Morning glory sweet potato

The amazing plant morning glory sweet potato, which is used not only for decorative purposes, but also as an edible root crop, has only recently appeared in garden plots and in apartments of residents of the CIS countries. The flower has a very aesthetic appearance, which is important to maintain with proper care.

What is morning glory sweet potato?

The botanical description of morning glory sweet potato suggests that the plant belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. The appearance of the weaving culture is peculiar:

A low-growing plant up to 30 cm high, it has long vine-like shoots about 2 m, capable of both spreading along the ground and entwining supports.
The heart-shaped leaves, about 15 cm long, are especially decorative. Their color can vary from green to scarlet and yellow. There are variegated varieties.
In July, morning glory produces inflorescences of small white, lilac or pink flowers in the shape of gramophones. New selective varieties do not bloom.
Another distinctive feature of the morning glory sweet potato is the spindle-shaped tuberous root system, on the lateral shoots of which edible sweetish tubers are formed. At home, in Mexico and Central America, such tubers are eaten by the local population.

Description and agricultural technology of the crop

Morning glory sweet potato (Ipomaea batatas) belongs to the Convolvulaceae family, native to Mexico and Central America. There you can find half of all existing species of this flower. Since ancient times, morning glory tubers have been eaten. Now it is an ornamental perennial plant, which is cultivated as an annual in temperate latitudes. Known as ornamental morning glory. The leaves are heart-shaped or have widely spaced lobes.

It grows up to 30 cm in height and throws out lashes about 2.5 m long. It blooms with showy axillary flowers, but currently bred varieties do not produce flowers. The leaves are large, up to 15 cm, and have a very decorative appearance. Their colors vary from green and yellow to red and purple. There are also variegated varieties.

Interesting! Tubers form on the lateral roots of morning glory.

The plant is planted in open ground, often with the help of seedlings, when the air temperature is about +20°C and the soil temperature is +15°C. In the middle zone this is approximately the end of May. For planting, choose places that are well lit by the sun, but inaccessible to the winds.

Ipomoea Sweet Potato perennial

It is better to select soil with neutral acidity, sandy loam or loamy soil. The land for planting is prepared in the fall - it is dug up and fertilized with humus. The use of potassium fertilizers and superphosphates is allowed. Soil with high acidity is neutralized with lime. In the spring, immediately before planting flowers, the soil is loosened and ammonium nitrate is added. The plant requires small amounts of moisture; it will survive dry times.

Popular varieties of deciduous variety of morning glory sweet potato:

Ligth Green - the leaves are bright green, have five elongated and sharp blades at the tips;
Sweet Caroline Bronze - bronze in color, has five lobes on heavily indented leaves;
Sweet Caroline Purple - the leaves are also lobed and have a rich purple color;
Sweet Heart Red - leaf similar to maple, greenish in color with a purple tint, young leaves are browner in tone.

Morning glory sweet potato grows well and is often used as a ground cover. The stems are able to take root at the nodes. Sometimes morning glory is lifted from the ground onto a low support. The most popular way to grow it is as a hanging plant, that is, kept in flowerpots, hanging baskets or containers.

Basically, the flower is grown in open ground conditions, but there are varieties intended for keeping at home on a windowsill or balcony:

Kumara Red - needs good lighting and heat. At home, you need to install an additional light source. The leaves are lush and large, the tubers are oval-shaped and yellow.
Burgundy is an early variety. The leaves are large, the inflorescences have a pleasant smell. The color of the tubers is rich red.
Purple is an early variety, suitable for keeping in an apartment. The leaves are dark green, the bush is strong and powerful. The plant is resistant to many diseases.

Kumara Red

Before planting a flower, you need to decide on its purpose. There are a lot of sweet potato hybrids and it is important to understand why they are needed. All hybrids can be divided into groups:

Dessert - this includes varieties: Amish Red, Korean purple, Chestnut.
Vegetables - Beuregarde, California Gold, Japanese, Southern Queen.
Fodder - White bouquet, Brazilian.

A dessert group of varieties and has a spicy flavor of melon, pumpkin, banana or carrot. This sweet potato is used to make jams, various desserts and wines. The vegetable group can easily replace regular potatoes. In addition, they have a richer and more delicate taste. Fodder sweet potatoes are grown for animal feed.

