Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Solar Power Series

Brand:  Ball

Description:

This variety features the first ever self-climbing ipomea; bright lime green lobed leaves scale trellises, fences and are even great in patio containers and garden beds; foliage will not fade in the sun; low maintenance

Ornamental Features

SolarTower™ Lime Sweet Potato Vine is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental upright and spreading habit of growth. Its attractive lobed leaves remain lime green in color with hints of chartreuse throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

SolarTower™ Lime Sweet Potato Vine is a dense herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant. The flowers of this plant may actually detract from its ornamental features, so they can be removed as they appear. It has no significant negative characteristics.

SolarTower™ Lime Sweet Potato Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Vertical Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

SolarTower™ Lime Sweet Potato Vine will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 30 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. The stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

SolarTower™ Lime Sweet Potato Vine is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.