They will probably go bananas and take over. I would put them in some sort of planter or hanging basket where you can keep an eye on them.

Thanks. I put four in pots, four still need to be planted. I'm thinking that maybe I will put them in nursery pots and sink them in the ground, because a) I only have a couple more "real" large pots, b) they really need to be taken out of the small pots they are in, and c) doing so will allow me to keep an eye on them and then, later, more easily move them if I want to.

I have some of the purple in the ground... they start out polite, so if you're diligent... and if you carry your coffee around your garden at least every other day, you can pick and pinch as needed... MY problem then is that I want to root every pinched piece!

The chartreuse, for me, aren't nearly as ready to take off on their own. I like when they look like they're "about to" get loose... which is how mine always look.

Your conditions are very different from mine, but down here, no one would grow them in the ground. Professional landscapers make sure they're encased in concrete because there is no controlling them otherwise. Even in concrete, if they're at ground level, they will escape. Maybe having an occasional freeze helps you up there. I wouldn't have them down here.

I agree with Shear, the purple responds to trimming and it makes a great ground cover. It is easy to propagate and you will have plenty to share, dies back in the winter in my zone. In the ground they are planted by Giant Apostles Iris, so really can't overcome them. I have some in pots, too.

I grow the boniato sweet potatoe in the ground for food, not for ornamental purposes. They are growing in hills and love the heat. And yes, they can go a loooong way but are easily weedwacked, when weedwacking all the other crazies in the yard....Just like they grow the boniato down in homestead, in the ground, for food....:-) I did put one in a 10 gallon pot for trial and it was nice n easy to harvest, got about the same amount as in the ground for the size pot equal to ground.

I have both chartreuse & purple varieties growing in the ground; chartreuse is much more rampant & makes a pretty groundcover, & is easily trimmed back & does not overtake taller plants in the bed. Careful tho, if you throw the trimmings on the compost pile, they will root. I lay them in the sun to die before composting.

It also died back during winter.

Both the purple and chartreuse are good ground covers in 8b/9a. Chartreuse is more vigorous. They die back every winter. Usually they come back in spring, but in unusually cold years they may die completely. They do not take over the way they do in S. Florida.

I didn't realize it until mine had overwintered, but they bloom in spring. Just a few blooms here and there, which look like small purple morning glories. The purple blooms a lot more for me than the chartreuse does. The blooms aren't worth planting them for, but they are a nice little bonus for a few weeks in late spring.

Whether they will choke out what you have in the bed already depends on what's planted there. If your other plants hold their foliage above the sweet potatoes and have reasonably strong root systems, no problem. But they would definitely overrun 12" or smaller plants. It's not so much that the roots would choke them out as they would just grow right over them and shade them out.

By the way, although the purple is happier in partial shade, it will tolerate full sun IF given regular water. (Caveat: this may not be true in S. Florida.) Chartreuse will tolerate partial shade, but may be less vigorous than if grown in full sun. So you can plant them together for the color contrast, in either full sun or partial shade - they are lovely paired up.

I've got 5 or 6 varieties of O.S.P.V. A few tips:

1. Whether you pot them or not, the vines are all effectively runners. Any stem can set roots, and after a year, you could potentially pull up 4 or 5 potatoes.

2. When trimming back a S.P.V., try to always trim back to the same spot. If you don't, you're simply multiplying the number of offshoots

3. Most of the vines won't trouble plants, but some will wander up a low lying branch or stem. Usually not enough to drown out a plant, but keep an eye out and try to toss 'em back to the ground.

4. I've found it's a good idea to cut the vine back 3-4 times a year, even back near the base of the plant. Vines can get a bit leggy with a lot of spacing between leaves. You'll often not notice because the winding vines overlap each other.

5. Sun or shade, most of these vines adapt well to any condition, but they will suffer a bit in direct sun without a fertile and moist soil.

Mike

Thanks, everyone for the feedback.

I've been out this morning (it was almost cool today!) and dug out some more area of my new "front yard spot" - but ended up putting a few other plants in it.

I have several things that need to be planted, because I'm effectively out of large pots, save one. I'm just not sure where to put them. Three of the sweet potato vines and two four o'clocks are probably the most pressing.

Gack, I need three or four more of me, so I can get everything done I need to do. One of me just is not fast enough.

I have two more to pot, and I think I'm just going to stick them into 2-gal nursery pots for right now.

I took one down to my husband's shooting range, which was recently enlarged, and planted it in a bare spot. I'll keep an eye on it, and see if it can hold its own against the weeds that are sprouting. If it can't, well - at least it's out of its tiny pot for now, and I'll worry about digging it later. It it can, it will contrast nicely with the vines we currently have. And at least it's sort of native (to Tropical America, I read on a few sites), and it does not matter if it runs rampant down there.