Varieties of morning glory sweet potato

Among the decorative varieties, the most popular varieties can be distinguished:

Light Green
. A decorative liana, distinguished by light green leaves that resemble elongated and pointed blades collected in a bouquet.

Sweet Caroline Bronze
is a decorative variety similar to the previous one, the only difference is the bronze coloring of the leaf blades.

Sweet Caroline Purple
is a purple sweet potato morning glory loved by many gardeners with rich lilac-purple leaves and a stem length of up to 8 m.

Indoor morning glory sweet potato Burgundy
, which can be cared for in the summer on open terraces and balconies, is notable for the formation of large bright red tubers and fragrant flowers. At home it is cultivated as an annual.

Landscape design: combination with other plants

Varieties of morning glory sweet potato with different leaf colors can be planted side by side, creating bright compositions from them. The culture also looks good in combination with the following plants:

pink petunia;
chlorophytum;

Combination of morning glory and petunia

bright purslane;
cereals (feather grass, barley);
tender lobularia.

Decorative morning glory sweet potato is rich in vitamins and microelements. If you are planning to try it, then before chopping the young shoots into the salad, soak them in water or pour boiling water over them so that they do not become bitter.

Conditions for growing morning glory sweet potato

In order for a garden plot to be decorated with climbing sweet potatoes, specific features of the area are not needed. Culture prefers:

Light and loose nutritious soils. It can also grow on poorer soil, but then flowering and other decorative properties will be less pronounced.
The culture is thermophilic. It develops well at temperatures from +20℃ in bright sunlight, protected from the midday summer heat.
The houseplant Ipomoea sweet potato does well on south-east and south-west windows. It is often planted in hanging pots and cache-pots as an hanging plant.
The flower does not like drafts. Perennial varieties require mandatory pruning and shelter for the winter.
The culture needs regular, but not abundant watering.
It blooms and bears fruit better if the gardener follows the fertilizer application schedule.

Features of sweet potato

Sweet yam is a herbaceous vine. The length of its creeping stems reaches about 500 cm; they are able to quickly take root in the nodes. The height of the bush varies from 15 to 18 meters. The lateral roots are very thickened, they form tubers, the pulp of which is edible, it can be colored orange, cream, red, yellow, white, pink or purple. The mass of tubers varies from 0.2 to 3 or more kilograms. Long-petioled leaf blades have a heart-shaped or palmate-lobed shape. The axillary flowers are funnel-shaped and have a large corolla, which is painted white, pink or light lilac. But most varieties do not flower when grown in the middle zone. The fruit is a capsule containing 4 black or brown seeds, reaching 0.35–0.45 cm in diameter.

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Planting morning glory sweet potatoes

The rules for planting morning glory sweet potatoes often include the seed planting method, which is carried out according to the following scheme:

Self-collected planting material is stratified in the refrigerator for several months, after which it remains viable for about 3-4 years.
For sowing seedlings, seeds are planted in separate pots in February-March. It is also possible to sow in open ground in May, when there is no threat of return night frosts.
Soil preparation consists of choosing a soil mixture or digging the plot and adding a small amount of humus to it.
Before planting, the seeds are soaked for about a day in warm water, after which they swell.
Each seed is placed at a distance of about 20 cm from each other, sprinkled with earth.
Plantings are watered regularly.
In the garden, many gardeners recommend immediately building supports so that young seedlings can climb along them.

Soil for morning glory sweet potato

It was already mentioned above that the morning glory sweet potato plant needs loose, well-drained and breathable soil of neutral acidity. To do this you can choose:

Universal soil
for garden flower crops, sold in any specialized store.
Prepare your own soil mixture
. To do this, you should mix garden soil disinfected in a microwave or oven with humus and a small amount of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. If the soil is too acidic, lime or crushed furnace ash is added to it.

Types and varieties of sweet potatoes

Unfortunately, there is no official varietal classification of sweet potatoes, but there are about 7,000 varieties and hybrids of the plant: about 100 varieties of this plant are grown in China alone. Sweet potato varieties are divided into fodder, vegetable and dessert. The varieties also differ in the color of the peel, the color of the pulp and the shape of the tuber. Characteristics such as yield, color and shape of leaves, and the accuracy of formation of sweet potato tubers are also important. According to the ripening period, varieties are divided into early, mid-ripening and late.

