One of the best things about being involved in plant trials is being proven wrong. People who are evaluating plants at the university level, garden writers and even industry pros are all guilty of judging a plant the day we take it out of the box or off the truck. A lot of those judgments are on aesthetics or beauty.

I’ll skip writing a column on my failures via early judging and tell you about an ornamental sweet potato that is hitting it out of the park. This jewel is known as Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm.

If there was ever a more mysterious name for a sweet potato, I don’t know what it would be. Sweet Caroline has become the name synonymous with award-winning ornamental sweet potatoes. Sweetheart gives you a clue to the heart shape of the leaf. I’m sure you are wondering what the word Shadowstorm refers to. My spellcheck has it underlined every time I write it.

The leaves are indeed green and chocolate mahogany. So, I suppose the dark is the shadow of a storm over the green. If you are like me, you are wondering if this variegation really can enhance mixed containers or stun tumbling over a rock wall.

Yes it can, and the look is one of elegance and mystery when your mixed container comes to fruition. I assure you all your friends and neighbors will think about everything but sweet potatoes.

The tag will tell you about 12 inches tall and with a spread of 24 inches. I’m suspecting this girl can go 36 inches, maybe 48. I am already trimming but relishing every minute. You’ll want good potting soil and plenty of sunshine for it to dazzle. I’ve got Sweet Caroline Light Green falling over my rock wall and wish I would have saved a couple of Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm as partners.

I put mine in large self-watering AquaPots with the new Surefire Cascade Red begonias, ColorBlaze Mini Me Chartreuse coleus and Graceful Grasses Queen Tut papyrus. I really love the look.

Neighbors Dave and Cynthia used some in hanging baskets with the Surefire Cascade Red begonia and Stardiva Blue scaevola and they are simply beautiful. James Winter and the Eden Estate Management Team took theirs on the road to Kim and Joey Mixon’s in Phenix City, Alabama.

The Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm was used in a large ceramic pot with a podocarpus or Japanese yew and a Supertunia Mini Vista Yellow petunia. In another area, the Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm has merged with a sea of foliage and flower where it looks like a happy ivy.

The Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm is easy maintenance. Like other ornamental sweet potatoes, they can overtake some not so vigorous companions. On the other hand, there has never been an easier plant to cut back to keep in an allotted space or to redirect growth.

Occasionally you may find that some new growth is a solid green and doesn’t go variegated. It’s suggested you can snip that off, but I can tell most gardeners will look at that as a bonus.

If my Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Shadowstorm plants do it, I am keeping it! Just make sure you put it at the top of your list for 2026 and for now follow me on my Facebook page, @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy for more photos and garden inspiration.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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