Common name: Potato jasmine, potato climber, potato vine.

Botanical name: Solanum jasminoides, which means the jasmine-like potato, Solanum tuberosum being the botanical name of the potato.

Family: The potato vine is part of the very decorative potato family, the Solanaceae, such as petunia, nicotiana, and the winter cherry. It also contains important food plant, along with the potato, including peppers, tomatoes and chillies.

Garden value

The potato jasmine is a most elegant plant, a plant of real style that has retained its natural wildness. The common name is descriptive because its flowers are typically shaped like many members of that family that are grown in gardens, and it came originally from South America, native to Brazil.

As such, and again like many family members, it is not very hardy. However, for a Brazilian native, it survives remarkably well in gardens. It has been known to tolerate frosts of -10°C, which is much colder than most winters in a wide strip around the coast.

It has been flowering profusely in gardens since August, after a good, warm summer. And it is still flowering in many places, although the more exposed foliage has been damaged.

In the coming weeks, more of the foliage will be damaged and will be shed, although not completely in mild, coastal areas. Some of the smaller twigs will also be killed, but the main stems usually survive and sprout to make new flowering stems the following year.

In areas where hard frost is likely, this lovely climber can survive on a wall that offers protection from the worst frosts.

Growing potato jasmine

It is often see growing well on a north-facing wall. It thrives on the extra warmth that a south-facing wall can offer and flowers more profusely but a cooler wall is still adequate to give good protection.

It is worth going to this trouble selecting the spot to have this beautiful climber in the garden.

Few plants offer as much flower over an extended period in late summer and late into autumn and even winter. The usual form seen in gardens is white-flowered but the basic species has white flowers, flushed with blue, as incidentally some potato varieties also do.

This light, purple-blue colour is very pretty, perhaps even more than the pure white form but it is just occasionally seen in gardens.

The flower heads are light and airy, composed of about 20 starry flowers, each with a pointed yellow centre.

This is a very easy plant to grow and easy to propagate from cuttings in summer.

It will grow well in any soil that is not too heavy, although a lighter soil will promote more sturdy growth that will be less likely to be damaged by frost.

It can grow quite large, to more than four or five metres high on suitably solid support. It looks good on a bower or pergola too.

It is generally quite vigorous and tends to swamp other climbers so give it enough space to expand.

It would be best to wait until spring to plant as young plants can be vulnerable to frost damage.

Nasturtium survival strategy

Nasturtium’s tender foliage is quickly destroyed, turning to a shapeless slime. Often the first frost only kills the top foliage but the rest is soon destroyed as well. This is often tidied away but it is better to leave it in place as it only looks messy for a time before it rots away.

While it is rotting the foliage helps to cover the seeds. Unlike the stems and leaves, the seeds of nasturtium manage to survive frost. This occurs because they have a corky layer over the seed coat which acts as an insulator. However, this is not always intact when the frost first comes as the seeds might be still green.

Nasturtium.

The foliage can protect the seeds long enough to ripen and become corky. Some of the seeds will be damaged or eaten, but usually more than enough survive to sprout in late spring and give a new crop of flowers during summer, and this can become self-perpetuating.

This week

Flowers

Dahlias, begonias and gladiolus growing gardens in frosty localities should be lifted to prevent damage, or covered with soil in milder areas. Spring bulbs should be in the ground by now and bedding plants for spring colour.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs

This is the ideal time for planting fruit trees and bushes; the soil has been in ideal condition. Dig over vegetable ground, removing old crops. Store vegetables that can be overwintered in a pit or shed. Spread compost before digging in.

Lawn

Grass growth ran very late this year but moss growth is also very active. Trim edges of a lawn, even if it is not mowed, to leave it looking neat over winter. Occasional mowing in winter is a good idea if the soil is not too wet.

Trees, shrubs and roses

Planting of bare-root deciduous trees, hedging and shrubs can continue during dry weather. Don’t plant into very wet ground or into planting holes that fill with water, because the wet conditions cause the roots to rot.

Greenhouse and house plants

Remove all debris and dead plants and ventilate occasionally. Water very little to reduce the risk of grey mould disease. Set up a greenhouse frost protection heater to protect tender plants, such as geraniums or fuchsias.