Dessert yam

Dessert varieties of sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene and glucose - they taste sweet, and their flesh is bright yellow or orange. These varieties need a lot of light and heat to ripen, so in the middle zone they do not grow as well as in the subtropics and tropics. The taste of dessert sweet potatoes, depending on the variety, can resemble pineapple, pumpkin, chestnut, banana or carrot. Tubers of dessert varieties are combined with fruits, nuts, caramel, molasses, so they are used to prepare sweet cereals, casseroles and other desserts. The best dessert varieties are:

Kumara Red is a light and temperature demanding hybrid with large bushes, long vines and lush foliage. The tubers of this sweet potato are oblong-round, the core is light yellowish in color, and has a moderately sweet taste. When raw, the fruit pulp is slightly tart;
Beauregard is an easy-to-grow, sweet and tasty variety with a high content of glucose and carotene. The plant forms compact bushes that produce smooth copper-colored tubers with orange flesh;
O'Henry is a variety of the American Beauregard variety, light cream in color with yellowish flesh, sweetish taste and dry consistency. The variety is resistant to diseases and pests;
Garnet is an American mid-early variety of medium productivity with reddish skin and orange sweet flesh;
Pobeda 100 is an early ripening productive variety that has taken root well in the middle zone. The plant forms a compact bush, its tubers are smooth and even. The pulp is orange, moderately sweet, reminiscent of nuts and banana in taste, but these characteristics appear only after the tubers have been sitting for some time: immediately after digging they are tasteless;
Georgia Red is a productive variety adapted to the conditions of the middle zone. The plant forms a compact bush with dark red leaves and round copper-orange tubers with light flesh, which in their raw form taste no different from potatoes, but after heat treatment they become sweet and soft;
Burgundy is an early American variety resistant to fusarium, with a high sucrose content and a wonderful aroma. The skin of the tubers is dark red, the flesh is dark orange, and does not change color after heat treatment.

Fodder sweet potato

Fodder varieties of sweet potatoes contain less sugar than dessert and vegetable varieties. This sweet potato can successfully replace potatoes. It usually has light flesh, which becomes soft after cooking. Fodder sweet potato tubers are also suitable for frying. These varieties grow well not only in the south, but also in the middle zone. The most popular feed varieties include the following:

White bouquet is a high-yielding variety that forms a powerful bush with long vines and large cream tubers, sometimes reaching a weight of 3-4 kg. The pulp of the tubers is white, reminiscent of chestnut in taste;
Brazilian is a hybrid perfectly adapted to the conditions of the middle zone, resistant to pests and diseases, producing consistently high yields. It has light tubers and white flesh with a mild taste.

Vegetable sweet potato

contains less glucose than dessert, but more than fodder, so the taste of its fruits resembles frozen potatoes. Sweet potato tubers have light-colored flesh with orange, yellow, or pink flecks. After heat treatment, the pulp becomes tender, soft and juicy, but the tubers of most varieties are unsuitable for frying because they are somewhat watery. But they make an excellent puree. The most commonly grown vegetable varieties are:

Purple is an early productive variety, resistant to diseases and pests, superior in taste and nutritional quality to potatoes. It forms a powerful bush with dark green leaves, long vines and purple tubers that do not lose color even after heat treatment. The pulp, almost devoid of sweetness, has a chestnut flavor;
White sweet potato is the variety closest to potatoes in texture and taste, characterized by productivity and perfectly adapted to the conditions of the middle zone. This variety has oblong tubers in a light skin with white flesh;
Japanese - an early variety with red-skinned tubers with light cream flesh, less sweet and drier than varieties with an orange core, but successfully replacing the usual potatoes;
Bit-1 is a late-ripening variety of Italian selection with white tubers and white, slightly sweet pulp;
Bonita is a highly productive, early-ripening, low-sweet, starchy variety, resistant to fusarium, with creamy-pink skin and white pulp with a creamy tint;
Bushbuck is a variety from South Africa with pinkish-crimson fruits that darken during storage. The pulp of the fruit is white with a creamy tint, slightly sweet, reminiscent of potatoes;
Vinnitsa pink is a very productive variety of Ukrainian selection, forming a vigorous bush. Smooth tubers with pink skin have excellent keeping quality. Their flesh is light, almost not sweet, and when raw, tastes like cabbage stalks. Sometimes this variety is sold under the names Redgold, Gocha and Tekken, since Vinnitsa pink has an external resemblance to these varieties;
Sumor is a productive, disease- and pest-resistant early variety with creamy tubers and light, unsweetened pulp with an absolutely potato taste.

