Ipomoea Batatas - Blackie Potato Vine - Seeds???

I grow this vine every year. But this year, it is exceptionally stunning, taking over almost an entire bed, which is good since the bed was new and bare. Now the large area is almost completely covered with nearly black leaves and an abundance of lavender blooms.

In examining the plant, I notice what looks like...could it be??? I see morning glory-like seed pods I think. Am I correct? I don't think they're buds. The buds are long tubular things. These are little round purple balls resembling morning glory seed pods. I didn't know it would make seeds. OMG I'm going to be in heaven if I can grow it from seeds! I have overwintered the plant before in my atrium, so I know I can save the potatoes. But if I can grow it from seeds too, I'll be just thrilled as I would love to have this stuff in many places. It's hard to find around here until summer and then it's $4 for a little rooted cutting.

Can these sweet potato vines be grown from seeds?? I'm going to have to watch and see if these are seed pods. It has just been covered in blooms. I could have a million seeds! LOL Are they as easy to grow from seeds as morning glories?

I also have Margarita and Tricolor, both of which have spread everywhere, but not a single bloom on them. Do they bloom?

NancyAnn

ButterflyChaser - Yes,Ipomoea batatas can produce seeds,although since most plants available are clones,they usually are too self-infertile to produce seeds...also keep in mind that Ipomoea batatas does not breed true from seeds...
Different cultivars should all be able to potentially flower,but flowers are most often seen in the springtime when the plants are fresh out of the greenhouse conditions and in the late fall when the short daylengths would trigger the flowering,but any seedpods would usually be inhibited by the cooler temperatures of the less than tropical zones...
The different varieties of Ipomoea batatas can have widely varying chromosome numbers and the exact chromosome counts are usually not listed for the different varieties,but most are hexaploids...
The seeds from different varieties of Ipomoea batatas can vary in size from the size close to that of a small Ipomoea coccinea or Ipomoea trifida, to a size like that of an Ipomoea lacunosa or Ipomoea triloba...the seeds can be finicky sprouters,...bottom heat will usually be helpful, but you may get lucky and they may sprout readily without any particular attention...
Try to post some photos of the seedpods(!) as they would be interesting to see...
TTY,

Ron, they are indeed seedpods. I plucked an immature one and opened it. Inside were soft seeds. The pods and the immature seeds are purple! The pods are round, about the size of Rose Silk mg pods, and the seeds were about that size too. I'm hoping I'll have time for the pods to ripen. We just had a cold front come thru here, and the highs now are about 65. I'll let you know what happens.

Thank you for all the info! It's very interesting and helpful.

NancyAnn

I did as you suggested Ron and took some cuttings of Blackie. They've been in a vase of water for a couple of weeks and have roots everywhere. The foliage looks great, but the new leaves are very green. Due to lack of sunlight?

This week, I was able to gather seeds from a couple of seed pods. I'm really excited! There are more pods, but I don't know if they'll ripen. I'm waiting to see.

The seeds, when they're not yet ripe, are dark purple, as are the pods. But once they ripen and harden, they're black, like any other morning glory seed. I can't wait to grow these next season and see what they become. It would really be interesting if I get different vines from each seed. The seeds were open pollinated, but the only potato vines that bloomed for me this year were the blackies. Does the tri-color one bloom? It spread everywhere but not one bloom.

Thanks for your advice, Ron. I'll try to post pics next summer of what the vines from these seeds look like.

BC

Hi NancyAnn and Ron,
I harvested seeds from my I.Batata and germinated them! They are in pots under lights and I am waiting for them to break the surface.I'll keep you updated ,too.

Alrighty,here are pics of "Ipomoea Batatas" seedlings.It CAN be done!

Just wonder what color they are going to be.The seedling leaves appear to be bronze.

That is just too cool! I would love to have some seeds if either of you have any to spare...trade or sase..lmk
Janet

Gail - Good Show Gail! I've a couple of seeds also,but I'm not going to start them until the weather warms up here...The first set of cotyledons looks like it has lighter leaves edged with a reddish coloration compared to the second set of cotyledons which look to be more of a bronze color...we'll see if the cotyledon coloration continues to reflect the color leaves of the mature plants...it will also be interesting to see if the plants from the seeds have more of a tendency to flower than the clones...

TTY,...