Name:  Ipomoea batatas, aka sweet potato vine

Type of Plant:   In the northeast region this plant is an annual.  There are varieties available with lime green or purple to black leaves. Some grow long and others stay more compact and mound-like.

Why I Love/Hate this plant:  This plant is a great annual in so many situations. Use it in containers to cascade over the edges or place it in a flower garden to ramble over the soil. You can grow this spreading/cascading annual in full sun or even in shade, although it does best with some direct sunlight.

A Word to the Wise: Match the plant to your situation. Some sweet potato vines, such as the Marguerite, grow very large. Others have been bred to be smaller, sometimes with finer foliage.

Holes in sweet potato vine are usually caused by the gold bug, aka golden tortoise beetle, although flea beetles can also cause this. I normally just ignore the holes.

I used the sweet potato vine in these boxes that are on the north side of my shed. They get an hour or two of direct sun at the very end of the day.

John Sullivan included sweet potato vine effectively with coleus in some of the containers in his colorful landscape.

This stump garden is in late-afternoon sun. I liked the sweet potato vine with the orange begonias.

If you need a fast annual ground cover, you can’t beat Marguerite potato vine. This area of my Annual Alley has just three of the Marguerite vines planted along the stone wall.