Felder Rushing
Family
Convolvulaceae
Botanical Name
Ipomoea batatas
Plant Common Name
Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato Vine
General Description
This is one of those rare plants that's grown as a tasty vegetable and a pretty ornamental. Sweet potato vine is a vigorous, herbaceous, trailing vine that is native to Central America and the Pacific Islands. It offers sweet edible tubers, or sweet potatoes, and attractive foliage.
Ornamental selections have leaves that are heart-shaped or deeply lobed. These vary in color from chartreuse, to bronze or purple and can be variegated, depending on the cultivar. The flowers are funnel-shaped and either pale rosy purple or white. They appear when days are long, nights short and growing conditions favorable.
Sweet potatoes vary widely in skin or flesh color and vigor. The skin can be brown, red brown or purple and the flesh is most often pumpkin orange but deep purple-blue or orange-red fleshed varieties also exist. They are cultivated and eaten in warm climates across the globe. Sweet potatoes can be baked, fried, or steamed and prepared for savory or sweet dishes.
This plant thrives in heat and is as easy as pie to grow. It prefers fertile, well-drained soil and full to partial sun, though plants grown as vegetables should always be grown in full, hot sun. It is also important that sweet potato crops be provided light soil with high tilth and regular water. In fact, it is common practice to plant them in mounded rows, which offer a better growing environment while helping to make the harvest easier. They are usually grown from vine cuttings or starter tubers and rarely from seed. The tubers should be dug and harvested before frost and can be stored for long periods of time. Where hardy, they can be grown and harvested year-round. All have few pest and disease problems.
In warmer zones ornamental selections will survive winters and grow as evergreen perennials, but in temperate zones they are treated as annuals. They are super foliage plants for containers, annual borders and hanging baskets and even make pretty herbaceous groundcovers.
Characteristics
-
AHS Heat Zone
12 - 1
-
USDA Hardiness Zone
11 - 12
-
Sunset Zone
H1, H2, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24
-
Plant Type
Bulb or Corm or Tuber
-
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
-
Height
2'-20' / 0.6m - 6.1m (12)
-
Bloom Time
Late Fall, Early Winter, Winter
-
Native To
Latin America and the Caribbean, Central America, Micronesia
Growing Conditions
-
Soil pH
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
-
Soil Drainage
Well Drained
-
Soil type
Clay, Loam, Sand
-
Growth Rate
Very Fast
-
Habit
Vining/Climbing
-
Seasonal Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Ornamental Features
-
Flower Interest
Showy
-
Foliage Color (Spring)
Green, Purple, Light Green, Chartreuse, Bronze
-
Foliage Color (Summer)
Green, Purple, Light Green, Chartreuse, Bronze
-
Foliage Color (Summer) Modifier
Variegated
-
Foliage Color (Fall)
Green, Purple, Light Green, Chartreuse, Bronze
-
Foliage Color (Fall) Modifier
Variegated
-
Foliage Color (Winter)
Green, Purple, Light Green, Chartreuse, Bronze
-
Fragrant Flowers
No
-
Fragrant Fruit
No
-
Fragrant Foliage
No
-
Bark or Stem Fragrant
No
-
Flower Petal Number
Single
-
Repeat Bloomer
No
-
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, Vine
-
Sharp or Has Thorns
No
-
Invasive
Sometimes
-
Self-Sowing
No
