Does Sweet Potato Vine Flower

Types of ornamental sweet potatoes.

Does sweet potato vine flower. Ornamental sweet potato vines don t produce many flowers which means they often don t produce seeds. Thriving in warm soil unlike regular potatoes sweet potatoes will be ready to harvest just as the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow or just before frost. True seeds are used for breeding only. Edible sweet potato vines and some ornamental varieties bloom with.

They can also be grown outdoors as annual ground cover in flower beds. This plant produces vine like stems similar to the philodendron and requires similar care to that of ivy when grown indoors. Sweet potatoes rarely flower when the daylight is longer than 11 hours as is normal outside of the tropics. However if a sweet potato flower does occur it resembles its cousin the morning glory convolvulus spp mostly in shades of light blue to purple.

Most ornamental varieties do not flower. Scientists have tried a lot of tricks to get sweet potatoes to flower and one of the most effective seems to be high humidity combined with damp soil. With their deep orange flesh these edible roots have a naturally sweet flavor and are a top source of beta carotene. Sweet potato vine ipomoea batatas named for its edible cousin is an ornamental warm season annual grown for its attractive leaves and vining habit.

Sweet potato vine ornamental sweet potato vine. 6 to 16 inches tall 3 to 6 feet wide vines up to 10 feet long. Perfect timing for autumn foods and the holiday table. The vigorous growth and drought tolerance of ornamental sweet potato vines makes them great choices for mixed containers and hanging baskets.

Since the deer got in and nibbled our sweet potatoes once before we added a deer deterrent to that part of the garden we accidentally used that method too. Full sun part sun. Unlike edible sweet potatoes which have green leaves the tubers produced by ornamental sweet potatoes are bitter and inedible. The foliage lends a tropical feel to the garden and comes in a range of colors and varying forms.

They are mostly propagated by stem or root cuttings or by adventitious shoots called slips that grow out from the tuberous roots during storage. With edible sweet potatoes as with most root crops and herbs it is important to remove any flowers. Sweet potatoes don t usually flower often outside the tropics. Many ornamentals are also sterile and only really viable to produce from cuttings.