Crop type: Sweet Potatoes
Ipomoea batatas Tahiti (‘La17-120’) (Treasure Island Series)
Common name: Sweet potato Tahiti
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
Tahiti is the trade name for Ipomoea batatas ‘La17-120’ in the Treasure Island Series. It is a tender herbaceous perennial treated as an annual in the UK, scrambling across the ground or climbing with support to about 1.5m. Its attractive green leaves are edible, as are the purple-skinned underground storage roots with pale flesh. The parent RHS guide describes the flesh as white.
This is notably more compact than the 3–3.5m vines described for Bonita and Evangeline. Its combination of attractive edible leaves, relatively restrained growth and strongly contrasting purple skin and pale interior makes it especially suitable for a protected large container where both foliage and roots can be appreciated.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1–1.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metres as recorded by the profile
- Time to maturity
- 1 year
- Habit
- Climbing and trailing
Stems reach about 1.5m. Train them upward on a cane to save space, let them cover the ground or allow them to trail over the edge of 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 with steady moisture and free drainage. A large container filled with suitable peat-free compost is useful for this compact cultivar, but it still needs enough root volume and regular watering to build its storage roots.
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
Tahiti must remain frost free and needs a long growing season. It may be planted outdoors once frost danger has passed, but greenhouse or protected-container cultivation is more dependable in most of the UK.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Foliage | Storage roots |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Fresh green slips and young leaves | — |
| Summer | Attractive edible green foliage | Purple skin developing below ground |
| Autumn | Green before lifting | Mature purple skin and pale-to-white flesh |
| Winter | Deciduous or lifted | Stored briefly for kitchen use |
The strongest cultivar contrast is between its deep purple outer skin and very pale interior. Its edible green leaves provide ornamental value throughout active growth as well as a secondary crop.
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
- Trade
- Cultivar synonym
- ‘La17-120’
- Series
- Treasure Island Series
Genus
Ipomoea includes annuals and perennials, often with twining stems, and some evergreen shrubs. Leaves can be simple, lobed or dissected, while flowers are tubular or funnel-shaped. Tahiti is cultivated for its edible foliage and colourful underground roots.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in deep fertile soil in a frost-free position with full light. Plants may go outside only after frost danger has passed and need a long season to produce roots. A large container is suitable.
Train stems up a cane, let them act as ground cover or trail them down from a container. Leaves can be cooked as a vegetable, but removing too many limits plant size and reduces the root harvest. Use the parent guide for rooting slips, planting dimensions, watering, feeding and lifting before frost.
Propagation
Propagate from a storage root by producing slips that include a bud. Root and establish the slips in warmth and bright light before planting them in their final position.
Pruning
No pruning is required. Tie stems where needed for upright training and trim only excessive growth.
Pests
Potential pests are glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly. Inspect the undersides of the attractive edible leaves regularly in protected growing conditions.
Diseases
Tahiti is described as generally disease-free. Maintain frost-free, moist but well-drained conditions and avoid bruising its storage roots during harvest.