The Potato Vine

~ By Betty G. ~

Since I live in California, a dear friend gave me a wonderful book entitled Tough Plants for California Gardens Low Care, No Care, Tried and True Winners by Felder Rushing.

Needless to say, the book is a real "winner" with me as although I live in a warm climate, we do have not only our droughts, but really hot, dry temps in the summer. In the book I found some vines that peaked my interest and one of them happens to be the potato vine described below.

The Potato Vine or Solanum jasminoides grows well both sun and light shade, however the amount of sunshine definitely does have an effect on the amount of flowers it will produce. As its name suggests, it is a relative of the potato as well as the eggplant and is really so easy to grow. It is extremely fast-growing and provides your garden with tons of non-stop blossoms in the spring but wil continue to bloom late into the fall.

The flowers themselves are white and are shaped like little stars with yellow centers. They are about an inch in length and form loose, hanging clusters. It is a very handsome evergreen with leaves that are about 3" in length. Each leaf has just a tinge of purple which adds even more color and depth to its already showy blossoms.

The Potato Vine would make a real statement running along a fence or a trellis, better yet, twinning around an arbor where it would provide glorious shade. I will give you one word of caution though.

Because it does grow so quickly and profusely, the vine does require heavy pruning from time to time. Overall, the Potato Vine is a great choice for anyone who loves an easy care, long flowering vine. You can purchase vines locally, in catalogues or on line from Spring Hill Nursery and I am sure many other reputable nurseries.

         

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