Potato Vine Care
Potato Vine, botanically known as Solanum jasminoides or Solanum laxum, is a fast-growing and easy to care for an evergreen vine. If the clusters of white flowers look familiar that’s because this plant is in the Nightshade family alongside potatoes and tomatoes.
Here in Santa Barbara it flowers all year long with the heaviest bloom being in the Spring – it gets covered in white. It grows very densely and the new growth tendrils out like the snakes on Medusa’s head – crazy wild!
I have one of these vines growing on my side fence which I keep pruned to a very small scale. It looks very different than my neighbor’s. In my years as a professional gardener I maintained quite a few of these. Here’s are a few other things you need to know about this plant if you have one or plan to buy one:
*This vine grows to 25′.
* It needs full or part sun.
*Water it regularly when establishing. After that, it’s fairly drought tolerant.
* The best time to give it a major prune is after the major bloom (late Spring). Here it can be nipped all year long because we rarely get a freeze.
*Pay attention to how big it gets & how fast it grows. It is best planted on a tall,long fence or large arbor. My neighbor planted 4 plants on a low, short expanse of fence which is major overkill. I know we all want instant gratification but those 1 gallon plants grow like beanstalks!
* It can take a range of environmental conditions but does need a means of support and needs training.
* It’s not fussy as to fertilizer. Amend with a good organic compost when planting and then apply more once a year. As with most plants, it likes good drainage.
* It’s hardy to 20-25 degrees.
This is a dense growing plant. Some of that new growth grows back on the old growth. That’s why a few prunes a year are recommended to keep it from becoming the man eating vine it wants to be.
The Potato Vine foliage is very fresh in appearance and the plant has an overall lacy feel. So you can see this is not a small scale vine but it is a very popular landscape plant because of its almost non-top profusion of white starry flower clusters and easy care. Relatively easy care that is – all I can say is that if you get this plant, then you’d better like pruning!
Here I am up close & personal with my neighbor’s Potato Vine:
Do you like vines? Here are some links to some other beautiful vine options:
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Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.
Are white potato vine leaves good to eat like sweet potato vine leaves are?
Hi Paul – Sweet potato leaves are supposedly very tasty but I’ve never tried. The leaves of the Solanum jasminoides (white pot vine) are considered to be toxic so the answer is no. Nell
Hi Nell,
I am in Honolulu and trying to grow potato vines (Solanum laxum), but am not getting the results I had planned on. I am from the San Francisco bay area where we always had plenty of nicely growing potato vines.My current vines are growing nicely – although only one of my two plants flowers occasionally. The plant in the full sun/rain has not made any flowers (the plants are several months old). Also, one of the plants leaves have a slight blueish cast. Are my plants being over/underwatered? Are their containers too small? Thanks for any info – Leah
Hi Leah – To the best of my knowledge, Potato Vine grows like crazy in Hawaii to the point where it can become a “weed”. I lived in SF for 19 years so I’m very familiar with it there. I’ve never heard of a bluish cast to the leaves but it could be too much water (I’m not 100% sure though). They are relatively drought tolerant & need good drainage & also need quite a bit of room for the roots to grow because of that vigorous growth habit. Nell
My potato vine is 4 feet tall and I have it in raised bed but want to move it to a put to put on deck for privacy, what size put and is September a good time.
I mean what size pot,
Hi Melissa – Plants like to rest in winter. It’s best to do any transplanting at least 4 weeks before the 1st frost so they plant can settle in before the cold hits. If you’re someplace temperate like the central/southern CA coast, right up through mid-Dec is fine. Yes, Sept would be a good time. Put it in at least a 14″ pot, even bigger if you’d like because these plants grow fast. Nell
Hi / just a quick question regarding the potato vine – I see that good drainage is important but I was wondering if you think it would do ok in a self watering pot ? It certainly won’t be sitting in water all the time but as it gets very hot here I thought it might be ok – what do you think ?
Hi Dianne – I’ve never grown 1 in a self watering pot, but think a potato vine would do just fine. The pots have a reservoir at the bottom (separated by a screen or something similar) so the water is held down below & the roots can’t get saturated. Hope that helps! Nell
Here in Healdsburg our mature potato vines have intense and very ugly die-back. We have had our gardener shir them back but the result is extremely unsightly. We are waiting for Spring 2017 to see if a full blossom of both sides and the top occurs. If not, what should we do? If there is not a full blossom throughout, we are on the verge of pulling them out and replacing with something else. Comments and suggestions? Thanks.