Kelly Ray Sweet Potato Vine
Ipomoea batatas 'Kelly Ray'
Height: 8 inches
Spacing: 24 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Description:
An outstanding vine with marbled dark purple and lime green foliage; a great addition to combination planters and hanging baskets, as well as being an annual groundcover in the landscape; loves heat and humidity
Ornamental Features
Kelly Ray Sweet Potato Vine is primarily valued in the garden for its spreading and trailing habit of growth. Its attractive heart-shaped leaves emerge chartreuse in spring, turning deep purple in colour with showy lime green variegation and tinges of burgundy throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Kelly Ray Sweet Potato Vine is a dense herbaceous annual with a trailing habit of growth, eventually spilling over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. 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.
Kelly Ray Sweet Potato Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Container Planting
- Hanging Baskets
Planting & Growing
Kelly Ray Sweet Potato Vine will grow to be about 8 inches 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 24 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. 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 pH, but grows best in rich soils. 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.
Kelly Ray 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. Because of its trailing habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