In addition to those described, the sweet potato varieties Taynung, Hannah Gold, Har Bay, Batty, Burgundy, Belvou, Baker, Butterbach white, red and pink, White Delight, Virgin, Delaware purple, Golden Bell, Derby, Jersey yellow and orange, Ginseng have proven themselves well. red, Indian, Carver and many others.

Morning glory sweet potato - care

An important feature of how to grow morning glory sweet potatoes is strict adherence to all the rules of agricultural technology for the crop. Although morning glory is considered unpretentious, its decorative effect directly depends on the efforts of the gardener. Care activities include:

Regular, but not frequent and not abundant watering.
Timely application of organic and mineral fertilizers.
Mulching and loosening the soil. Sanitary pruning of weak and diseased shoots or shaping of perennials.
Ipomoea sweet potato in compositions will look advantageous only in well-lit areas at temperatures above +20℃. If the temperature outside is lower, then it is better to keep hanging plants in the house, greenhouse or on a closed balcony.

Watering morning glory sweet potatoes

For many busy gardeners, the perennial morning glory sweet potato is a godsend because of its drought-tolerant traits:

Ipomoea sweet potato does not like excessive soil moisture. When there is an excess of moisture, whitish blisters appear on the leaves of the plant, which go away on their own after the watering regime is normalized.
It is recommended to water the flower outside about 1-2 times a week in hot climates.
Indoor flowers are watered mainly through a tray.
There is no need to spray morning glory, but indoor specimens are wiped with a damp cloth once a season to remove dust.

Feeding morning glory sweet potatoes

Like other garden crops, morning glory sweet potatoes in the garden require regular feeding to stimulate growth and flowering:

An affordable and budget option for spring fertilizer is wood ash, a glass of which is diluted in 10 liters of warm water and watered over the plantings.
Varieties that are valued for their beautiful decorative leaves can be fertilized with ammonium nitrate in the summer and before winter, the preparation and application of which is carried out according to the instructions supplied by the fertilizer manufacturer.
During the flowering period, experts do not recommend fertilizing morning glory sweet potatoes with nitrogen-containing additives, which reduce the number of discarded buds.

Recommendations for planting

There are two ways to plant morning glory: seeds and seedlings.

Seeds

Morning glory seeds should be planted at the end of April. The most comfortable temperature for planting is from + 10 to + 15 degrees. The plant is heat-loving; sprouted stems will not survive at lower temperatures. By planting morning glory with seeds, you can bypass the seedling stage. A strengthened plant “grows up” very quickly.

First you need to loosen the soil to a depth of 10 centimeters. Before planting, it is recommended to soak the seeds for 24 hours in water at room temperature. Plant to a depth of 1 centimeter. A week after planting, you need to install a base in the soil for vertical growth.

For planting, seeds can be purchased at the store. In this case, problems with germination do not arise. If you collect seeds yourself, you need to know that only the seeds of the first flowers are capable of germination.

Morning glory seedlings

Seedling

Morning glory does not tolerate seedlings in pots very well. In order to preserve the plant, it is necessary to replant it along with a lump of soil. This will preserve the root system of young plants. For young shoots, installing support is also important. Lack of support will result in shoots intertwining with each other.

The shoots should be transplanted into a long tub at a distance of 30 centimeters from each other. It must be remembered that each plant requires 3 kilograms of soil to grow well. For seedlings, you need soil made from a mixture of peat, sand and earth. Regular garden soil cannot be used.

After 4-5 leaves appear, the plant needs to be “pinched out”. This procedure has a beneficial effect on denser growth and an increase in the number of flowers in the future. There is no need to prune the plant.

