How to Grow Solanum Rantonnetii | Growing Blue Potato Bush

Solanum Rantonnetii is a stunning specimen with clusters of blue-purple flowers. It grows best in both pots and gardens, making it best for everyone with a small or big open space!

Mostly popular as Lycianthes rantonnetii, the blue potato bush (Solanum Rantonnetii) belongs to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. It is famous worldwide for its subtle aromatic deep purple-blue blooms with yellow centers. This nightshade family plant has also won the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious Award of Garden Merit.

It features elliptical to oval, large leaves and purple-blue blooms that appear in March-October or year-round in warm regions. This shrub flowers profusely in summer. The orange-red oval berries are inedible and poisonous.

Instead of growing blue potato bush from the seeds of poisonous berries, propagating it from cuttings will be safe and easy. 

Cut a 5-6 inches long stem below the leaf node and plant it in a pot with well-draining soil. Water well, cover it with a plastic bag, and keep it where it gets plenty of bright but indirect light.

You can grow blue potato bush easily in an 8-12 inches pot and keep it on a balcony, patio, or any small space. Keep re-potting the plant once in 1-2 years into one size bigger container, depending on the growth and spread.

Like all flowers, the best way to ensure this plant blooms at its best is to put it in a location that gets a minimum of 5-6 hours of intense and direct sunlight.

Avoid growing it at a spot that gets shade for the most part of the day, as it will result in fewer or no flowers.

Though  Solanum Rantonnetii is not fussy regarding the growing medium, it would be wise to use well-draining soil. Amend it with a handful of sand, organic matter, and compost for