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Sweet Potato Vine
Ipomoea batatas
Also called sweetpotato vine
Sweet Potato Vine is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Sweet Potato Vine
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 9–11. Expect it to reach about 8 in tall and 2.6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year.
When to plant Sweet Potato Vine
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Sweet Potato Vine into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 9 in February.
Comes in 4 varieties
Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.
Good to know about Sweet Potato Vine
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
It is the same species as the edible sweet potato and is non-toxic. Its 'poisonous' reputation comes from confusing it with true morning glories, whose seeds carry ergot alkaloids. per NC State and PNAS
How far it spreads
One report calls it a 0.9 to 1.5 m groundcover clump; another gives 2.4 to 3 m trailing stems. They measure different habits, so plan for a wide range. per NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden
Grown for bold foliage
Grown for its bold heart-shaped leaves in chartreuse-lime, purple-black, bronze, or white-pink variegated forms, not for flowers. It rarely blooms. per NC State
Overwintering the roots
Frost kills the top growth, but underground it forms fleshy storage roots. Dig them before frost and keep them cool and dry, or root cuttings indoors. per NC State
Watch for leaf beetles
Tortoise beetles and sweetpotato flea beetles chew small holes and grooves in the leaves. On vigorous, established plants the damage is usually just cosmetic. per NC State
Fast, drought-tolerant spiller
A tough, fast trailing spiller for container edges, hanging baskets, and quick groundcover. Drought-tolerant once established, but it grows most vividly in full sun. per Missouri Botanical Garden
What pairs well with Sweet Potato Vine
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Sneezeweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; taller at 3.3 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; stands well above at 4.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both offer pollinator forage; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; stands well above at 5.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both offer pollinator forage; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Boxwood
Shares full sun and moderate water; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Cleome
Shares full sun and moderate water; taller at 3.9 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage.
Rosemary
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; taller at 3.3 ft, for the layer behind it; both offer pollinator forage; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Feather Reed Grass
Shares full sun and moderate water; stands well above at 4.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Lavender
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; both offer pollinator forage; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 2 ft, for the layer behind it.
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