Sweet Potato Vine Plant Flowers

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 plant flowers.

Care of sweet potato plants. The ornamental varieties are simply cultivars of the species plant. Use a well draining pot large enough to accommodate it comfortably. While tolerant of drought these plants prefer to be kept moist not soggy.

The plants produce edible tubers as well as leaves. With edible sweet potatoes as with most root crops and herbs it is important to remove any flowers. It does best in full sun and warm weather temperatures should remain above 55ºf before planting outside. Relatives of the familiar garden morning glory sweet potatoes have the latin name ipomea batatas in their native habitat the plants will produce flowers.

Leave all of the stems exposed. Sweet potatoes are tropical perennial vines that may have originated in india although until recently scientists thought the plant was a south american native. The care of sweet potato plants is similar to most other vining houseplants in the home spending summers outdoors. Add texture and interest to any flower bed or container combination by using 1 00 pt accent plants to compliment the annuals perennials and shrubs in your landscape overview ipomoea known as sweet potato vine can be grown as a ground cover but a favorite use is as a spiller in combination with other flowers.

Though prolific growers you may fertilize monthly if desired using a general all purpose water soluble fertilizer. 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. If the energy of the plant is going to flower growth and production then other areas like the tubers will suffer. A hanging basket is a good choice for this plant s vining habit.

One of the easiest ways to create multi seasonal interest in the garden is to use plants with interesting foliage. 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. 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. Plant the sweet potato in a container of potting soil when each vine has as least four to six leaves.

A vigorous annual or a tender perennial it takes off in summer heat. 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. Typically used as spillers in containers they also make fantastic groundcovers typically spreading 4 to 6 feet.