Morning glory grown from seeds

Each of these methods is excellent for the rapid growth and flowering of morning glory. But planting and replanting should be carried out only when the air temperature is uniform at +10 degrees. During temperature changes from +10 to +2, planting is not recommended. The seedlings must be moved indoors. The pots can be covered with film or glass jars.

In case of prolonged cloudy weather, seedlings will require additional lighting.

There are still some nuances when landing. They are especially relevant when planting in the garden. The planting method differs depending on the morning glory variety and the climate zone.

Small-flowered plants can be sown directly into the ground. These varieties manage to grow in the first season.
Large-flowered plants must first be planted in pots. These varieties grow more slowly and often do not germinate in the first season. This feature should be taken into account by residents of the northern regions and central Russia.

Reproduction

Morning glory propagates in several ways: by seeds, cuttings, layering and tubers. It all depends on the plant variety.

You need to collect the seeds during the wilting period of the flower. The flower fades in the fall, turning into a brown box. The slightly opened box needs to be cut off and the seeds poured out. For planting, use seeds only from flowers of the first bloom.

Care

For all its unpretentiousness, morning glory, like any garden plant, requires care:

Installation of support is required. A vertically stretched wire or rope will do. You can install a plastic or metal mesh.
Favorable places for planting are balconies facing east, south or west. These sides receive more sunlight. This will produce more flowers. Growing on the northern side, morning glory is practically devoid of flowers. Lack of light also affects foliage color. Frequent cloudy days or shade from other buildings lead to yellowing of the leaves.
Morning glory is adversely affected by wind. It is not recommended to plant the plant above the 3rd floor and on the leeward side.
Proper feeding has a beneficial effect on abundant growth. Fertilize should be once a week. Fertilizers with a lot of phosphorus work well. Nitrogen is harmful to morning glory and does not particularly affect growth. During the period of rapid flowering, it is necessary to fertilize with a phosphorus-potassium mixture.
Ipomoea should be watered with water at room temperature. The plant does not tolerate drought. But there is no need to overwater the plant. This leads to the plant becoming infected with fungus. The roots do not tolerate stagnant water. It is also often necessary to wipe and moisten the leaves in hot weather.
The main threat to morning glory is spider mites and aphids. These insects feed on the sap of vines. A simple inspection of the inner surface of the leaves will help to detect the parasite. It's worth checking the foliage more often. Removing mites and aphids from stems is much more difficult. It is necessary to combat spider mites with the help of chemical acaricides “Fitoverm” or “Aktellik”. Aphids are removed using insecticides. Plants need to be treated once every 2 weeks. These chemicals can be mixed as long as they are compatible.
Morning glory is thermophilic. With the onset of cold weather, if the plant has not grown much, the pot can be moved into the room. This will help extend the life of morning glory until January.
Caring for morning glory is not too difficult. Does not require pruning, weeding or constant fertilization. Having gained strength, it grows completely independently.

Morning glory - growing on a grid

Ipomoea sweet potato indoors

Unlike outdoor varieties grown as annuals, indoor sweet potato morning glory requires more careful care for about 5-7 years:

The culture is considered to have come from warm countries, and therefore loves sunshine and fresh air. In the summer months, it is better to place the flower pot in an open area: balcony, terrace, porch.
In winter, when the air in the room is very low, morning glory can shed all its leaves. Because of this, it is recommended to keep it in a warm room on a south or south-east window, where diffused sunlight is constantly present.
A strong draft in the room can harm the plant.
Water an indoor flower through a tray or using the usual method no more than once every 1-2 weeks, depending on the air temperature. Spraying is not carried out.

Brief overview of some types of morning glory

Most varieties are climbing herbaceous plants and vines and are used for decorative purposes. Some, such as water spinach - in the form of stems and sweet potato - in the form of tubers, can be eaten.

Morning glory Kvamoklit

Ipomoea quamoclit (cypress vine) is an annual crop with unusually shaped leaves, they are finely dissected and rich green in color. Numerous small flowers look like stars, their color varies from bright red to white. Due to its extraordinary appearance, Kvamoklit looks very impressive.

Depending on the variety, the length of the vine can reach 3–5 meters.

This is interesting: the flowers of morning glory Kvamoklit bloom at dawn, during the day, during the bright sun, they close, and in the evening they open again.

