Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas) is one of my new favorite plants this year. The photo at left (click to enlarge) shows this vine newly planted in a container at the end of May. The photos below show this same container today, with the sweet potato vine cascading down the sides along with a dark purple Wave Petunias. This vine grows very fast and lush with deep purple and green twining leaves. I had to place it up on a table and have still had to clip back the runners away from the bench and from the hot concrete where it’s sitting. This container gets full sun most of the day, and in our summer heat requires lots of water. I will definitely be growing this vine again next year. As always, click on the photos to view larger versions.
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Sweet Potato Vine and wave petunias
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A closer look
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What a beautiful combination to have in a basket. The vine is absolutely stunning to work with the bright purples.
Thanks, Michele. I’m happy with this combination, and agree that it works well with the purple petunias.
Another new one for me; I love it. Is it an annual then?
Hi Quietpaths, yes, it is an annual, and so easy to grow! I just love it too and will grow it again next year.
So will it grow again after it dies?
anonymous, after it dies it won’t sprout again the following spring, unless you’re in a tropical zone like Zone 11. You can almost always find these plants at garden centers this time of year though. :)
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Polprav,
Yes, certainly you can quote and link to me.
No its not strictly an annual as such but treated as such in colder climates. Here where I live it is a tubering perennial and will come up every year getting larger and larger as it does, rather too much so so is best restricted in pots.
It’s the common sweet potato a food crop in the tropics and sub-tropics. After the season you can dig up the tubers and eat them or try and save them for next year, this is a bit tricky like storing potatoes, they tend to shoot and shrivel but possible.
They wont survive in the ground under about 10%c and it must be dry, wet icy soil will rot them. I haven’t seen this variety before usually its dark purple/black or bright yellow/green. This one is very attractive more reddish pink, would look good itself with the very dark leaved form or other such foliage or the other way with silver. The purple petunias do look good, white flowers or variegation would also look stunning.
You can experiment with super market ones found in the veg section. The deep violet fleshed slim ones from Japan come up dark black, the orange large ones are usually plain green I haven’t tried the yellow ones.