I have planted Potato Vine in this planter in my Georgia Garden for the past few years. I have never had much luck with them as the bugs destroy it each year. I have never had one to bloom for me. However, this year, is a different story. I paid close attention to the leaves and at the first sign of bugs, I sprayed it with Sevin. I refrain from using pesticides if possible but this year I was determined to have success with a potato vine. 
And success I have! I have lots of blooms on the vine and am enjoying them very much. I did a quick search on Potato Vines only to find there are tons of different types out there. I just know this one to be a Potato Vine as that is all the tag told me.
A tiny Purple Queen (purple heart) Bloom accompanies a Potato Bloom!
Blue Salvia is also in this planter,
along with Red Salvia. I never have much luck with the Red Salvia but this bloom was standing out today!
A closer look into the center of the flower shows the vibrant purple color.
Some may consider the Potato Vine a pest as they can become invasive, but for now, I am enjoying this POTATO VINE, and its blooms In the Garden...
Skeeter, we bought a sweet potatoe vine at wally world last fall and have loved it, it did ok this season but I don't think it will last another year as a house plant. My mother bought one for her bed and it looks like yours.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed more flowers on Sweet Potato this year too, especially on 'Blackie'. Must be something to do with all the rain.
ReplyDeleteYour potato vine is beautiful, both in foliage and blooms. I love the purple heart too and have that growing down here in my gardens.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
Whenever I use the sweet potato vine in the garden I am really tickled to have the blooms as well.
ReplyDeleteMy sweet potato vine is green. I have never seen any blooms on it, but I really like the way it winds and winds. I do have bug problems though--hate that part of it. Love your blooms!!
ReplyDeleteMine have never bloomed either...glad yours did. My garden would not be complete withough cascading potato vines!
ReplyDeleteI had planted the same one as yours but found the growth too vigorous. But seeing your blooms, I'm having second thoughts....I've fallen for your blue salvia. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteOur potato vines haven't bloomed a bit. They've grown like kudzu though!
ReplyDeleteHi Skeeter, I have the green one, it volunteers, the blue flowers are very scarce. In my opinion the purple is more attractive, although I do like the looks of purple and chartreuse growing together
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely flowers indeed and look very much like the beautiful morning glories. Do these come back for you in your Georgia garden?
ReplyDeleteMy black potato vine has bloomed constantly all year long. It doesn't usually. I assumed it likes the cooler weather. I believe it is related to morning glories. My MG's are ten times the size they usually are.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
I usually plant sweet potato vines in some of my planters, so I don't worry about them being invasive. But I've never had one bloom! They do look like morning glory blooms. Although there are several dark varieties, yours looks like "Blackie."
ReplyDeleteGood Morning everyone. I woke up to 55-degrees Fall temps here in Georgia! Yippee, the humidity is finally gone….
ReplyDeleteDawn, I really do like this plant but the bugs like it so much as well. I see some really healthy ones in displays all over town. I assume they spray theirs with pesticides as well or no way they would be so darn pretty. The bugs are so attracted to them here in GA…
Les, Ah, that could be as we had our share of rain this year. This planter is by a spigot so easy for me to keep watered during the drought times of the year. Which was only one month this year. But that was enough to let water out of our lake. Sigh…
Flower lady, I discovered the Purple Hearts when we moved to Georgia. I had never seen them before but they are in many roadside displays here and I just had to have one. I had one return several years then something happen to it. I think a Vole got to it but not sure. This is a new one this year…
Janet, The first Potato Vine I saw was at my Mother in laws house. It had the most beautiful blooms on it and I asked what it was then rushed out and got one for myself. I have been looking for those blooms on my plants ever since. This is the first year I have had blooms!