Ipomoea purpurea

Ipomoea purpurea is famous for its length. Under favorable conditions, it can grow up to 8 meters. Purpurea is one of the most common species. It is incredibly unpretentious and can easily settle in new natural conditions without human help.

Flowers are single or collected in inflorescences, large - up to 7 cm in diameter. The color ranges from pink to dark purple.

Ipomaea batatas (sweet potato) is a perennial crop, its main purpose is food, it is an edible plant. But recently, decorative forms have also begun to appear.

The main decoration is the leaves themselves; they have a range of colors: from light green to burgundy shades. The plant looks good in a hanging basket or trailing form.

Morning glory tricolor

Ipomoea tricolor has an interesting feature: a newly opened bud has a heavenly blue color, after flowering it is pink-purple. A variety with this color is called “celestial morning glory”. Ipomoea tricolor can come in other shades.

Tricolor leaves are usually heart-shaped and slightly wrinkled. Shoots grow up to 5 meters in length.

Morning glory Nile

Ipomoea nil is a large-flowered species, the flower diameter reaches 10–12 cm across. Color options: from pink to purple, with a light pink or white core.

Terry varieties of morning glory Nile are propagated only vegetatively - by cuttings, since the flowers are sterile.

Morning glory moonflowering

Ipomoea alba (Moonflower, White) is one of the most beautiful species of this plant, up to 3 meters long, with snow-white or white-pink flowers. They have an almond aroma.

This is interesting: the moonflowering morning glory blooms in the evening, and with the sunrise the flower withers. This is where the name comes from.

Reproduction of morning glory sweet potato

In order for morning glory sweet potatoes to grow on a plot or in a room, you can use one of two methods of propagating the plant:

The seed method is considered the most labor-intensive and time-consuming. It is often used only for breeding purposes to develop a new variety. However, many gardeners successfully use the seed propagation method. The planting material is first soaked for a day in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, pierced on one side and planted in light, loose soil consisting of turf soil, river sand and vermiculite in a ratio of 2:1:1. The seeds are laid out on moist soil and sprinkled with earth, covered with film. After 2 weeks, seedlings appear, which after another month can be planted in a permanent place.
Growing morning glory sweet potatoes is also possible using vegetative methods. In this case, both cuttings of old shoots and obtaining young shoots from tubers are used.

Cuttings of morning glory sweet potato

The simplest method is the propagation of morning glory sweet potatoes by cuttings:

Cuttings 10-15 cm long are separated from the mother plant using a clean, sterile pruner, with the obligatory presence of several leaf nodes.
Planting material is placed in a container with water in a warm and bright place. After about a week, the cuttings form developed roots.
Cuttings with sprouted roots are planted in prepared pots. When the seedlings become even more elongated, they are pruned again to stimulate branching.
Ready seedlings can be planted in open ground at the beginning of summer.

Reproduction of morning glory sweet potato tubers

Many gardeners wonder how to grow morning glory sweet potatoes from a tuber, considering the method complex and time-consuming. However, experienced breeders claim that the procedure consists of several simple steps:

After wintering, healthy and strong tubers are selected.
Each of them is placed in a light soil mixture, similar in composition to the seed propagation method, and sprinkled on top with a layer of earth of about 1-2 cm.
Young shoots that have hatched and become stronger are carefully cut off and placed in a container with a weak Kornevin solution.
When young roots form, the seedlings can be planted in pots or in a permanent place of growth in open ground if the weather is warm outside.

Harvesting and storing sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are harvested 14-16 weeks after planting the seedlings, around mid-September, before frost, in dry and sunny weather. By this time, the leaves and tops begin to turn yellow and wither. Sweet potatoes dug up in wet weather will not be stored, so they must be processed immediately, like damaged tubers. The tubers are dug up with a pitchfork and left on the surface of the bed to dry. Dig carefully, since the tubers can reach a length of 30 cm. Clean the dried tubers from the soil and sort them: send whole healthy fruits for storage, and damaged and questionable ones for processing.

Tubers intended for storage must be kept for a week at a temperature of 28-30 ºC with an air humidity of 85-90%, regularly ventilating the room. The fruits are then placed in shallow trays and stored at 10-15 ºC for several months.

