning Glory cultivators also mentioned that sometimes the roots of the Morning Glory plant can even grow 30 feet deep in the soil and will develop by sneaking into or pushing away anything that comes their way of growing which eventually will cause risks.
How Much Room Do Morning Glory Roots Need?
If you are cultivating Morning Glory plants by sowing Morning Glory in rows, each seedling will be needing about 6 inches of space to develop its roots properly without any hindrance.
Most people tend to plant Morning Glory seedlings in rows and since in a row a lot of seedlings are planted, each seedling needs its own space to spread the roots freely, thus, it’s a must to provide the seedlings with 6 inches gap from each other.
Here, 6 inches of space from one Morning Glory seedling to another is specifically mentioned because this 6 inches gap is an ideal gap for the seedlings and encourages them to spread roots properly.
Moreover, the same goes for the Morning Glory seeds as well, if you are sowing seeds in a row, make sure they also get 6 inches of space to send out the roots further to become healthy seedlings.
However, if Morning Glory seedlings/seeds are planted using a trellis, the roots of the seedlings/seeds don’t need any specific space from each other. And while growing Morning Glory in pots the roots will be needing big pots having 30-40 cm broad and deep.
And as far as it’s concerned about transplanting Morning Glory plants into the ground, the roots will be needing space as much as their rootball can fit perfectly and spread.
How Big Are Morning Glory Roots?
Unlike the average root length of most plants, the roots of morning glory can extend up to a whopping 20 feet.
Usually, the roots of vine plants have 3 levels and the roots tend to extend to a depth of 2-5 meters which is about 6-16 feet in the ground. But having deep roots, the principal roots of Morning Glory reach a profundity of 20 feet which visibly is more than the average length of roots of a vine plant.
And this growth of the principal roots to the height of 20 feet deep in the soil is equal to the vastness of the Morning Glory’s principal roots.
And the largeness of the lateral roots of Morning Glory is no less, a Morning Glory plant can extend its lateral roots to a maximum height of 2 feet in the ground. This means the lateral roots are as big as 2 feet.
Are Morning Glory Roots Invasive?
Almost all the commonly planted/cultivated Morning Glory species in the USA or other parts of the world have invasive roots and these Morning Glory species include, Hedge Bindweed, Common Morning Glory, and Blue Morning Glory.
If any of these Morning Glory is planted, it’s bound to have invasive and deep roots that would go at least 20 feet in the soil developing over anything while causing risks.
These Morning Glory species grow numerous lateral roots as well that are sent above the ground and invade walkways, driveways, and streets. And beneath the principal roots sneak into the installed pipes, wrap them around, and continue to grow.
But not all the Morning Glory plants don’t have invasive roots, particularly those that are grown in cold weather. Overall, the invasiveness of the Morning Glory plant’s roots depends on its species.
Can Morning Glory Roots Damage Foundation Or Pipes?
Morning Glory roots aren’t prone to cause any damage to the foundation of a house or anything else because the roots aren’t too strong to damage the concrete foundation. However, the root of the Morning Glory plants can interrupt streets, driveways, and walkways.
The Morning Glory roots are prone to sneak into the pipes and grow over them by wrapping the roots around the pipes, and while growing in this manner, the roots can damage pipes.
Do Morning Glory Spread Or Multiply?
Morning Glory both spreads and multiplies. Generally, Morning Glory plants spread by parallel underground stems aka rhizomes but their above-the-ground stems are capable of producing new roots of Moring Glory and spread.
And if you want you can propagate Morning Glory plants to multiply the number of plants.
Final Words
Most species of the Morning Glory mainly have an invasive root system such as Hedge Bindweed, Common Morning Glory, Blue Morning Glory, etc. have an invasive root system. But depending on different species, some Morning Glory has a non-invasive root system, mainly the ones grown in a cold climate.