Sweet potatoes are no longer just crops, but now adorn hanging baskets and balconies. The hanging plant is perfect for semi-shady and shady locations, is considered to be quite easy to care for and undemanding and provides with its careCountry house charmfor tension in the flower box. Anyone who likes things elegant and unusual will certainly be delighted with an arrangement with sweet potatoes. We explain how you can effectively showcase sweet potatoes in the flower box, what is important when it comes to care and which planting partners are suitable.
Sweet potato in the flower box: The crop comes from the tropics
Sweet potatoes, also known as Ipomoea batatas, come from Central America. The useful plant was brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadors in the Middle Ages. Nowadays it is popular for its vitamin-rich and delicious tubers and is still one of the most popular vegetables in parts of South America. In North America it is not only grown as a useful plant in the garden. It is also enjoying increasing popularity as an ornamental plant and looks particularly good in the flower box on the outside windowsill or on the balcony. For hobby gardeners with a small balcony garden, the cultivated variety “Marguerite” is particularly suitable. It impresses with bright green foliage and gives the flower box structure. Their shoots reach a maximum height of 60 cm. In any case, they do not grow upright, but protrude over the edge of the flower box. The Marguerite variety is therefore not only suitable for...Planting flower boxes, but also from traffic lights. In the flower box it is not a soloist, but rather a team player and can be combined with other foliage perennials as well as with summer flowers.
The cultivated foliage plant is an annual and not hardy. It thrives best in loose, evenly moist and nutrient-rich soil. A deviant orsemi-shady locationoffers the best conditions for rapid growth. Wind, rain and frost can damage the sensitive exotic plants, so the plant should be protected from them. It therefore thrives best on an east-facing covered balcony. However, the sweet potatoes cannot tolerate waterlogging, and if the flower box is in the shade, there is a risk of rot forming. A layer of gravel or expanded clay at the bottom of the flower box can prevent rot from forming. Since the sweet potatoes are very sensitive to cold, you can put them on the balcony or windowsill from the end of May, where they can stay all summer long.
The planting season begins at the beginning of May and ends at the end of May. Then the tubers are placed in the ground. The foliage plant is planted in a similar way to potatoes. The individual plants are placed in the soil at a distance of at least 20 cm from each other. However, only 2 tubers fit in an 80 cm long flower box. The sweet potatoes prefer substrate for potatoes, but also feel comfortable in potting soil.
As far as care is concerned, the ornamental plant is fairly uncomplicated. The biggest challenge facing the hobby gardener is watering. On the one hand, the soil should never dry out completely in the summer months, but on the other hand, waterlogging can damage the hanging plant. Fertilizer is usually only given when planting; in June, July and August the sweet potato can also do without fertilizer.
The tubers are harvested at the end of summer. They are edible and are considered a delicious alternative to potatoes, but only if the soil and the plants in the flower box are not treated with harmful protective agents. It is also important that sweet potatoes are not combined with poisonous plants in a balcony box.
Since the plant is an annual,she doesn't overwinter. This should be carefully planned when planting, especially when combined with perennial flowers and ground cover plants. In this case, it is worth planning a greater distance from the other plants so that they do not root with the sweet potatoes. Then harvesting the tubers in the fall will prove to be a difficult task.
Sweet potato in the flower box: flowers with geraniums
Beginning of Maythe gardening season is overreally get started, because from then on the flower boxes can be planted. The window sill and the balcony railing can hardly wait for the beginning of summer. Even if the location is in the shade, a display of flowers can grow there. Of course, sweet potatoes make an effective partner.
- Pink geraniums
- Verbena
- sweet potato
- ivy
In the first great plant combination, the pink geraniums clearly play the main role. The upright flowers look best in the middle and the trailing plants like sweet potatoes at the edge. The purple flowers of verbena add to the charming summer composition.
Our tip:A drainage layer made of expanded clay at the bottom of the flower box offers good drainage for excess rainwater, which both the sweet potatoes and geraniums tolerate poorly.
Romantic planting partners for shady locations: sweet potato and lucky clover
The next flower box impresses with an unusual but very effective composition. Here the sweet potatoes of the “Bright Ideas Lime” variety are perfectly showcased with the delicate yellow flowers of the “Zinfandel” lucky clover variety. The ground cover and the hanging plant form a very natural-looking duo that is extremely easy to care for.
- Sweet potato variety “Bright Ideas Lime”
- Lucky clover variety “Zinfandel”
Summer flowers and foliage plants for the balcony: indoor calla lilies and sweet potatoes in the flower box
Like the sweet potato, the yellow calla lily is also native to Central America. The beautiful exotic provides visual charm in the flower box. The white hydrangeas give the arrangement a touch of romance. The ensemble feels sunny andsemi-shaded locationsextremely comfortable.
Our tip:For this plant combination you need a flower box that is at least 100 cm long. Leave a minimum distance of 20 cm between plants.
- Yellow indoor calla lily
- Hydrangeas
- sweet potato
Ornamental foliage plants for shady locations: commonweed, begonias and sweet potatoes form a charming ensemble in the flower box
In the next flower box, ornamental foliage perennials such as commonweed, red sage, sweet potatoes and begonias easily join the violet tree, which spices up the tone-on-tone mix with its delicate violet flowers. The lush plant combination is well suited to the north-facing windowsill. Most varieties can survive with little sun in the summer months.
- Buntwurz, still known as Kaladie, the variety “Red Flash”
- Begonias
- sweet potato
- Red sage
- Pigeonberry
- Veilchenbaum
Sweet potato in the flower box: colorful combination for the summer
The begonias in the trendy color coral make their big appearance in this flower box. The sweet potatoes, lemon cypresses and white petunias fade discreetly into the background, leaving the stage free for the gorgeous divas.
- Lemon cypress
- sweet potato
- Begonias in coral color
- White petunias
Sweet potato in the balcony box in partial shade
The white petunias and purple angel face along with the bright green leaves of the sweet potatoes add sparkle to even shady corners. With their compact growth, the lantana fills corners and empty spaces in the flower box and delights with light yellow flowers from mid-summer onwards.
- White petunias
- Purple angel face
- Violette Lobelie
- Light yellow lantana
Exotic plants on the balcony and windowsill: sweet potato, snowflake and angelonia
What do the snowflake flower, sweet potato and angelonia have in common? They are all subtropical plants, with the sweet potato and angelonia coming from Central America and the snowflake from Africa. However, the exotics feel comfortable in the local flower box in the summer months. The purple fan flower, which comes from the subtropical areas of the continent of Australia, goes perfectly with this.
- White snowflake flower
- Purple fan flower
- Dark blue angelonias
- petunias
More snowflake flower arrangement ideascan be found here.
Edible crops as an eye-catcher in the flower box
Edible crops create an aha effect in the next flower box. As a colorful contrast to the kale, sweet potato and dwarf pepper, there are purple chrysanthemums and yellow coneflowers. The purple plume blooms upwards and gives structure to the edge of the flower box. It is the perfect ensemble for partially shaded locations.
- Kale
- sweet potato
- Chrysanthemums
- Dwarf pepper
- Plume
- Coneflower
Not just a vegetable - the sweet potato is now also moving to the balcony and terrace. The hanging plant is now available in several varieties; the “Marguerite” variety impresses with its bright green leaf color and particularly magnificent growth. The annual hanging plant is planted at the beginning of spring and the tubers are harvested at the end of summer. An important prerequisite for its rapid growth is the right location - it should be in the shade. The decorative foliage plant, which comes from Central America, feels at home alongside other exotic plants as well as with local divas.