If you want to freeze sweet potatoes, you should first cut them into slices and fry them until half cooked, then put them in bags or containers, seal them, and only then place them in the freezer.

You can store sweet potatoes in dried form: the tubers are washed, peeled and cut into thin slices or strips, like potatoes, then washed under running water, blanched for about 5 minutes in boiling water, cooled sharply in water, allowed to drain, after which the slices are laid out in one layer on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 80 ºC, stirring from time to time. Dried sweet potatoes are cooled naturally, and then poured into paper bags or bags for storage.

Sweet potatoes can be canned. It is cut into cubes, boiled in salted water with spices until half cooked, placed in sterile half-liter jars, poured with boiling water, ½ teaspoon of acetic acid is added to each jar, after which the jars are rolled up, wrapped, and after they have cooled, placed in storage.

Ipomoea sweet potato - diseases and pests

By its nature, the morning glory sweet potato flower has a very strong immune system, so it rarely gets sick or is attacked by pests. Infection from neighboring plants can only occur:

Root rot
. This is a dangerous disease that affects the root system and leads to the death of the plant. To combat it, damaged morning glory is dug up, the root system is washed and all diseased roots are cut off. Healthy residues must be treated with a solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture, or the drug “Cytoflavin”.

Spider mites
, passing from neighboring plants with less stable immunity. To combat such a pest, spraying with any available insecticide, for example, Actellik or Envidor, is used.

Sweet Potato Care

Both an experienced gardener and a beginner can grow sweet potatoes on their own plot. The most important thing is to remember that the planting or seed material must be of high quality, and the plants must be properly cared for and adhere to the agrotechnical rules of the given crop. Also, do not forget that this plant is distinguished by its heat-loving nature. There is nothing complicated in caring for sweet potatoes: if necessary, plantings should be protected from the cold, watered, weeded, fed in a timely manner, protected from harmful insects and diseases, and also loosened the surface of the bed.

When growing such a crop, you need to remember that its vines should under no circumstances take root in the internodes; therefore, each shoot must be systematically lifted so that the resulting roots break off. In order for the tubers to be larger, in the twentieth of August it is necessary to pinch the upper part of each lash.

How to water

This plant is drought-resistant and therefore does not need to be watered abundantly. However, in the first 4 weeks after transplanting seedlings into open soil, watering should be systematic and abundant, after which it should be reduced to moderate. From mid-summer, the garden bed is watered no more than once every 1.5 weeks, but if it rains systematically at this time, then natural precipitation will be enough for the bushes. When there are 15–20 days left before harvest, you need to stop watering the sweet potatoes.

Feeding sweet potatoes

During the formation and growth of tubers, sweet potato especially urgently needs feeding, for which potassium fertilizer is used. As a rule, this time falls in mid-August. An infusion of wood ash is excellent for feeding; to prepare it, you need to combine 1 bucket of water and 1-2 tbsp. wood ash, the infusion will be ready after 7 days, but do not forget to stir it periodically. To feed one bush, pour 1 liter of nutrient mixture under it.

Pests and diseases of sweet potato

Harmful insects

Sweet potatoes are characterized by fairly high resistance to various harmful insects and diseases that are common in mid-latitudes. However, it can be harmed by beetleworm larvae, and it has been noted that they, as a rule, damage the largest and most beautiful tubers. It is imperative to combat beetles and their larvae, and you can use various methods.

During prolonged rains, slugs can settle on bushes. In order to get rid of them, they use bait; to do this, place bowls filled with beer in several places on the site. They should be systematically checked and gastropods that have crawled towards the scent of the bait should be collected. You can also protect the bushes by digging a not very deep ditch around the bed, which must be filled with small screenings; it will become an insurmountable barrier for such a pest.

Spider mites can also settle on bushes; as a rule, this happens during a prolonged drought. To get rid of such a pest, plants are sprayed with an infusion of hogweed, onion peel, henbane, dope or chamomile.

Diseases

During the seedling period, bushes can be affected by blackleg. In affected plants, the stem rots at the root collar, and this leads to their death. For preventive purposes, it is necessary to use a disinfected substrate for sowing seeds; for this, it is spilled with a solution of Fitosporin-M, and in order to avoid its acidification, egg shells are added to it, which must first be ground into flour.

