Tropical Potato Plant, Potato Tree

The Potato Tree or Solanum macranthum, also called a potato plant, shrub or small tree is found in tropical regions.

Potato trees can grow to a height of up to up to 30 ft. The tree’s elongated leaves are covered by velvety hairs and grow 1 ft long..

Potato trees is a beautiful bushy tree with sprout clusters of bright purple and white potato flowers, followed by round, yellow berries.

Its botanical name is solanum macranthum, but it goes by the common name of Potato Tree and is native to Brazil, and is a species within the Solanum genus.

A related species that looks very similar is Solanum crispum, also called the Chilean potato vine or Chilean potato tree.

These incredible deep purple flowers are quite showy and beautiful with its vibrant flowers with its bright yellow, orange spring in the middle.

These flowers are a wonderful tropical addition to a any garden, how often do you see trees with pruple flowers that look like this?

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This beautiful potato plant grows quickly into a bushy tree if you let it. It can grow as tall as 15 feet in height and 15 feet wide.

This tropical potato vine/tree is grown for its ornamental purpose, it’s so beautiful to look at. The leaves are large, lobed and prickly. It can be shaped into smaller trees with full round tops on them, so the shape and size can be controlled by being pruned.

Flowers are fragrant and change their color from white to pink to lavender to a deep purple.

Like most spectacular flowering trees it requires a rich soil for good growth and lots of blooms. It will do will grown in containers and propagation is by seeds.

Its a all around tough plant suitable for problem areas. All of the species, either potato plant, potato tree and even the potato vine.

Its considered an evergreen foliage for all year round color

It also tolerates heavy clay soils.

Plant Warning
Its Poisonous if eaten and has a very irritating sap which will cause different levels of skin irritations depending on how sensitive your skin is.

Hardiness:
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 °C (40 °F)

In late August & September, it becomes covered over with yellow-orange berries, soft as tomatoes, but hideously bitter tasting & mildly toxic you would have to be really hungry to eat one of these. So PLEASE don’t eat them.

Bloom Time:
Blooms all year and Blooms repeatedly

Foliage:
Types of evergreen trees

Other details:
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds Requires consistently moist soil don't let it completely dry out between watering.

Propagation Methods:
From seeds, in the winter sow in vented containers, cold frame or a unheated greenhouse, then plant the seeds in early spring.

Seed Collecting:
Collect the seed head or pod when flowers fade.

The potato plant Likes full sun and grows quickly. It tends to branch from near the base don’t cut this off let it grow if you want a bushy shrub or when its more mature go ahead and trim to encourage it to grow into a tree.

This tropical potato tree can in most cases bloom all year.

It seems happier if you fertilize moderately once a season, and likes frequent water, but doesn’t need to be watered everyday, even in summer.

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