Sweet Potato Vine 'Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime' is a tropical tender perennial native to the Americas, cultivated for over 2,000 years for its edible tubers and ornamental foliage. This low-maintenance ground cover grows 6-15 inches tall and spreads 18-36 inches wide, thriving in zones 10-11 (or zone 9 in milder microclimates). Grow it as an annual in cooler regions, digging and storing tubers before the first frost, or maintain it year-round in warm climates where it will produce vibrant lime-colored foliage in full sun.
Partial Sun
Moderate
10-11
15in H x 36in W
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Moderate
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Lime-hued foliage that intensifies in direct sunlight creates a striking visual accent in beds and containers. Unlike seed-grown varieties, this tuberous plant is started from purchased spring transplants, eliminating germination variables and establishing vigorous ground cover quickly. The dual nature of sweet potato vine makes it equally at home as a vegetable crop yielding edible tubers and as ornamental trailing foliage, giving gardeners flexibility in how they use the same plant.
Sweet potato vine is grown primarily for its starchy, orange-fleshed tubers, which are roasted, mashed, baked whole, or incorporated into savory and sweet dishes across many cuisines. The decorative lime-colored foliage also serves as ornamental trailing cover in landscape beds and containers, where it provides season-long visual interest. The vines themselves can be harvested as leafy greens in some culinary traditions, adding another dimension to the plant's utility.
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Purchase pre-grown plants in spring and set them out after the last frost date when soil has warmed. Plant in well-drained, average soil. Space plants 18-36 inches apart to allow room for their mature spread.
Harvest tubers in fall before the first frost. Carefully dig around plants to unearth the tuberous roots, taking care not to damage them. Allow freshly dug tubers to dry thoroughly before storage.
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“Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) originated in tropical America and was reportedly brought back to Europe by Columbus following his voyages to the New World. Over two millennia of cultivation in the Americas transformed it from a wild plant into a reliable food crop, and its introduction to European trade routes eventually spread it across the globe. Today it stands as a major root vegetable grown in vegetable gardens and commercial food production worldwide, a testament to how a single New World crop reshaped global agriculture and cuisine.”