There is a real upside to two new sweet potatoes making their debut in 2023. I mean that tongue and cheek as that is actually part of their name, but their application in the landscape looks to be amazing. So here is the skinny, so to speak: Sweet Caroline Upside Key Lime and Sweet Caroline Upside Black Coffee, two climbing sweet potatoes, will be hot commodities in 2023.
My first thought was, "Why do we need a climbing sweet potato when they run, cascade, tumble and drape with perfection?" Most of all, I asked, "What do we do with them?" So with that thought in mind I gave my trial plants to son James.
The new Sweet Caroline Upside sweet potatoes have scored really high in trials, as in 4.79 out of 5 at Penn State Flower Trials at the Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center. In Louisiana they were recognized as Blue Chip-winning plants at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station.
In the Penn State trials, the plants developed a shrublike look with their application, which was pleasant for sure. The LSU application, however, was zowie shazam, as they were allowed to climb what appears to be a steel or iron trellis. Proven Winners suggest a potential height of 72 inches, but it might reach higher in the South. In the photo it also shows the dual-purpose ability to let it both climb and run.
James planted his mixed together in a container with a copper-colored large tomato cage inverted to resemble a tower. James said he was surprised at the ability the sweet potatoes had to climb on their own without training. Neat freaks may want to simply move or push a running stem or shoot back into the center of the structure. As the plant outgrows its tower, a little snipping can certainly be done if needed.
Proven Winners has several designer recipes for each color. One of The Garden Guy’s favorites is called Morning Breeze. It features Sweet Caroline Upside Key Lime ornamental sweet potato on a small trellis as the thriller, with Truffula Pink gomphrena as a filler and Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Star petunia as a spiller. Toss in the expected butterflies and pollinators and this will be one special container.
Like all ornamental sweet potatoes, the Sweet Caroline Upside varieties like fertile, well-drained soil, and that's especially true in the landscape. This usually means incorporating 3 to 4 inches of organic matter into heavier clay soil. A container with potting soil will be like a dream come true.
Plant your Sweet Caroline Upside sweet potato transplants at the same depth they are growing in the container, spacing 18 to 24 inches apart. Use as tall of a climbing support structure as appropriate for your container or landscape application. Don’t forget about the possibilities with fences, gazebos, pergolas, towers and trellises. The potential is 6 feet and possibly more with a spread of 36 inches, maybe more if you wish.
These really are in the category of easy to grow and tough as nails. Even at that, plan on giving them water during hot, dry periods. The sweet potatoes grow back quickly if you need to trim to manage its look in mixed baskets and containers or if it has outgrown its allotted structure or space.
Next year looks to be really exciting with all the new plants. Using a climber like Sweet Caroline Upside Key Lime or Sweet Caroline Upside Black Coffee will give you a new, vertical dimension in the landscape.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
