Morning glory Sweet potato: the secrets of growing an ornamental vegetable

Morning glory Batat, 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 pot culture. The intricacies of growing sweet potatoes will be discussed in today's article.

Content

1 Description of the variety
2 Video "Description"
3 Planting a plant
4 Care
5 Fertilization and feeding
6 Plant propagation
7 Diseases and pests
8 Landscape design
9 Video "Growing sweet potato"

Description of the variety

Ipomoea Batat belongs to the bindweed family, like the garden morning glory we are used to, however, there are a number of differences between the plants. For most of the peoples of Central America, our heroine is one of the most important food products, and not only root crops, but even young leaves and stems are suitable for eating. The culture is grassy and undersized. Each plant grows to about 30 cm in height. But the sweet potato is actively growing in breadth - each bush can spread 1.5-2m. The culture forms gramophone flowers of white, pink or light lilac color. But in Russian 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 harvest, and decorativeness is achieved due to beautiful leaves. The latter are large in the plant, and, depending on the varietal variety, can be painted in a variety of colors - from bright salad to purple and violet.

Video "Description"

From the video you will learn many new facts about the sweet potato morning glory plant.

Planting a plant

Morning glory Batat feels equally good both in open sunny areas and in partial shade. It is possible to plant plants on an open bed 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 cultivation option is indoor, in hanging pots - then the stems of the morning glory hang down beautifully, forming an attractive decorative composition. In order for the plant to form a lush, leafy head, it needs regular pinching.

Care

Like any culture, Ipomoea Batat requires care, and you need to remember about certain features of agricultural technology for this plant:

stick to regular watering - for morning glory, both a drying earthen lump and an excessively moist one are equally harmful. Therefore, you need to water the plant regularly, but in moderation;
wintering - in open conditions the plant will not survive the winter. With the arrival of autumn, move the pot of morning glory 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 examine 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);
Pruning regularly - remember to remove any shoots that look weak, dry, or diseased.

Fertilization and feeding

Morning glory Sweet potato is especially in need of nutrients during active growth. When feeding a plant for the first time, use ammonium nitrate, and in the future, you can alternate various types of mineral fertilizers, the main thing is that the nutrition of the crop is regular.

Plant propagation

There are several ways to propagate Ipomoea sweet potatoes:

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 can suffer from a fungal infection. Often, minimal manipulations are enough - just remove the damaged shoots, and treat the sections with any fungicide. It's another matter if signs of root rot are noticed on the plants, then you will have to get rid of all bushes without exception, destroying them along with the roots.

Sometimes gardeners notice that disgusting white blisters appear on the leaves of the sweet potato. Reduce watering immediately - this happens when the plant is suffering from excess moisture and low temperatures. As a rule, such a nuisance more often overtakes the morning glory that grows indoors or indoors.

Well, how can it be without insects. Of the pests, the main danger to the sweet potato is the common aphid and the notorious spider mite. And if you can defeat aphids with soapy water, then spider mites will have to be fought with insecticides.

Landscape design

Ornamental sweet potatoes are dearly loved by gardeners for their decorativeness and versatility: compositions from multi-colored varieties of the morning glory itself or a combination with other garden crops look really amazing.

A wonderful tandem creates a sweet potato morning glory with green chlorophytum, pink petunia or even cereals. We are sure that fantasy will definitely tell you the best combination.

Video "Growing sweet potato"

From the video you will learn how to grow this plant.