Meadowview, This was my first luck with blooms! When doing a bit of research on Potato Vines, I noticed there were many different types out there and did see the green ones as well. I may try my luck at mixing a purple and green one next year to see what happens…
Darla, Hum, I wonder if the conditions must be right for bloomers or since so many different types, some bloom and some do not bloom. Makes one think today. I was so happy to see the first blooms and now more and more each day! I think Potato Vine will be an addition to my garden from here on…
Kanak, This one has grown the best for me ever and the blooms are an added bonus! I can only assume the fact that I babied it this year and it had plenty of rain water may have been the difference then with my past luck. The blue salvia did not do as well this year. I think I will move it next spring to a new spot with more sun…
Dave, Hum, I was just saying to Darla, that maybe there are bloomers and not bloomers. I thought maybe mine never bloomed because the bugs always got to them and I let them go to the bugs. I notice that several people are saying they have healthy vines but no blooms. There were too many to research on the internet. Makes the mind ponder things today…
Lzyjo, I was just telling Meadowview Thymes how I may mix the green and purple Potato Vines next year! I think that may be really pretty in this planter along with some other stuff. The salvia does not do well there as it does not get much sun. This is the East side of the house so only morning sun…
Tina, I almost said they look like the morning glories on the post! Great minds think a like. I will show some morning glories on a post soon. Maybe Thursday post if I don’t have time to write the one I want to talk about. So much going on in the house with the new bedroom furniture and all. I have been playing Dawn with the sewing machine. LOL Temps are cool and I need to get back into the yard now for some fun play with no sweating! Yippee… The past two years they did not return but I kind of let the bugs get to them so that may be why. I will see what happens to this one as I will leave it in place over winter and observe…
Marnie, Tina and I were just talking about how they resemble Morning Glories! I will have to get that post up and ready then. lol, I am now getting the idea to mix the purple and green and maybe trellis morning Glories up the chimney next year! That would be pretty if all would bloom together…
Rose, I tried to do some research on the Potato Vines but so many out there that I am not sure what mine is called. I did see the Blackie and was wondering if it could be that one. This is my first bloomer and I am so happy about that. Read what I said to Marnie about mixing the Morning Glories next year...
The flower on your potato vine looks a little like the flowers on a morning glory. They are very pretty and worth waiting for.
ReplyDeleteYup, my first reaction was that they looked like Morning Glories and I love MG's but most people do not plant them in gardens up here as they grow wild everywhere.
ReplyDeleteLike Dawn said, I had bought one this year and I love the color of purple that it is. It really stands out in the garden but I have not had any flowers on it. I will bring it in the house and hope to be able to over winter it.
Yours is awesome.
What's not to enjoy? such beauty is hard to resist. I wish all invasive plants looked this good. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics Skeeter. I have potato vine in several places, mostly in pots with other plants.I have both colors. Also 2 different ones of the dark colored ones. The shape of the leaf gives them away.
ReplyDeleteThe one I have in the colored pot of the Tippsy Turvy planting is all over the ground. I've never had it to do that. I just let it grow.
In all this planting I have a real sweet potato vine in a pot that survived the winter last.
Love those vines except wild potato vine. It looks like MG but is very invasive. It grows like kudzu.
I've had Potato Vine and love it as an accent in my planters cause it doesn't get as huge as yours. I've only bought it about 3 years and was really surprised once when it finally bloomed! Very pretty!
ReplyDeletesuch a delicious purple! I think would go for an invasive plant, if it looked this lovely!
ReplyDeleteRosey
Love potatoe vine !!
ReplyDeleteHave 2 different ones in pots...redish like yours and yellow which are very prolific(have to cut back the yellow ones).
Try Neem oil for pest,it works great(have to use every 2 weeks for a while). More friendly to the garden...it's from the the neem tree. It doesn't kill bugs just keeps them off of plants.
I love that purple potato vine! What a pretty color. I've never tried it before, may just to add one to a planter next year. I've seen it really fill in an area before, but I like how it looks.
ReplyDeleteI love the potato vine (and I'm feeling a desire to know the botanical name, so I can get one). Do you know, I knew that morning glories were in the same family, but somehow never put it together that sweet potatoes would have similar flowers - maybe because I've only seen the vines, not the flowers. Thanks for enlightening me! Never too late to learn...
ReplyDeleteI guess I have never seen a pototoe vine bloom either. Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Skeeter. I bought a few of these sweet potato vines this year. I love the deep colored one and did get a few blooms, too. Last week I dug one of them up to see if any potatoes grew - not a one! I'm wondering if maybe I didn't wait long enough? Or maybe these varieties of vines are just decorative?
