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IPOMOEA batatas 'Tricolor'

Image of Ipomoea batatas 'Tricolor'

Nancy Engel

Family

Convolvulaceae

Botanical Name

IPOMOEA batatas 'Tricolor'

Plant Common Name

Sweet Potato Vine, Tricolor Sweet Potato Vine

General Description

The colorful lobed foliage of 'Tricolor' is pale green, pink, and cream. This popular trailing sweet potato vine pairs well with many flowering bedding plants and is an ideal filler for containers, annual borders and hanging baskets.

This tender perennial is borne from edible fleshy tuberous roots. It is a vigorous, herbaceous, vine that originates from Central and northern South America. It’s admired for its sharply lobed leaves of green with irregular cream and rosy pink edges. The leaves appear along long trailing stems. Occasionally in summer they will produce funnel-shaped flowers of white and rosy lavender.

This plant thrives in heat and is as easy as pie to grow. It prefers fertile, well-drained soil and full to partial sun. In warmer zones it will survive winters and grow as an evergreen perennial, but in temperate zones it’s treated as an annual. Variegated cultivars like 'Tricolor' do not grow as vigorously as non-variegated forms.

Characteristics

  • AHS Heat Zone

    12 - 1

  • USDA Hardiness Zone

    10 - 13

  • Sunset Zone

    H1, H2, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24

  • Plant Type

    Bulb or Corm or Tuber

  • Sun Exposure

    Full Sun, Partial Sun

  • Height

    6'-8' / 1.8m - 2.4m

  • Native To

    Central America, South America

Growing Conditions

  • Soil pH

    Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline

  • Soil Drainage

    Well Drained

  • Soil type

    Clay, Loam, Sand

  • Tolerances

    Pollution

  • Growth Rate

    Very Fast

  • Habit

    Vining/Climbing

  • Seasonal Interest

    Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Ornamental Features

  • Flower Interest

    Showy

  • Flower Color

    White, Lavender

  • Foliage Color (Spring)

    White, Green, Pink

  • Foliage Color (Spring) Modifier

    Variegated

  • Foliage Color (Summer)

    White, Green, Pink

  • Foliage Color (Summer) Modifier

    Variegated

  • Foliage Color (Fall)

    White, Green, Pink, Burgundy

  • Foliage Color (Fall) Modifier

    Variegated

  • Foliage Color (Winter)

    White, Green, Pink

  • Foliage Color (Winter) Modifier

    Variegated

  • Fragrant Flowers

    No

  • Fragrant Fruit

    No

  • Fragrant Foliage

    No

  • Bark or Stem Fragrant

    No

  • Flower Petal Number

    Single

  • Repeat Bloomer

    Yes

  • Showy Fruit

    No

  • Edible Fruit

    No

  • Showy Foliage

    Yes

  • Foliage Texture

    Coarse

  • Foliage Sheen

    Matte

  • Evergreen

    Yes

  • Showy Bark

    No

Special Characteristics

  • Usage

    Container, Edible, Groundcover, Hanging Basket, Herb / Vegetable, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Vine

  • Sharp or Has Thorns

    No

  • Invasive

    No

  • Attracts

    Butterflies

  • Self-Sowing

    No