You’re considering planting a potato vine (Solanum crispum)…GREAT! Potato vines are fairly simple to care for and make excellent additions to your garden. You’ll really appreciate the quick growth and beautiful flowers.
Or perhaps you already have a vine growing. Either way, here are 7 tips you must know if you plan to have potato vine in your garden space:
- During the plant’s first season, water regularly to allow water to penetrate deep and allow for a deep root system to develop. Afterward, you can get away with watering less frequently but make sure to let the water penetrate deeply.
- Make sure your plant gets plenty of sun, at least 6 hours of direct sun per day. The plant may need the shelter of a west or south-facing wall in cooler climates.
- Watch out for pests! The most common potato vine pests are aphids, thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies. Control the aphids with a natural household concoction of water, white mineral oil, and dish soap.
- Use a good organic fertilizer to provide necessary nutrients the soil might be lacking. I like Alaska Fish Fertilizer
that you can buy at a big box store, but there are many to choose from.
- Fungus can be an issue in more humid climates; you might see powdery mildew or blight. Organic fungicide works well to combat these problems.
- Use a trellis to support the fresh growth, or consider an arbor.
- Prune annually to control its shape and promote next year’s growth, but not to the ground like some other vines.
Best of luck! Anything I missed? Let me know.
i just got a Potatoe Vine given to me . I know nothing about planting or caring for them. Can u please help me & give me your advice to make this a nice plant . It is pretty big and need some advice on how to plant & care for it. All your help would be appreciated. Thank you! April
On my potato vine most of the leaves are slowly turning brown, Shriveling up and dying and turning brown all together! What in the world is the problem, can you shead any light on what I should do??
I keep it pretty moist, I started both my purple and green potato plants by rooting in a jar of water, then I planted them. They both took off and were doing great! Now this is happening, would it have something to do with out chlorine water?
Hey Kerri,
Sorry to hear about your potato vine…it’s a potato vine, right? or is it a sweet potato vine? Sounds like a sweet potato since you’ve started them from tubers, and it’s possible that if they’re shriveling up and getting crunchy that they did have some water issue at some point, though if you keep it moist that’s the right thing to do! Where is it planted? There are really so many variables, but so long as you allow the plant a moderate amount of sunlight and moderate water, it’s a pretty easy-going plant. Did you ever give it any plant food?
It sounds like ours have had the same issue as Kerri’s. They went from being full and colorful (chartreuse) to being all brown. They basically appear dead. Not knowing anything about them, I presumed they were just going down for the winter – could that be it? Not sure if they’re potato or sweet potato. We live in Houston. Thanks, M
I should add it gets full sun. Thanks, M