Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Jet Black Sweet Potato Vine As Groundcover - May 2025

I've posted a number of times about groundcover and how I've evolved as a gardener when it comes to planting groundcover.  It was (for me) an afterthought.  (Unfortunately...the same could be said about conifers, but I've begun to change that fact).  

The first groundcover that I 'got to know' and planted was Ajuga 'chocolate chip'.  I've planted it in a number of spots and will continue to add it when I can find it.  Over the years, I've added some sedums (Angelina, a variegated variety and something that I've grown to love: John Creech Sedum.  

But, I've also begun to get smarter about using annuals as bedding plants over the years.  And, thanks to some of the garden tours I've watched on YouTube has lead me to think about annuals as groundcover.  I've done *some* of that with Coleus.  And... #6 on my 2025 to-do list was to use more coleus as a bedding plant.  And, #16 on my list was to 'keep going on groundcover'. 

One of the gardens I've come across on YouTube used sweet potato vine as a bedding plant.  That was an eye-opener for me.  Why?  Because...I've certainly used Sweet Potato vine before, but it was ALWAYS as a container plant.  It is the classic "spill" in the fill/thrill/spill trio of good container design.

But, what about planting it as a bedding plant?  

And, what if we used the dark foliage varieties?  

I found this Sweet Caroline Sweetheart 'Jet Black' ipomoea batatas vine at the orange Big Box store for $4.  They're sold as "accent plants" from Proven Winners.  "Accent" for containers, normally.

For years, we all have seen purple sweet potato vines.  But, this one is called "jet black" and is a deeper purple-black color.  Here's what Garden Crossings say:

The deep purple-black heart-shaped leaves are a stunning companion to SUPERTUNIAS® and SUPERBELLS®. With heights of 8-12 inches tall and trailing/spreading up to 36 inches long, Sweet Caroline Sweetheart JET BLACK™ can be used in hanging baskets, containers, and in ground plantings. With its excellent heat tolerance and vigor, Sweet Caroline Sweetheart JET BLACK™ is an easy-to-grow annual for foliage interest.

Heat tolerance.  And 36" long.  

Dark foliage, heat tolerant groundcover.  I could use this in five spots in the front yard - where I get most of the sun.   With the new island bed being expanded, there's A LOT of space that needs to be planted.  So...why not use eight bucks of plants to fill in a couple of spots.  That's what I did - planted a pair on either side of the back of the bed, sort-of straddling the new Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea and the Skylands Spruce.  See below for the pair of Jet Black Sweet Potato vines as bedding groundcover:

Have I planted these too far apart?  Probably.  But....I'll water these in and see how well they spread.  I'm thinking that I can use this same idea in more places.  Maybe I can watch if they go on sale and buy a bunch.  The first few places that I'm thinking are:  back by the new pizza oven bed - which has so much space to fill.   And...I also think I can add some of the green ones to this island bed, too.  

Proven Winners has some photos up showing how you can mix Coleus, sweet potato vine and a red/dark pink super bell/tunia (or some other trailing flowering annual) in a pattern/recipe.  See below for their photo:  

Source - via Proven Winners.  (Not my photo)

In my early 'exploration' posts about the Island Bed and extending it/filling it this year, I looked at some 'mass planting' ideas including using a drift of Autumn Moor Grasses, some sun-loving coleus, a drift of Stachys Hummelo and in front...some groundcover.  

Knowing that the bed calls for 16-20 grasses, 8-10 stachys and a couple dozen plugs of groundcover, that means the cost for the bed is high.   One way to approach this is to focus on adding just SOME of the perennials/grasses. And, fill the rest in with some bedding plants like these Sweet Potato vines.    

Eight small Sweet potato vines cost $24.  Eight perennials can cost $100 more than that, so these annual vines are an economical way to cover the ground with 'living mulch'.