Morning Glory, keeping it tamed?

Those of you who grow Morning Glory, do you have any advice on how to enjoy it without it strangling other plants?

I have lots of self-sown Morning Glory Grandpa Ott, which is purple and the flowers are beautiful. Some people said it will strangle roses, and I wondered if this is because it coils around rose stems too tightly? I do cut off the lower leaves when my Morning Glory gets very high, above the level of most roses, and this doesn't seem to stop it flowering.

I am getting a bit fed up with finding self-sown Morning Glory seedlings in unsuitable places. There are some spots where I am happy for it to grow and it isn't interfering with other plants, and other spots where I don't want it to be. I don't mind having to pull up seedlings, I accept weeding, though yesterday I had to rescue a rose from having Morning Glory growing in its pot and tangling all over it.

 

No idea which MG we have as we were given seeds from a neighbour many years ago. We collect the seeds and sow them indoors and plant the seedlings out. We have a frame which they can climb up. Yes some of the seeds from last year do germinate in situ but we haven't had any problems with them taking over other plants.

 

I would suggest sticking in bamboo canes where you want to keep it, and then being brutal and pull out the others. Hopefully they'd go up the canes instead of roses.

 

The only one I grow is a darker purple one - can't remember the name but it might be Black Knight, and is similar to G. Ott, but I don't often get self sown seedlings. I grow it in pots, due to the slug problem here, so it has supports to climb up. If I get seedlings, they're usually just in the container.
I don't grow roses, so I don't know about it's effect on them. I'd have thought they'd manage though. The tendrils are certainly quite tight. I think you'd just have to keep weeding out the seedlings as they appear, and maybe try sowing some, or transplanting the seedlings, into a site where they're easier to manage. They work well in pots.

 

I only grow the pale blue MG, I am not keen on the other colours, and have problems getting it to survive. I have never had any self sown seedlings. This year I have planted mine in containers and they have only just reached to top of the 4 ft obelisk, not a sign of flowers yet but I live in hope. I was rather late planting mine out this year.

 

I always grow the Granpa Otis and I do them up steel spiral supports. I usually have a lovely wall of colour every year but this year they have suffered badly from excessive drying winds and no rainfall. I find they do self seed but I can easily access the dry seed heads and take those off and save the seed.

 

I can remember growing a faily vigorous dark purple one, one year, can't remember the name though.
It self seeded the following year.

I also remember growing the pale blue one which seemed much more tender and not so easy.

I only grow a perennial type now in a large pot, it never sets seed.