How to Plant Margarita Sweet Potato Vines
“Margarita” or “Marguerite” sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas “Marguerite”) makes a vigorous spreading ground cover or drapes a wall or fence. This this frost-tender version of the sweet potato is a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 11, and grown as an annual elsewhere. The plant grows 6 to 12 inches tall and spreads 12 to 36 inches wide. It grows in full sun or part shade and can take a hot summer. The leaves are a bright chartreuse color and slightly lighter in full sun and darker in part shade. When expanding this vine as an annual, plant in the spring out of starts.
Remove weeds, weed grass and roots in the region where you will plant the “Margarita” sweet potato vine plants.
Spread a 3-inch layer of compost over the soil. Dig the compost to the top 8 inches of the soil.
Dig a hole at the prepared garden bed at exactly the same depth as the nursery pot. Make the hole half again as wide as the width of the bud.
Space “Margarita” sweet potato vines two feet apart to create a dense ground cover.
Remove the “Margarita” sweet potato vine starts in the nursery pot. Hold the plant on its side and gently wiggle the root ball free. Handle the beginning by the root ball to prevent damaging the delicate stem.
Place the start erect from the planting hole with the base of the stem level with the soil line. Backfill the hole with soil and tap it down gently with the flat of the hand.
Water the newly planted “Margarita” sweet potato vines until the soil is moist at least as deep as the bottom of the planting hole.
Check the soil for moisture by pushing your fingers into the soil at the base of this plant. Water once the soil feels dry to the touch.