Super sweet in the sun: Ornamental sweet potato vines offer a variety of shapes and colors

Charles Reynolds
·3 min read

Ornamental sweet potato vines seem to be everywhere: I’ve seen them spilling out of planters at the entrances of posh New York City restaurants as well as carpeting patches of ground in Central Florida strip malls.

Depending on variety, these vines have foliage in hues that include purple-black, reddish-purple, chartreuse and lime green – while the leaves can be shaped like hearts or maple leaves. Although they’re the same species (Ipomea batatas) as edible sweet potatoes, ornamental types have extremely bitter tubers.

Popular for warm-season groundcovers and "spiller plants" in containers, ornamental sweet potatoes are drought tolerant and grow rapidly in full sun on moderately fertile sites. Pests that sometimes cause problems are whiteflies and flea beetles, but infestations are rarely serious.

Bird of paradise Oft mistaken for banana plant, white birds are better. Unless you want fruit

Propagate with warm-season cuttings. Frosts and freezes can damage sweet potato vines, and – depending on circumstances – plants may not survive.

Lay sod the right way

Homeowners are doing it. Landscape contractors are doing it. And municipalities are doing it. More and more frequently, they’re laying sod over existing turf – a practice long frowned upon by nearly everyone who’s knowledgeable about sod.

It seems more and more, people are laying fresh sod directly over old turf. While it might save time, it's completely wrong. The point of laying sod is to ensure the roots make good contact with the soil.
It seems more and more, people are laying fresh sod directly over old turf. While it might save time, it's completely wrong. The point of laying sod is to ensure the roots make good contact with the soil.

But has this time and labor-saving shortcut been re-evaluated and deemed acceptable? Heck no. When laying sod, the goal is to ensure that roots make good contact with soil – something that setting sod over grass and weeds clearly doesn’t achieve.

And speaking of weeds, some are likely to survive under the sod and infest what should be a fresh blanket of turf. The traditional method of removing existing growth and weeds before sodding involves rototilling, raking and – perhaps – a broad-spectrum herbicide.

Giant African land snails appear to be invading Florida again

Bromeliads provide bright color indoors and out

Species of Neoregelia bromeliads – well over 100 of them – are native to Brazil, Peru and Colombia. The plants usually offered for sale, however, are named varieties of those species.

These colorful herbaceous plants are ideal massed as groundcovers or used here and there to brighten beds, shrubbery borders and containers. All Neoregelias – which are cultivated for foliage, not flowers – do well in filtered light, but many tolerate full sun if irrigated during dry spells.

Outdoors, fertilizer isn’t needed or recommended. The majority of Neoregelias are low growing – often under a foot tall – though varieties of N. concentrica range from 24 to 30 inches tall.

Can Neoregelia plants flourish indoors? Absolutely.

Jack Kramer, author of "Bromeliads for Home and Garden," says they’re prized houseplants in Japan and Germany, and he recommends a mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 potting soil and 1/3 fir bark. Many fanciers provide highly diluted liquid fertilizer for indoor specimens during periods of active growth.

Propagation is a cinch because most plants produce pups as they approach the end of their lives. And while this sounds distressing and unattractive, the event is largely unnoticeable in landscapes and of minor esthetic significance indoors.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Ornamental sweet potato vines offer a wide array of hues and shapes