5 Best Decorative Leafy Ampels For Landscaping Balconies And Terraces. Conditions, Care, Photo - Page 4 Of 5

4. Decorative sweet potato (morning glory sweet potato)

Today, decorative yam, or Ipomoea batatas, is becoming perhaps the most demanded plant for container compositions in urban landscaping, balconies and terraces. In warm and sunny weather, morning glory sweet potato grows very quickly, and in just one month a small stalk can form a dense cascade of brightly carved leaves.

The color of the foliage of the sweet potato morning glory can be purple, almost black, red or golden. The shape of the leaf blade varies from whole heart-shaped to rugged lobed.

In most varieties of morning glory sweet potatoes, the branches tend to grow horizontally from the beginning, springy and juicy, so that they can easily fall down and hang over the edges of the hanging baskets. However, some varieties have a spherical shape of the bush ("Blackie"), and some varieties can behave like bindweed ("Sweethard ed").

Since the plant practically does not give seeds in a short summer, the plant practically does not produce seeds, the morning glory yam reproduces exclusively by cuttings, which very easily root in water or moist soil.

Conditions and care

By its nature, decorative sweet potato, like vegetable, is a tuberous perennial. With good enough nutrition, the bushes can form small tubers that can be dug up before frost and kept at room temperature until spring.

In February-March, the nodules will interfere with the germination window, and cut off the emerging shoots for cuttings. Small specimens can be kept as indoor plants with sufficient light and humidity.

The main conditions for the successful cultivation of sweet potato morning glory are a sufficient amount of sunlight and heat, as well as timely feeding. The plant needs potassium most of all.

It is possible to take the plant out into the air only after stable heat has been established, since sweet potatoes are extremely thermophilic, and can suffer even at temperatures close to zero degrees.

Decorative sweet potato in design

Morning glory sweet potato is a very self-sufficient plant, it can be planted in hanging baskets as a soloist. But most often it is placed along the edge of the container, along with bright annual flowers.

The ideal companions of sweet potato morning glory are petunias. As a contrast to dark-colored varieties with purple foliage, petunias with yellow, white or light pink flowers are suitable. For morning glory, sweet potatoes with golden leaves are ideal for purple or purple annuals.

For a continuation of the list of the best decorative leafy ampelous plants for landscaping balconies and terraces, see the next page

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