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Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Jet Black Sweet Potato Vine Ipomoea batatas

Flower Season
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Fall
Mature Size
16" 3' 41cm 91cm
Height: 6" - 16"
Spread: 20" - 3'
Height: 15cm - 41cm
Spread: 51cm - 91cm
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  • Details

    6 - 16 Inches
    12 - 18 Inches
    20 - 36 Inches
    15cm - 41cm
    30cm - 46cm
    51cm - 91cm

    Features

    Great foliage component plant in combinations; excellent heat tolerance and good vigor.

    Award Winner
    Foliage Interest
    Heat Tolerant
    Deadheading Not Necessary

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Annual
    Height Category: 
    Short
    Garden Height: 
    6 - 16 Inches 15cm - 41cm
    Trails Up To: 
    30 Inches 76cm
    Spacing: 
    12 - 18 Inches 30cm - 46cm
    Spread: 
    20 - 36 Inches 51cm - 91cm
    Foliage Colors: 
    Purple
    Foliage Shade: 
    As close to true Black as you can get
    Habit: 
    Trailing
    Container Role: 
    Spiller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Part Sun to Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Bloom Time: 
    Grown for Foliage
    Hardiness Zones: 
    11a, 11b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Average Soil
    Uses: 
    Border Plant
    Uses: 
    Container
    Uses: 
    Edging Plant
    Uses: 
    Groundcover
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses: 
    Mass Planting
    Uses Notes: 

    Works great in landscapes as an annual ground cover, as well as in combinations and containers by themselves.  The plant is very adaptable, working in both sun and shade conditions, atlhough the colors are deeper and brighter in full sun than they are in shadier environments where colors are tinged with more green.

    Maintenance Notes: 

    Ipomoeas are great additions to combination planters, but they can sometimes overwhelm less vigorous plants. If you are like me you can let your combination plants duke it out Darwinian style, however, if you prefer to keep a more balanced look to your combination planters, you can cut back or remove stems at any time.

    Ipomoeas also make great annual groundcovers in the landscape. They love the heat and humidity (growing up to 36" a week in the Deep South), cooler temperatures and low humidity cause them to stay more compact.

    While Sweet Potatoes all come from the same parent material out of Southeast Asia, there is a big difference between the Sweet Potato you buy in the store and the tubers produced by the Sweet Caroline and the Illusion plants. Commercial sweet potatoes have been bred for over 100 years selecting for those with the best sugar to starch content (hence the name SWEET Potato), the ornamental have been bred to produce good leaves and no tubers, though they do form, they are composed of almost pure starch and no sugar; making them a poor choice for eating. So yes you can eat the tubers, but don't expect anyone to come back for seconds! Also always be careful when eating any ornamental plant unless you know how it was grown, and if pesticides or fungicides were used on it before you got it; a tuber is a storage root, and yes they store chemical as well as starch.

    An application of fertilizer or compost on garden beds and regular fertilization of plants in pots will help ensure the best possible performance.

    Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Jet Black Ipomoea batatas 'NCORNSP-021SHJB' USPP 29,378, Can 5,780
  • 6 Reviews

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    2
    1
    Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.
    • I love this plant Not only has it thrived in a pot in afternoon sun, but it rewarded me with pink, tubular flowers!!! I didn’t know they bloomed, so it was a pleasant surprise. I have it in a pot with lavender and white calibachoa. They play very nicely together I’ll probably try to bring it in and keep it for another year.

      Kathye Hyde
      , Missouri
      , United States
      , 15 weeks ago
    • This plant is so beautiful in containers! I recommend to plant this potato vine with Supertunia Bordeaux, the result is amazing.

      Olivier
      , Quebec
      , Canada
      , 3 years ago
    • LOVE this plant. Keeping right now as an indoor plant and it’s absolutely beautiful combined with bright colors.

      Emily
      , 4 years ago
    • I ordered these for a front garden as a contrast filler. I live in Texas and was a little worried about them doing well in the triple digit heat that we get. Not only has the plant done well, but it has THRIVED! It has grown tall and has blanketed the flower bed. It goes very well against light green and white contrasts as well as bright colors. I get compliments from neighbors all the time! It is a new favorite of mine and I will definitely grow again!!

      Susan Anderson
      , Texas
      , United States
      , 6 years ago
    • The compact and tidy growth habit of this sweet potato vine meant it combined well with other plants in containers without overtaking them. Clean, dark, heart-shaped foliage was blemish - free and was a great contrast to lighter colours. I would definitely grow this again.

      Paul Judge
      , Ontario
      , Canada
      , 6 years ago
  • 1 Award

    Award Year Award Plant Trial
    2023 Top Performer Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
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