Sweet Potato Bine

A vigorous annual or a tender perennial it takes off in summer heat.

Sweet potato bine. This heat loving perennial will die back if the plant experiences hard freezes below 32 degrees fahrenheit 0 c. Sweet potato vines the best spillers ever. Gardeners turn to the sweet potato vine for its ability to power through just about anything while bringing interesting shapes sizes and colors to a pot or plot. Sweet potato vine does well in containers where it is a common spiller plant.

The ornamental varieties are simply cultivars of the species plant. Varieties of this type of sweet potato may bear black chartreuse or multicolored leaves. They also thrive in heat. If the ground stays too wet for too long sweet potato vine may rot and die.

Typically used as spillers in containers they also make fantastic groundcovers typically spreading 4 to 6 feet. Sweet potato vine ipomoea batatas named for its edible cousin is an ornamental warm season annual grown for its attractive leaves and vining habit the foliage lends a tropical feel to the garden and comes in a range of colors and varying forms. Sweet potato vine grows practically anywhere from full sun to full shade. In hot summer climates such as southern florida it can struggle in full sun during the hottest months especially if the soil dries out.

Where to plant sweet potato vine. For a similar trailing effect you can plant your sweet potato vines in pots or hanging baskets. Ornamental sweet potato vines are in the same family as edible sweet potatoes and are in fact the same species. Ipomoea butatas or sweet potato vine thrives in hot tropical climates and is an ornamental foliage plant often used as a foil for flowering displays.

They are bred for the beauty of their leaves rather than edible tubers and the vines from these plants make them look more like a morning glory or clematis than a member of the potato family. In containers make sure there are adequate drainage holes. Anyone who s gardened in containers for long knows the magic formula for an effective container you need a thriller upright showy plant fillers mounding plants on the sides and spillers trailing plants that cascade over the sides. Some of the older varieties may even grace your garden with a few sporadic lavender blooms that look like a slightly more tubular morning glory and for good.

Sweet potato plants can provide a beautiful low ground cover in planters that will trail out over the edge. There s multiple ways to use sweet potato vine in your landscape. The foliage of ornamental sweet potato vines is the reason they are grown. Give them well draining soil whether they are grown in pots or in the ground.

The plant grows best in moist well drained soil. One of the easiest ways to create multi seasonal interest in the garden is to use plants with interesting foliage. It does best in full sun and warm weather temperatures should remain above 55ºf before planting outside.