Sweet surprise: sweet potato vines

QUESTION: The ornamental sweet potato vines I grew in large pots last summer produced potatoes – to my surprise! Can they be replanted to produce vines next year?

Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) ‘Blackie’

Yes! The sweet potatoes that are grown for their ornamental vines don’t have much taste, but U.T. Extension agent David Cook says you can save the tubers to produce the same foliage next year. Here’s how to do it:

If the potatoes haven’t already frozen (and by now, you may find that they have, unfortunately), dig them up and store them packed in straw in a dry, cool place. When the weather begins to get warm again, the tubers may begin to sprout. Cut them into sections just as you would cut a seed potato, with at last one “eye” per section. Allow them to dry for a few days, and plant them in the ground after the frost date has passed (mid-April here in Middle Tennessee).

Ornamental sweet potato vines come in a variety of fancy-leafed “flavors.” ‘Blackie’ is an easy-to-find favorite, with purplish-black, deeply lobed leaves. ‘Ace of spades’ has heart-shaped leaves. ‘Tri-color’ is variegated with green, white and pink foliage, and the variety called ‘Marguerite’ has golden-green leaves.

The vines grow fast, and are a striking addition as a “spiller” in a container, draping elegantly over the sides. I learned last summer that rabbits find the leaves tasty. If your garden has a resident rabbit (as mine does), you’ll find the vines will start to disappear, so be warned.

Don’t worry about the daffodils

It’s only January, and the daffodils in my yard are already coming up! How do I keep them from freezing?

Early risers: daffodils can survive winter.

It may seem too early for this unmistakable sign of spring, but it’s not unusual for the shoots of early daffodils to begin pushing up through the ground. In some places, they started coming up before Christmas. The best thing to do is: Nothing. In fact, there is nothing you can do. Spread some pine straw over the daffodil bed if it makes you feel better, but really, even that is an unnecessary step, says Anne Owen of the Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society.

We’re at the mercy of the weather fluctuations, but generally, a blast of cold weather won’t hurt the daffodils, Owen says. The worst that could happen is that the weather turns warm and stays warm enough for long enough that the daffodils bloom; then the flowers might succumb to a snap of extreme cold. If we get a freeze while only the leaves are up, they should survive without a problem.

Good reading

It’s a good time to sit down with a stack of seed catalogs (or a list of seed company URLs) and plan this year’s kitchen garden. Here are some of my favorites (where I indulge in a little wishful thinking):

Seed Savers’ Exchange (Unusual varieties not found at the big box store seed kiosks)

Seeds of Change (Seeds, supplies, and live plants, too)

Territorial Seed Company (Try out the online garden planner)

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (“Particularly suited to the Mid-Atlantic and similar regions”)

Renee’s Garden (Pretty as a cottage garden)

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Recipes included!)

John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds (Straightforward, with tidy line drawings; more tips and entertaining reading at the website)

Brent & Becky’s Bulbs (One of the best sources for bulbs, say those in the know)

Burpee (for sheer volume, and all those luscious pictures!)

Keep African violets blooming

QUESTION: My African violets were blooming beautifully when I got them a few months ago, but no longer. How can I get them to bloom again?

It’s easy to love those dainty clusters of blossoms rising from rosettes of downy leaves. African violets look like they’d be fussy plants, but quite the opposite: “They’re easy to grow if you know a few secrets,” says Julie Mavity-Hudson of the Nashville African Violet Club.

One of those secrets may surprise you: African violets tend to bloom better when they’re slightly root-bound, so don’t rush to move them to larger pots. They thrive in bright, indirect light and average room temperatures, in soil that is kept slightly moist. “The thing that kills more African violets than anything is overwatering,” Mavity-Hudson says.

Failure to bloom might be because the plant is not getting enough light. In winter, when the light is low, try moving it to a south or west window where the light is brighter, but move it away from the window when the light is more intense. Direct sun will burn the leaves of African violets.

A light feeding of high-phosphorous plant food every few weeks may also help. Houseplant expert Barbara Pleasant (The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual) suggests adding a light pinch of Epsom salts to water to push balky plants into bloom.

To get together with other African violet aficionados, check out the Nashville African Violet Club, which meets the first Sunday of most months,1:45, at the Green Hill Women’s Center,10905 Lebanon RoadinMt.Juliet. The meetings are open to the public.

Events coming up

– Professional Landscape Association of Nashville, Tennessee – P.L.A.N.T. – will hold its winter seminar Thursday (Jan. 12),8 a.m. – 4 p.m., in Massey Hall atCheekwoodBotanical   Garden. The day’s topics include “Right Plant Right Spot,” by Kerry Mendez; “Pruning Techniques & Best Management Practices” by Karla Kean; Perennial Plant Collector’s Corner by Kerry Mendez; and “Longwood Gardens’ Vision for Horticultural Excellence and Beauty,” by Rodney Eason. Registration at the door is $100 for P.L.A.N.T. members, $125 for non-members (includes lunch). To learn more, visit P.L.A.N.T.’s Web site here.

–Another reminder that the Nashville Lawn & Garden Show is March 1 – 4 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. This year’s theme is Gardens Past, Present & Future, and as always the show features beautiful live gardens, 250 exhibit booths, a floral design gallery and a roster of free lectures.

Peter J. Hatch. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Inc. at Monticello, photo by Robert Llewellyn.

Peter J. Hatch, Director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, is one of this year’s speakers. Hatch is scheduled to speak on Friday, March 2 about “Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden,” which featured more than 330 varieties of vegetables. On Saturday, March 3, Hatch will discuss Jefferson’s use of native plants, the union of gardening and sociability, and his experimentation with useful plants as a means of social change in his talk, “Thomas Jefferson, Gardener.” Other popular speakers are returning: Jeff Poppen, The Barefoot Farmer from Long Hungry Creek Farm in Red   Boiling Springs,Tenn.; Rita Randolph of Randolph’s Greenhouses from Jackson, Tenn.; and Justin Stelter, historic gardener for Carnton Plantation in Franklin and The Hermitage, Home of Andrew Jackson. Information about these free lectures is at the Nashville Lawn & Garden Show Web site.

Admission will be $10 for adults ($9 if you’re 65 or older), and this year the Tennessee State Fairgrounds will charge $5 per vehicle to park during the show. The Web site promises group discount and coupon offers coming soon.