Harvesting sweet potatoes: diseases, pests and some results.

Why doesn't morning glory sweet potato bloom?

There are several reasons why the sweet potato vine does not bloom:

A non-flowering variety was selected. Modern selective varieties are notable only for their ornamental foliage.
Landed in an inappropriate place. The plant may be located in a draft or in deep shade, as a result of which it lacks warmth and sunlight.
The agricultural technology for growing the flower has been disrupted. For example, morning glory does not like excessive soil moisture, but it will survive short-term drought without losing its decorative properties.
The flower may be affected by root rot or spider mites, measures to combat which were written above.

Properties of sweet potato - harm and benefit

Useful properties of sweet potato

Despite the fact that sweet potatoes contain a large amount of starch and sugar, they have a relatively low calorie content. Sweet potato tubers contain proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, choline, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitamins A, C, PP. Sweet potato starch is widely used for medical purposes: it is used in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract as an enveloping, emollient, vitamin and tonic agent. The content of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) in tubers helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels, so sweet potato dishes are included in the diet of patients with cardiovascular diseases.

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Due to the increased content of ascorbic acid compared to other vegetables, sweet potato protects the body from the action of free radicals that cause cellular corrosion, which contributes to the development of cancer.

Thanks to the progesterone contained in the tubers, sweet potatoes are a valuable product for women during menopause. And since the plant has more delicate fiber than other vegetables, eating its tubers is recommended for people suffering from digestive disorders. Fried and boiled sweet potatoes taste like frozen and therefore sweet potatoes, but in terms of calcium and carbohydrate content they are several times higher than potatoes.

Sweet potato - contraindications

Sweet potato is not recommended for gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, as it causes irritation of the mucous membrane. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid eating sweet potatoes. Some people may have an individual intolerance to sweet potatoes.

Morning glory sweet potato in landscape design

Gardeners use morning glory in various forms of home and garden decoration:

The most popular method is hanging flowers. Compositions with morning glory sweet potatoes can consist of different varieties that differ in the shades of the leaf blades, or be combined with pelargonium, Coleus Blume, ampelous petunia, loosestrife and other crops.

In its homeland, morning glory is often used as a ground cover plant in rocky and mixed gardens and on alpine hills. It grows quickly in the area due to its ability to take root in internodes.

If desired, the gardener can easily lift the vine from the ground and tie it to a support. Braided arches, gazebos or canopies look impressive.

Ipomoea ampelous

Morning glory flowers are funnel-shaped, the buds open with sunrise, and bloom for one day. Some varieties have a pleasant aroma. Flowering is usually very abundant; gramophone flowers cover almost the entire plant. Some species are bred for their highly decorative foliage.

Ruby lights variety with feathery foliage and bright red flowers

Caring for morning glory is extremely easy - it is unpretentious, easily tolerates a lack of light, watering and soil fertility.

There are more than 500 species of morning glory in the world; about 25 species are grown in Russia.

As an element of landscape design, ampelous morning glory fits organically into various compositions when landscaping balconies, terraces and gazebos.

How to plant in open ground

already prepared seedlings in open ground . To do this, dig shallow holes, up to 15 centimeters. The distance between them is left at least 30 centimeters . The seedlings are buried so that the pair of lower internodes are in the ground.

In order for the seedlings to grow faster and better, you need to remove all the leaves, leaving only the top 1-2.

Planted plants are compacted in the ground, watered and covered with jars or plastic transparent containers until new leaves form.

Use in floriculture and cooking

Morning glory sweet potato is actively used in design

Tubers are used in cooking and contain many useful substances

Morning glory has been used in floriculture for quite some time now, but over the years it has already proven itself well among gardeners. Crops of different varieties are grouped in one area . Planted in flowerpots and hanging pots on terraces and gazebos. The flower goes well with Petunias, cereals and chlorophytums.

Vegetable varieties are widely used in cooking. They taste like potatoes . Tubers of the plant are dug up in the fall and stored in a cool place. They can be fried, boiled, and some varieties are consumed raw. In addition, the tubers can be preserved for the winter.

Thus, Ipomoea Sweet Potato is used not only as an ornamental plant, but also as an edible crop. They decorate houses, city flower beds and window sills.