Extension Communications
Extension 4-H Youth Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3630
(515) 294-9915
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Extension Communications |
8/4/04
Contacts:
Linda Naeve, Reiman Gardens, (515) 294-8946, lnaeve@iastate.edu
Jean McGuire, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-7033,
jmcguire@iastate.edu
For the week of August 2, 2004
Sweet Potato Vines "Spill" Beauty
Linda Naeve
Reiman Gardens
Iowa State University
Homeowners usually seek an out-of-sight location for their vegetable gardens because without much color, regular harvests and frequent attacks by insects or foliage diseases most plots are less than attractive by mid-season.
This week's Reiman's Pick, the sweet potato vine, is an ornamental that earned its way out of the vegetable garden. Sweet potato vine, Ipomoea batatas, is a true sweet potato complete with tubers, but has bolder, more colorful foliage than its vegetable sibling. Unfortunately, it is either beauty or bounty with ornamental sweet potatoes because the underground tubers are bitter and not considered edible.
The sweet potato vine is a tropical plant grown as an annual in Iowa. Though full sun is preferred, it will grow in partial shade. Keep the soil moderately moist at all times or the vines will clearly let you know they are thirsty by quickly wilting, with limp flagged leaves. Fortunately, it is a very forgiving plant that will quickly perk up once thoroughly watered.
Unlike its cousin, the morning glory which is easily grown from seed, sweet
potato vines are propagated by stem cuttings that develop roots in just four
or five weeks.
The unique foliage and forms make ornamental sweet potato vines popular as "spillers" in
containers and "sprawlers" in border flower gardens. One sweet potato
vine in a container will quickly fill in around the rim of the pot and spill
over the edges. In the garden, sweet potato vine is an impressive, fast-growing
annual ground cover that should be planted no closer than two feet apart. This
vine also seems to thrive in summer heat, but can easily be trimmed when it
outgrows its boundary or strays too far from its container.
The three most commonly grown varieties of ornamental sweet potato vines are 'Blackie', 'Marguerite,' and 'Tricolor' ('Pink Frost'.) 'Blackie' has deep purple to nearly black foliage with large, deep cut leaves. Bold, chartreuse green, heart-shaped leaves characterize 'Marguerite' and 'Tricolor' is a less-vigorous variety with multi-colored variegated leaves in shades of green, white, and pink. The "Tri-color' leaves are small with pointy lobes. A new variety, 'Carolina Purple', has dark purple foliage and a more restrained growth habit.
Sweet potato vines are "chameleons" that emphasize and enhance the flowers and foliage of nearby plants. 'Blackie' and 'Marguerite' bring out the burgundy and green in coleus and contrast beautifully with both variegated plants and bright colors. The pink hues in 'Tricolor' leaves appear bolder and more visible when planted with pink or fuchsia-colored flowers.
You can see sweet potato vines spilling out of containers throughout Reiman Gardens and as a ground cover that yields full, uninterrupted color in one of the "quilt pattern" gardens.
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Editors: A color photo, suitable for publication, is available at right. Click on the thumbnail photo to go to the fullsized photo. The picture's fullsize photo is 464K. Caption: Sweet potato vines are great container plants with their bold, colorful foliage, and very rapid growth habits. They match and contrast well with many annual garden flowers, as well as purple fountain grass. Give them full sun to partial shade and plenty of moisture, then just stand back and literally watch them grow. |
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