Planting DesignDiscover the right plants for your garden.
Sweet Caroline Bewitched Green with Envy ™ sweet potato vine and Rockin ® Deep Purple salvia . picture by : Proven winner
One of the easy manner to make multi - seasonal pursuit in the garden is to use plants with interesting foliage . Sweet potato vine(Ipomoea batatas ) , named for its eatable cousin , is an ornamental quick - season annual grown for its attractive leaves and vining habit . The foliage lends a tropical feel to the garden and follow in a range of colors and varying forms .
The vigorous vine can reach up to 10 feet long and are most often used as a trailing idiom in container . They can also be used as aground coveror arise up a trellis . Newer variety show have been bred for disease resistor , a wider range of color and leaf shape , as well as stocky sizes that are suitable for container and modest spaces .
On this Thomas Nelson Page : The Basics|Planting|Care|Choosing the Right Sweet Potato Vine|Pictures|Landscaping Tips
THE BASICS
Zones:
yearly , repeated in Zone 11
Height/Spread:
6 to 16 inches tall , 3 to 6 base wide , up to 10 feet long
Exposure:
well with at least 6 hours of full sun , they can take some shade .
Bloom time:
Flowers are peanut , with little to no bloom during summer .
Color and characteristics:
plant have a mounding , trailing habit , with foliage in shades of chartreuse , gold , bronze , brown , red , purple and nearly black . Some have diversification or mottling . leaf are heart - mould , lacy or deeply lobed , similar to maple , Hedera helix , or philodendron . Color is richest in full sunshine . Lavender or pink tube-shaped flowers come out primarily on older varieties , though rarely .
Toxicity:
Tubers are edible but not meant for consumption . foliage contain the same principal element as LSD , and can be highly toxic to pets if ingested . Call your veterinary surgeon or poison control center immediately if your dearie present symptoms of vomiting , diarrhea , or delusion .
PLANTING TIPS
delusion ® Midnight Lace sweet-flavored spud vine combined with Supertunia ® Royal Velvet ® and Superbells ® Miss Lilac for a ‘ Truly graceful ’ container . Photo by : Proven Winners .
When to plant:
plant life in spring or early summer when all danger of Robert Lee Frost is past . night temperature should be above 40 to 45 point to avoid cold damage . minimal night temperatures below 55 degrees can retard development .
Where to plant:
Choose a sunny website with ample , well - run out soil . They prefer raging , humid consideration similar to their native habitat and may fail to thrive in dry desert climates . In cool neighborhood , boost performance by implant in a warm positioning such as a Confederate States - facing wall or heating system - absorbing patio .
How to plant:
Carefully take the plant life from the container , being thrifty not to damage the ticklish root word . Gently relax the root if potbound . savvy a planting hole twice the diameter and depth of the container and place the plant at the same level it was in the container . Gently tamp down filth around the base and water well . Spacing will vary , from 6 to 12 column inch for smaller varieties and up to 2 feet for bombastic specimens .
CARE AND MAINTENANCE
Pruning and deadheading:
In ideal conditions , they can cursorily outgrow a space . Lightly prune or shape as need .
Soil:
For containers , industrial plant in a in high spirits tone all - purpose potting grime . If using as a flat coat cover in a garden bed , amend dirt with rich compost and ensure it is well - draining .
Amendments & fertilizer:
Apply aslow - spill fertilizerat the time of planting , or practice awater - soluble fertilizermonthly .
Watering:
Keep plants moderately moist , water once a week , or more during spicy enchantment . Do n’t overwater or permit plant to dry out out .
Diseases and pests:
When save levelheaded , plants are resistant to most pests and diseases . potential worm problem include sweet potato inchworm , whitefly , aphids , thrips , poke , flea beetle , and weevils . Overwatering and poor drainage can make fungal problems such as fusarium wilt , root rot or tuber decompose .
Overwintering:
Sweet potato vines can be winter indoors from Tuber or cut . plant can also be brought indoors and treated as houseplant . Store abeyant tubers in a cool , juiceless place and replant in bounce . Take cuttings several weeks before your average first frost date and place in water . Once base have formed , cuttings can either be left in water until springiness , or potted up .
Deer resistance:
Plants are generally considered insubordinate to deer grazing , though some gardener have experienced damage .
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SWEET POTATO VINE
With so many mixed bag to pick out from , here are some tips to consider :
For bedding displays and borders:
Choose mounding and semi - compact varieties for the edge of a border , or larger trailing types that will quickly fill up in large areas .
For containers, hanging baskets and window boxes:
Select small , more compact varieties that wo n’t overwhelm other adjacent plant .
For slopes and walls:
large sprawl motley will quickly cover declamatory surface area and drape down a slope or bulwark for a striking core .
