About
Apios americana is a slender, herbaceous perennial vine known for its edible tubers. Its leaves are composed of five to seven pointed leaflets. In late summer to early autumn, it produces fragrant, pea-shaped flowers that are pale brown on the outside and dark reddish-brown within.
About the genus
Apios comprises a group of tender, perennial climbing plants known for their edible beans and tubers. Once favored in the Victorian era, these vines bear small, fragrant racemes of purple flowers.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, North-facing, West-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed, Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Climber Wall Shrub
- Habit
- Climbing
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 1.5-2.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 1-2 years
- Suggested uses
- City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Patio and container plants
- Native to
- N America
- Fragrance
- Flower
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Plant tubers in moist but well-drained soil in sun or light shade. Will scramble over shrubs, or twine around supports such as bamboo canes
- Pruning
- No pruning required, will die down in autumn
- Propagation
- Separate tubers in autumn and replant
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to slugs and snails
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free