Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm Sweet Potato Vine | Proven Winners®

Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm Sweet Potato Vine | Proven Winners®

Combines near-black and green-speckled, heart-shaped leaves for a bold spiller in containers or a striking annual groundcover. Heat-tolerant, easy to grow, and self-cleaning, it thrives in both sun and shade all season.

Size

Price: $11.99

66 items left

Ships in 10-14 days, weather permitting.

Proven Winners is constantly working to refine and improve their offerings for the North American garden and to the nursery industry in using the best in new plant and production materials.

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Features

Characteristics

Plant Needs

Why choose between green or purple sweet potato vines when you can enjoy both in one plant? Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm™ delivers dramatic purple-black, heart-shaped foliage flecked with green variegation, making each leaf a unique work of art. Unlike older variegated varieties, this selection has a fuller, more refined habit that requires less trimming and maintains a lush, polished look throughout the season.

As the plant matures, new leaves emerge green before developing their striking pattern with exposure to sunlight. Solid-colored leaves can be removed for a cleaner appearance, though they won’t affect the plant’s vigor if left in place. Its trailing growth makes it perfect for spilling out of hanging baskets, patio containers, and window boxes, while its adaptability to sun or shade also makes it a versatile annual groundcover in the landscape.

This ornamental sweet potato vine is heat tolerant, low maintenance, and self-cleaning, thriving with average water and minimal care. Though it may occasionally produce small, starchy tubers, these are bred for ornamental purposes and are not ideal for eating. With its bold texture and rich color, Shadowstorm™ is a standout foliage plant that elevates both containers and garden beds from spring through frost.


Characteristics

Plant Type:

Annual

Height Category:

Short

Garden Height:

6 - 16 Inches

Spacing:

10 - 18 Inches

Spread:

20 - 36 Inches

Trails Up To:

30 Inches

Foliage Colors:

Black, Green, Patterned

Flower Shade:

Grown for Foliage

Foliage Shade:

Purple-Black with Green Variegation

Habit:

Trailing

Container Role:

Spiller

Plant Needs

Light Requirement:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Maintenance Category:

Easy

Bloom Time:

Grown for Foliage

Hardiness Zones:

11a, 11b

Water Category:

Average

Uses:

Border Plant, Container, Groundcover, Landscape, Mass Planting

Uses Notes: 

Works great in landscapes as an annual ground cover, as well as in combination planters and containers by themselves.  The plant is very adaptable, working in both sun and shade conditions.

Maintenance Notes: 

Ipomoeas are great additions to combination planters, but they can sometimes overwhelm less vigorous plants.  You can let your combination plants duke it out Darwinian style, however, if you prefer to keep a more balanced look to your combination planters, you can cut back or remove stems at any time to give other less vigorous plants a better change to compete for space.

Ipomoeas also make great annual groundcovers in the landscape. They love the heat and humidity, cooler temperatures and low humidity cause them to stay more compact.

While Sweet Potatoes all come from the same parent material out of Southeast Asia, there is a big difference between the Sweet Potato you buy in the store and the tubers produced by the Sweet Caroline plants. Commercial sweet potatoes have been bred for over 100 years selecting for those with the best sugar to starch content (hence the name SWEET Potato), the ornamental versions have been bred to produce good leaves and no tubers, though they do sometimes form small tubers. these tubers are composed of almost pure starch and no sugar; making them a poor choice for eating. So yes you can eat the tubers, but don't expect anyone to come back for seconds! Also always be careful when eating any ornamental plant unless you know how it was grown, and if pesticides or fungicides were used on it before you got it; a tuber is a storage root, and yes they store chemical as well as starch.

An application of fertilizer or compost on garden beds and regular fertilization of plants in pots will help ensure the best possible performance.

Why choose between green or purple sweet potato vines when you can enjoy both in one plant? Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm™ delivers dramatic purple-black, heart-shaped foliage flecked with green variegation, making each leaf a unique work of art. Unlike older variegated varieties, this selection has a fuller, more refined habit that requires less trimming and maintains a lush, polished look throughout the season.

As the plant matures, new leaves emerge green before developing their striking pattern with exposure to sunlight. Solid-colored leaves can be removed for a cleaner appearance, though they won’t affect the plant’s vigor if left in place. Its trailing growth makes it perfect for spilling out of hanging baskets, patio containers, and window boxes, while its adaptability to sun or shade also makes it a versatile annual groundcover in the landscape.

This ornamental sweet potato vine is heat tolerant, low maintenance, and self-cleaning, thriving with average water and minimal care. Though it may occasionally produce small, starchy tubers, these are bred for ornamental purposes and are not ideal for eating. With its bold texture and rich color, Shadowstorm™ is a standout foliage plant that elevates both containers and garden beds from spring through frost.


Plant Type:

Annual

Height Category:

Short

Garden Height:

6 - 16 Inches

Spacing:

10 - 18 Inches

Spread:

20 - 36 Inches

Trails Up To:

30 Inches

Foliage Colors:

Black, Green, Patterned

Flower Shade:

Grown for Foliage

Foliage Shade:

Purple-Black with Green Variegation

Habit:

Trailing

Container Role:

Spiller

Light Requirement:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Maintenance Category:

Easy

Bloom Time:

Grown for Foliage

Hardiness Zones:

11a, 11b

Water Category:

Average

Uses:

Border Plant, Container, Groundcover, Landscape, Mass Planting

Uses Notes: 

Works great in landscapes as an annual ground cover, as well as in combination planters and containers by themselves.  The plant is very adaptable, working in both sun and shade conditions.

Maintenance Notes: 

Ipomoeas are great additions to combination planters, but they can sometimes overwhelm less vigorous plants.  You can let your combination plants duke it out Darwinian style, however, if you prefer to keep a more balanced look to your combination planters, you can cut back or remove stems at any time to give other less vigorous plants a better change to compete for space.

Ipomoeas also make great annual groundcovers in the landscape. They love the heat and humidity, cooler temperatures and low humidity cause them to stay more compact.

While Sweet Potatoes all come from the same parent material out of Southeast Asia, there is a big difference between the Sweet Potato you buy in the store and the tubers produced by the Sweet Caroline plants. Commercial sweet potatoes have been bred for over 100 years selecting for those with the best sugar to starch content (hence the name SWEET Potato), the ornamental versions have been bred to produce good leaves and no tubers, though they do sometimes form small tubers. these tubers are composed of almost pure starch and no sugar; making them a poor choice for eating. So yes you can eat the tubers, but don't expect anyone to come back for seconds! Also always be careful when eating any ornamental plant unless you know how it was grown, and if pesticides or fungicides were used on it before you got it; a tuber is a storage root, and yes they store chemical as well as starch.

An application of fertilizer or compost on garden beds and regular fertilization of plants in pots will help ensure the best possible performance.

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