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Ipomoea Sweet potato, traditionally known to us as a vegetable crop, has recently been increasingly used as an ornamental plant that adorns gardens and flower beds. And some daredevils do a good job of growing this plant, even as a potted crop. The intricacies of growing sweet potatoes will be discussed in today’s article.
Variety description
Ipomoea Sweet potato belongs to the bindweed family, like the garden morning glory familiar to us, however, there are a number of differences between plants. Our heroine is one of the most important food products for most peoples of Central America, and not only root crops, but even young leaves and stems are suitable for food. The culture is herbaceous and undersized. Each plant reaches about 30 cm in height. 
But the sweet potato actively grows in breadth – each bush can spread over 1,5-2m. The culture forms gramophone flowers of white, pink or light lilac color. But in realities, it will not be possible to admire the color of this morning glory – modern varieties are cultivated mainly for the purpose of obtaining a crop, and decorativeness is achieved through beautiful leaves. The latter of the plant are large, and depending on the varietal variety, they can be painted in a variety of colors – from bright salad to purple and violet.
Video “Description”
From the video you will learn a lot of new facts about the Ipomoea sweet potato plant.
Planting a plant
Ipomoea Sweet potato feels equally good both in open sunny areas and in partial shade. It is possible to plant plants in an open garden from the moment when the danger of night frosts has finally passed – in the Middle lane this period begins by the end of May. As for the soil, it should be moderately moist, slightly acidic and pass moisture and air well.
The culture is characterized by active growth, therefore it is often used as an ornamental ground cover plant. Another growing option is indoors, in hanging planters – then the ipomoea stems hang down beautifully, forming an attractive decorative composition. In order for the plant to form a lush leafy hat, it needs regular pinching.
Care
Like any culture, Ipomoea Sweet potato requires care, and you need to remember certain features of agricultural technology for this plant:
- stick to regular watering – for morning glory, both a drying earthen lump and an overly moistened one are equally harmful. Therefore, you need to water the plant regularly, but moderately;
- wintering – in open conditions, the plant will not survive the winter. With the arrival of autumn, move the morning glory pot to a room where there is enough light and heat – the air temperature should be at the level of 20-25 degrees;
- spring care. At the end of the cold weather, carefully inspect the plant, if some shoots are stretched out, cut them off, giving the bush a neat look (by the way, such shoots can be used for cuttings);
- regular pruning – do not forget to remove those shoots that look weak, dried out or diseased.
Fertilizer and top dressing
Ipomoea Sweet potato is especially in dire need of nutrients during active growth. When feeding the plant for the first time, use ammonium nitrate, and later on you can alternate between different types of mineral fertilizers, the main thing is that the nutrition of the crop is regular.
Reproduction of a plant
Ipomoea sweet potato can be propagated in several ways:
- grow from a root crop – the growing process is very similar to working with ordinary potatoes: as soon as seedlings begin to appear on the tubers, plant them in the ground;
- root the stalk – this method is the main one in the propagation of decorative morning glory. The cuttings collected from the shoots are rooted in water for several days, after which they are transferred to the ground.
Diseases and pests
Given the sensitivity of the culture to excess moisture, it may suffer from a fungal infection. Often, minimal manipulations are enough – just remove the damaged shoots, and treat the sections with any fungicide. Another thing is if the plants show signs of root rot, then you will have to get rid of all the bushes without exception, destroying them along with the roots.
Sometimes gardeners notice that disgusting white blisters appear on sweet potato leaves. Reduce watering immediately – this happens when the plant suffers from excess moisture and low temperatures. As a rule, such a nuisance more often overtakes that morning glory that grows indoors or in closed ground.
Well, how about without insects. Of the pests, the main danger for sweet potato is the common aphid and the notorious spider mite. And if aphids can be defeated with soapy water, then spider mites will have to be fought with insecticides.
Landscaping
Decorative sweet potato is dearly loved by gardeners for its decorativeness and versatility: compositions from multi-colored varieties of morning glory or combinations with other garden crops look really amazing.
A wonderful tandem is created by Ipomoea of the sweet potato variety with green chlorophytum, pink petunia, or even cereals. We are sure that fantasy will definitely tell you the most successful combination.
Video “Growing sweet potatoes”
From the video you will learn how to grow this plant.
Author: Svetlana Galitsina
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