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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Solanaceae (Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers) |
| Origin: Argentina (South America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Variegated Foliage: Yes |
| Flower Color: Blue Violet |
| Bloomtime: Year-round |
| Fragrant Flowers: Yes |
| Synonyms: [Solanum rantonnettii cv, Lycianthes rantonnei cv] |
| Height: 8-12 feet |
| Width: 6-8 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Lycianthes rantonnetii 'Lynn's Variegated' (Variegated Blue Potato Shrub) - A medium to large fast growing upright evergreen shrub that can grow up to 10 to 12 feet tall, but takes well to pruning and can be kept smaller or trained up into a small patio tree. This cultivar has dark green acuminate leaves that are slightly wavy and attractively margined with creamy white. Through much of the year in mild climates, but strongest spring through fall, appear the broad trumpet-shaped purple-blue flowers that have yellow centers and when in mass flowering can be intoxicatingly fragrant. Plant in full to part full sun in most any soil with decent drainage and give regular to occasional irrigation and regular fertilizer applications to keep this plant looking its best, but can survive with less water if necessary. It is hardy to 20-25 degrees F and useful in USDA Zones 9 and above. Tip prune or lightly shear often to keep tight and bushy. Resistant to deer browsing. A great looking plant with dark blue-purple flowers that stand out well against the bold white variegated foliage. Lycianthes rantonnetii is native to Bolivia, Northeast Argentina, Southern Brazil and Paraguay. Lycianthes rantonnetii has previously been placed in the genus Solanum, a huge genus that most recently has been in a state of flux for some time. It has been cultivated in the horticultural trades for many years as Solanum rantonnetii and later as Lycianthes rantonnei, as this was the original spelling of the specific epithet when Élie Abel Carrière described the plant as Solanum rantonnei in Revue Horticole in 1859. Most modern nomenclatural databases have corrected this spelling as dictated by Article 60.7 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, which in Ex. 15 specifically references this correction. The name for the genus comes from the words Greek 'lykion' that was used for a thorny plant found growing in ancient Lycia combined with 'anthos' meaning flower. The specific epithet honors Barthélémy Victor Rantonnet, a 19th-century French horticulturalist. Another common name used for the species is Paraguay Nightshade and this species was first introduced into California horticulture as Solanum rantonnettii by Dr. Francesco Franceschi (AKA Emanuele Orazio Fenzi) at his Santa Barbara nursery in 1906 and it received the coveted Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2012. We have no clue who the Lynn is who selected this particular variegated cultivar or who introduced this plant and we welcome any information about this. We first saw this plant listed in the Kartuz Greenhouse listing in the spring of 2015 and was able to get a plant for propagation stock from Suncrest Nurseries in Watsonville, California.
The information about Lycianthes rantonnetii 'Lynn's Variegated' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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