VARIETIES
exposure by : Proven Winners
‘ Margarita ’ ( or ‘ Marguerite’)—Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:4 to 10 inches marvellous , 4 to 5 feet across-the-board , and trailing to 6 foot retentive .
colouring material : Chartreuse Au , becoming greener in light shade
Its large mature sizing and vigorous ontogeny makes this a serious choice as boundary line edging or in a hanging basket . plant life along a rock wall and allow it straggle along the top and over the sides , or train up a trellis .
‘ Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime’—Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:6 to 16 inches tall , 20 to 36 inches wide , and trails to 20 inches long .
Color : Lime chartreuse ; greener in light shade
A more compact variety suitable for container and lowly spaces . Heart - mould foliage combines well with mound genus Petunia and upright violet fountain pot .
‘ Sweet Caroline Light Green’—Buy now from Proven winner
Height / Spread:6 to 16 inches tall , 3 to 4 feet wide , and chase up to 5 feet farsighted .
colour : Chartreuse in full sun , light-green with light shade
Deeply lobed , maple - like leaves light up the garden with promising lime - dark-green coloring . Combine with Supertunia ® Picasso in Purple ® and Wizard ® Rose coleus for a powerful punch .
Proven Accents ® Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Jet lightlessness ™ —Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:6 to 16 in gamey , tail up to 30 inch
Color : almost dead on target black
Adaptable to solarize or shadowiness conditions , with colors being thick in full sunshine . bonk heat and humidity ; cool temperature make them rest more thickset .
Proven Accents ® Sweet Caroline Raven ™ —Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:6 to 16 inches high , 20 to 36 inches wide
Color : cryptic purple - black foliage
deep - lob and dark leafage makes for cracking demarcation when paired with other leafage or flowering industrial plant in containers , window box , or hanging field goal .
Sweet Caroline Upside ™ Key Lime — Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:3 to 6 foot marvelous , 1 - 1/2 to 3 feet wide-eyed
colour : Chartreuse foliage
This salmagundi features a alone climbing use that is a twist on the common tracking habit of honeyed potato vine . Pictured withSweet Caroline Upside ™ Black Coffee .
Proven Accents ® Sweet Caroline Bewitched Green with Envy ™ —Buy now from Proven winner
Height / Spread:10 to 16 inches gamy , spreads 18 to 30 inches wide
Color : Lime green foliation
Pair with other heat - loving flowering plant , such as angelonia , calibrachoa , or petunias , for a bright and cheerful combination .
‘ Blackie’—Buy now from Proven achiever
Height / Spread:6 to 10 column inch high , 4 to 5 feet wide
Color : Deep purple foliage , to closely black ; wan lavender flush
Deep - cut foliation resembles maple leaves . This mixed bag produces more flowers than others . The large mature size clear this a good option for ground cover edging or alone in a gravid container .
‘ Tricolor’—Buy now from Proven succeeder
Height / Spread:6 to 12 inches gamey and 1 to 3 groundwork wide
Color : Foliage is pale green , with unpredictable streaks of pink and white
Less vigorous and more tender to cooler temperatures than other varieties . Combine in a container with purple fountain pasturage and dark purple genus Alternanthera .
Proven Accents ® Illusion ® Emerald Lace — Buy now from Proven Winners
Height / Spread:6 to 10 inches high , 24 to 36 inches wide
colour : yellow-bellied - green leafage
ply both color and texture contrast to combinations in baskets , bed , and mete .
Photo by : Paul S Drobot / Millette Photomedia
‘ Sweet Caroline Bronze ’
Trailing spreading habit , 8 inches tall and 5 base wide
Color:
Brownish orange with unripe undertones
The deep lobate leaf and long , track substance abuse make this a good alternative for hanging baskets , as a groundcover on a slope , or at the edge of a garden seam .
photograph courtesy of Rush Creek Growers , Inc.
Sweet Georgia ® Rana catesbeiana
Compact mounding habit , 8 to 12 inches tall and 2 to 3 feet wide
Bloom Time:
Few to no blooms in summer
This novelty diversity has an unusual mottled color pattern and deeply cut down leaves . flora by itself in a container or in combination with other warm - season annuals in the same color pallette .
Featured in : Garden Design ’s Top 10 Garden Trends for 2022(“Designing with Dark Foliage " )
LANDSCAPING TIPS
There are many ways to incorporate this semi - tropic accent into any landscape . Here ’s how :
BONUS: DIY TERRA COTTA PLANTER WALL
Maximize garden space and create a living backdrop . The plant listing for this project admit ' Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime ' mellisonant potato vine , along with a mix of Superbells ® calibrachoa , Supertunia ® petunias , African daisies , purslane , verbena , and other flowering annuals . see out thistime reverting videoto learn how to build one for your garden .
happen upon more DIY garden project
