How to Make a Trellis for Morning Glory Vines

Morning glory tendrils wrap easily around thin trellis supports, such as string or wire.


Morning glory (Ipomoea spp.) vines and flowers are lightweight and don't require a strong trellis or fence like many other climbing plants. Rather than spending money on an expensive trellis that will just be concealed by these annual vines, you can use fishing line or string and wood you already have on hand to make a perfectly functional trellis for morning glories. The vines attach themselves to the trellis and climb using twining tendrils that coil themselves around the wire or string.


Cut two 1-by-1-inch to 2-by-2-inch lumber or wooden stakes to the desired height for the morning glory trellis, plus 18 inches extra length for setting the stakes in the ground. Morning glory trellises don't need to be taller than 6 feet, which equals 7 1/2 feet, allowing for in-ground installation. Cut one end of each piece at an angle to make it easier to drive them into the ground or use wooden stakes that already have a pointed end. Cut two additional pieces to the desired width for the trellis or about 2 feet.


Lay the longer boards parallel on a flat working surface. Place the two shorter boards perpendicular between the long boards, creating a rectangular frame. Position one of the short boards flush with the top of the long boards; position the second short piece about 18 inches up from the bottom of the long boards. Do not secure the four boards together yet.


Measure along the inside of the frame and mark every 6 inches. Insert a small eye screw at each mark. Drill a pilot hole smaller in diameter than the eye screws into each mark if you can't easily install the eye screws by hand.


Reposition the four boards for the trellis frame with the eye screws facing toward the inside. Drive 3- to 4-inch wood screws through the long boards and into the short boards to secure the frame. It helps to drill pilot holes that are slightly smaller than the screw diameter into the boards.


Thread a piece of fishing line or string through the bottom eye screw hole on the left side of the frame. Tie a double knot to hold it in place. Pull the line taut across the trellis and tie it to the bottom hole on the right side of the frame. Repeat this with the remaining pairs of eye screws to complete the horizontal trellis strands.


Thread string or fishing line through the left-hand eye screw on the top board of the trellis frame. Pull the line taut and tie it to the corresponding eye screw on the bottom board. Repeat with the remaining eye screw pairs to create the vertical trellis strands. If desired, you can weave the vertical strands over and under the horizontal strands and even tie them to the horizontal strands to create a mesh, but this is not necessary for supporting morning glories.


Pluck a few of the strands to test the tension. If any feel loose, wrap the string around the eye screws to tighten. The lines don't need to be as tight as a guitar string, but they should be stable enough that they don't move as the morning glories climb.


Drive the trellis stakes into the ground 18 inches deep; tap the top of the trellis with a rubber mallet if you can't easily push the trellis in place.


Plant one morning glory plant at the base of the trellis. When the plant begins to develop short vines, weave them in and out of the trellis strands to encourage it to grow on the trellis.

Things You Will Need

  • 1-by-1-inch or 2-by-2-inch lumber
  • Measuring tape
  • Power saw
  • Pencil
  • Power drill
  • Eye screws
  • 4-inch wood screws
  • Fishing line or string


  • Popular morning glory varieties include the annuals Ipomoea tricolor, Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea indica. Technically, morning glories are tender tropical plants that die back when exposed to cold temperatures, so they are mostly grown as annuals from spring until first frost. You can grow morning glories as perennials in frost-free areas, which is limited to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11.
  • Morning glories require a planting site in full sun that receives a minimum of six hours of direct sun daily.
  • This string trellis style is easily adaptable for growing morning glories on a fence or even along a house. You can install eye screws along the top, bottom and sides of a fence and attach the string or fishing line to the screws in a grid pattern. Alternatively, you might drive some eye screws into the eaves of your house or porch roof and connect them with string or fishing line to U-shaped landscaping anchors driven into the ground. Install a post or stakes at either end of the house and tie horizontal strands to the stakes.

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