Crop type: Sweet Potatoes
Ipomoea batatas ‘Beauregard’
Common name: Sweet potato ‘Beauregard’
Crop slug: sweet-potatoes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Beauregard’ is a tender herbaceous perennial treated as an annual in the UK. It scrambles across the ground or climbs when supported, producing attractive edible green leaves and underground edible storage roots. The roots have red skin and sweet orange flesh; the parent RHS guide also identifies the flesh as salmon orange and tasty and notes that the cultivar grows well in the UK climate.
This is one of the hardier sweet-potato choices for a warm outdoor site, although it still needs frost-free conditions and a long growing period. In most UK gardens a greenhouse, protected container or exceptionally warm sheltered position gives the roots the best chance to bulk up.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1.5–2.5 metres when supported
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metres as recorded by the profile
- Time to maturity
- 1 year
- Habit
- Climbing and trailing
The vigorous flexible stems can reach about 2.5m. Train them upward to conserve ground space or allow them to trail as ground cover or down from a large container.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Use deep fertile soil that holds moisture while draining freely. Storage roots need uninterrupted access to water and warmth, but waterlogged compost or soil encourages decline. A large container is suitable where greenhouse soil is unavailable.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun or full light under cover
- Aspect
- East-, north-, south- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2 — tolerant of low temperatures but not freezing, approximately 1–5°C
Keep ‘Beauregard’ frost free. It may go outdoors only after all frost danger has passed and still needs a long warm season to form a worthwhile root crop. A greenhouse or other protected position is the safer UK option.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Foliage | Storage roots |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Fresh green slips and young leaves | — |
| Summer | Vigorous edible green foliage | Red skin and orange flesh developing below ground |
| Autumn | Green, then declining before frost | Mature red-skinned roots with sweet orange flesh |
| Winter | Deciduous or lifted | Harvest stored for short-term use |
The key cultivar identifiers are its red root skin, salmon-orange to orange flesh and attractive edible green leaves on long twining or trailing stems.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Lifecycle
- Tender herbaceous perennial grown as an annual in the UK
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Climbing and trailing
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Ipomoea includes annuals and perennials, often twining, as well as evergreen shrubs. Leaves may be simple, lobed or dissected, and flowers are tubular or funnel-shaped, borne singly or in clusters. In sweet potatoes, cultivation focuses on the edible foliage and swollen underground roots rather than flowers.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in deep fertile soil in a frost-free position with full light. Move plants outdoors only after frost danger has passed. The cultivar needs a long growing season and can be grown in a large container.
Train stems up a cane to save space, let them cover the ground or allow them to trail over the edge of a container. Leaves are edible, but repeated leaf harvesting restricts plant size and reduces the root yield. Follow the parent sweet-potato guide for temperatures, establishment, watering, feeding, spacing and pre-frost lifting.
Propagation
Propagate from tubers by producing slips that include a growing bud. Establish slips in warmth and bright light before moving rooted plants to their final position.
Pruning
No pruning is required. Guide or tie stems where vertical training is wanted and trim only growth that exceeds its allotted space.
Pests
The profile lists glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly. Inspect the undersides of leaves regularly, especially on warm protected crops.
Diseases
‘Beauregard’ is described as generally disease-free. Maintain frost-free, moist but well-drained conditions and discard any roots that are damaged or begin to rot.