Sweet Potato Vine Flower

Edible sweet potato vines and some ornamental varieties bloom with flowers that resemble morning glories in shape but some ornamental sweet potato vines do not flower according to missouri.

Sweet potato vine flower. Ornamental sweet potato vines are in the same family as edible sweet potatoes and are in fact the same species. Typically used as spillers in containers they also make fantastic groundcovers typically spreading 4 to 6 feet. The ornamental sweet potato plant ipomoea butatas is somewhat different from its southern grown vegetable sibling. Ornamental sweet potato vines don t produce many flowers which means they often don t produce seeds.

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. While it does produce edible sweet potato tubers albeit not very palatable and bitter the ornamental variety bears more colorful foliage making it a popular houseplant. While you may be able to coax your plant into producing sweet potato vine seeds they aren t guaranteed to be good so it s best to propagate in other ways. Many ornamentals are also sterile and only really viable to produce from cuttings.

One of the easiest ways to create multi seasonal interest in the garden is to use plants with interesting foliage. 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.