Sweet Caroline Raven Improved Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas 'Sweet Caroline Raven Improved')
eye-poe-MEE-ah bah-TAH-tass 'Sweet Caroline Raven Improved'

Ipomoea batatas, sweet potato vine, is a tender tropical perennial in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), grown here as a fast, vigorous foliage plant for containers, hanging baskets, and garden beds. The same species produces the edible culinary sweet potato, though the ornamental selections sold here are bred for colorful leaves rather than for eating. Trailing or mounding stems carry heart-shaped to deeply lobed leaves in shades ranging from near-black purple to chartreuse and variegated, depending on cultivar. Given full sun to part sun, it grows quickly; left unconstrained in warm climates the species can spread 8 feet or more in a season, though most garden cultivars sold here stay considerably more compact. It occasionally produces funnel-shaped, white-to-lavender morning-glory-type flowers, but blooms sparsely, especially this far north, and is grown almost entirely for its foliage. Not winter hardy in the Chicago area; it is killed by the first hard frost and is replanted annually.

Pros

  • Fast, vigorous trailing foliage fills containers and beds in a single season
  • Wide range of leaf colors across cultivars, from near-black purple to bright chartreuse
  • Non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, unlike many true morning glories
  • Easy-care and heat-tolerant

Cons

  • Not frost-hardy; killed by the first hard frost and must be replanted each year here
  • Can spread aggressively and root wherever stems touch soil if left unchecked
  • Flowers rarely in cultivation; grown almost entirely for foliage
 

Plant Data

Foliage Color

Photos of This with...

Sweet Caroline Raven Improved Sweet Potato, Superbells Grape Punch Calibrachoa, ColorBlaze Chocolate Drop Coleus, Supertunia Latte Petunia, Miss Lilac Superbells Million Bells, Superbells Yellow Calibrachoa, Diamond Frost Spurge, White Licorice, Supertunia Black Cherry, Lemon Coral Stonecrop, Superbells Pomegranate Punch Calibrachoa, Rockapulco Coral Reef Impatiens, Rockapulco Rose Impatiens, Luscious Berry Blend Lantana, Supertunia Royal Magenta Petunia, ColorBlaze Dipt in Wine Coleus, ColorBlaze Strawberry Drop Coleus, Colorblaze Sedona Sunset Coleus, Angelface Blue Improved Summer Snapdragon, Angelface Blue Summer Snapdragon, Angelface Super Blue Summer Snapdragon, Asparagus Fern, Proven Accents Pegasus Begonia, Heart To Heart XPlosion Elephant Ear, Heart to Heart Raspberry Moon Elephant Ear, Superbells Cherry Star Calibrachoa, Superbells Coralberry Punch Calibrachoa, Superbells Double Orchid Calibrachoa, Superbells Evening Star Calibrachoa, Superbells Holy Moly Calibrachoa, Superbells Lemon Slice Calibrachoa, Superbells Morning Star Calibrachoa, Superbells Pink Calibrachoa, Superbells Plum Calibrachoa, Superbells Red Calibrachoa, Superbells Saffron Calibrachoa, Superbells Yellow Chiffon Calibrachoa, Superbells Yellow Improved Million Bells, Toffee Twist Bronze Curly Sedge, Pequena Rosalita Spider Flower, Senorita Rosalita Spider Flower, Fairy Dust Pink Cuphea, Graceful Grasses Baby Tut Umbrella Grass, King Tut Papyrus, Prince Tut Papyrus, Karalee Petite Pink Gaura, Stratosphere White Gaura, Proven Accents Petite Licorice, Tuscan Sun Ox-Eye Daisy, Shadowland Empress Wu Hosta, Hippo Pink Polka Dot Plant, Hippo Red Polka Dot Plant, Hippo Rose Polka Dot Plant, Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight Sweet Potato, Sweet Caroline Kiwi Sweet Potato Vine, Sweet Caroline Medusa Green Sweet Potato, Sweet Caroline Red Hawk Sweet Potato Vine, Blue Mohawk Rush, Pyromania Hot and Cold Red Hot Poker, Luscious Citrus Blend Lantana, Laguna Ultraviolet Lobelia, Jazz Hands Night Moves Chinese Fringe Flower, Goldilocks Creeping Jenny, Blood Orange Nemesia, Sunsatia Cranberry Red Nemesia, Sunsatia Lemon Nemesia, Emerald Vase Sword Fern, Fireworks Variegated Red Fountain Grass, Graceful Grasses Purple Fountain Grass, Supertunia Bermuda Beach Petunia, Supertunia Bordeaux Petunia, Honey Supertunia, Limoncello Supertunia, Supertunia Lovie Dovie Petunia, Supertunia Mini Vista Hot Pink Petunia, Supertunia Mini Vista White Petunia, Supertunia Really Red Petunia, Supertunia Royal Velvet Petunia, Supertunia Trailing Blue Veined Petunia, Rockin' Fuchsia Salvia, Unplugged Pink Mealycup Sage, ColorBlaze Lime Time Coleus, ColorBlaze Rediculous Coleus, ColorBlaze Torchlight Coleus, ColorBlaze Velveteen Coleus, ColorBlaze Wicked Witch Coleus, Colorblaze Golden Dreams Coleus, Coconut A-Peel Black-Eyed Susan Vine, Tangerine Slice A-Peel Black-Eyed Susan Vine, Summer Wave Large Blue Torenia, Superbena Cherryburst Verbena, Superbena Royale Chambray Verbena, Superbena Royale Romance, Superbena Violet Ice Verbena, Meteor Shower Verbena, Cake Pops Pink Tuberous Verbena,
 
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Pricing and Availability History

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!