ReplyDeleteKeewee, I will make a comparison on the Morning Glory and Potato Vine probably later this week. Be on the look out. I too think they look like Morning Glory blooms. The Potato blooms are open all day when the Glory’s are only open until around noon time though…
ReplyDeleteJean, I love morning Glorys also and added them to my garden this year from some seeds my dad gave me. That makes them a bit more special to me. I wish I could dig this puppy up and bring it into the house but with the cats, no way! Heck, I had to give the hibiscus to Tina as it was not coming back inside for a 3rd year! LOL. I will leave the Potato Vine in the ground and see what happens to it over winter and next spring…
Teresa, I agree, this is a beautiful purple plant and bloom as well. The center just glows with color and really so when the sun is shining on them. I wish the picture would show how many blooms are on the plant as there are many more then it shows…
Lola, I am learning about this Purple Potato Vine as I go along. The ones in the years past did not bloom for me and I can only assume they were a different type. I would not plant more then one of each color in this planter but will give it a try next year Plus the Morning Glories. I hope they don’t take over the house. LOL. The petunia did not do well in the Tipsy Pots and I was thinking maybe a Potato plant but since I went small with my pots, maybe not a good idea. I will have to think on that one a bit. Do potato Vines climb like a Morning Glory does??? If so, then it would work and could climb up the swing post…
Raingardener, I wonder why they bloom some years and not others? Hum, maybe conditions must be just right for them to bloom. I think we may have all gotten a wonderful batch of them this year as I have seen tons of them in landscaping all over town. And very healthy looking I might add…
Rosey, It is hard to pass up on some invasive plants and this is one for me. I have not found it to be invasive thus far for me so I will stick with it until it takes over. :-)
Patsi, Where would one find Neem oil? I do not like to use anything which could harm my butterflies, bees and hummers and I fear it every time I use pesticides. I just cringe and hope I am not hurting anything. I will have to look for the Neem Oil for next year. Thanks for the tip!
Catherine, I say give it a try! If it grows too quickly, you can always give it a hair cut to keep it in line. I have been clipping my Verbena to keep it out of the grassy area and gravel of the boat shed and it does not seem to mind. I clip my cats as well and they do mind LOL…
Pomona, their blooms are similar but not the leaves at all. I am not sure of this Cultivar but think it is:
“Blackie”
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Ipomoea
Species: Batatas
Hope this helps…
Flowrgirl, This was my first try at getting one to bloom! I knew they bloomed because I have seen my mother in laws while in bloom. That was my first Potato Vine sighting! I have seen many since that day…
JGH, I saw on the internet that you cannot eat the berry’s they sometime produce as they are toxic to even domesticated animals! I then read on to see where people say they eat the leaves and the tubers of the Ornamental Potato Plant. I am leery of anything that is grown for ornamental purposes and will stick to eating my sweet potatoes from the Veggie Garden section. But that is just me and I am sure some may think that to be silly but I am a gal of cheap insurance and I will not put anything in my mouth that I am not totally sure of. Ha, this coming from a girl that ate snails while in France! LOL…
Skeeter, I don't know about the potato vine climbing although I took some tendrils {if you can call them that} & hung them on the top of the flower arrangement stand where I had hung the pot & they seemed to just start hanging down. Maybe if you tie them up on something they may work. Basically all I've seen it do is grow along the ground of hang from something.
ReplyDeleteGive it a try.
I loved the pairing of the Potato Bloom and the Purple Queen! So funny.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Lola, I looked a bit on the internet at pictures and did not see any climbers. Most of the pics I saw were of the plants cascading over planters or just hanging down from pots. I like your idea though and may try attaching them making it appear they are climbers. Now my brain goes to work… Hum....
ReplyDeleteCuban, That picture really shows how small the Purple Queen (purple heart) is compared to the potato vine...
That is the first sweet potato bloom I have ever seen. I didn't even know they bloomed! Congratulations on your blooms :-)
ReplyDeleteDan, the only reason I knew they bloomed was because the first one I ever saw was my Mother in Laws and her plant was in bloom at the time. I rushed out and got one two years in a row with neither of them blooming. This year, we have blooms!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say how lovely your morning glory and sweet potato bloom photos were. These reminded me of that.
ReplyDelete