Sweet Potato Vine

The ornamental sweet potato vine is a selected form of the same species as the edible sweet potato, bred for striking foliage rather than tubers. It grows rapidly, spilling and trailing to fill containers and ground beds with vivid leaf color.

Popular cultivars range from bright chartreuse-lime to deep purple-black and tricolor variegation, with leaf shapes from broad hearts to deeply lobed. It is one of the easiest and most dramatic foliage spillers for summer plantings.

• Habit: Vigorous trailing and mounding vine, stems to several feet
• Leaves: Heart-shaped or deeply palmately lobed, depending on cultivar
• Colors: Chartreuse-lime, bronze, deep purple-black, tricolor variegation
• Flowers: Occasional trumpet-shaped morning-glory-like blooms (rare in cultivation)
• Roots: Forms edible but bland tubers underground

Light: Full sun gives the most intense color; tolerates part shade.

Water: Keep consistently moist; vigorous growth means it can be thirsty in containers.

Soil: Rich, well-drained potting mix or garden soil.

Temperature: A warm-season plant; not frost-hardy.

Feeding: Feed regularly to fuel its fast growth.

Propagation: Extremely easy from stem cuttings rooted in water or soil; tubers can be overwintered and replanted.

Ipomoea batatas originated in tropical Central and South America and has been cultivated for thousands of years for its edible tubers.

The ornamental forms are grown worldwide as warm-season annuals in hanging baskets, containers, and bedding schemes, prized as spiller and ground-cover foliage.

Ornamental: A premier foliage spiller for containers, baskets, and as a fast ground cover; its bold leaf color contrasts beautifully with flowering plants.

Culinary: The tubers are technically edible like ordinary sweet potatoes, but ornamental selections are bred for looks and tend to be small and bland.

Practical: Quick coverage for bare soil and trailing edges in mixed plantings.