Yes, sweet potato vine is very easy to root. Your new starts should be ready to pot up in as little as 2-3 weeks. Propagating sweet potato vines is a great way to take a single plant and multiply it into many.
Can you eat a sweet potato grown from an ornamental vine?
If you want sweet potatoes to eat, the tubers from your ornamental sweet potato vines are indeed edible. However, you’re better off choosing a variety that’s specifically developed as a food crop.
What can I do with ornamental sweet potato tubers?
While your ornamental sweet potato plants may be edible, this does not mean you should be eating them. Not the roots, at least. Again, we recommend leaving those alone to grow underground, and perhaps to divide into slips for rooting and planting out when you want to start new vines.
Can sweet potato plants be transplanted?
Slips are best started indoors from sweet potato tubers. Slips stated indoors take about 12 weeks to reach transplant size. Transplant sweet potato slips into the garden after all danger of frost is past in spring.
Can you grow ornamental sweet potato vine from a sweet potato?
You can either try eating the ornamental sweet potatoes or dig them up and store them in a cool, dry area and then use them in the spring to propagate new ornamental potato vines.
How do you store ornamental sweet potato tubers?
Overwintering Ornamental Sweet Potatoes as Tubers
Take off any greenery that still remains. Pack the tubers in some well-moistened peat moss or newspaper and place them in a cool, dark place. Check the tubers every week to ensure they stay moist and mist them if necessary.
Can you replant sweet potato vine tubers?
Sweet Potato Vine Tubers
The fleshy tuber stores nutrients, water and genetic material for the plant. Each growing season, the plant creates new tubers. A simple way to propagate sweet potato vine plants is to divide the tubers and replant them in the soil. Each section will grow a new plant.
Do sweet potato plants come back every year?
Ornamental sweet potato vines will come back every year if you live in a warm enough climate (zones 9+). However, they will not survive outside through the winter in colder climates.
Can you eat the bulb from a sweet potato vine?
Longer answer: Yes, you can eat a sweet potato vine tuber, but you probably don’t want to. Ornamental sweet potato vines are selected for their foliage — the lush leaves that tumble out of pots and window boxes so decoratively. The tubers are not even a consideration, and so don’t usually taste very good.
How do you overwinter ornamental sweet potato vines?
To overwinter the tubers, cut the vines to ground level, then dig them up before the first frost in autumn. Dig carefully and be careful not to slice into the tubers. Brush the soil lightly off the tubers, then store them, not touching, in a cardboard box filled with peat moss, sand, or vermiculite.
How do you replant a sweet potato tuber?
Start 6–8 weeks before planting time. Soak the sweet potatoes in water for 2 hours. Then either suspend the tubers with toothpicks half-immersed in a jar of water (stem end up) OR place them in a flat or pot half filled with potting soil or screened compost. Cover with 2 inches of loose soil.
Can sweet potatoes be left in the ground over winter?
Sweet potato roots continue to grow until frost kills the vines. Roots can be left in the ground for a short while; however, a hard frost can cause damage to roots near the surface.
How do you revive a sweet potato plant?
If your transplanted sweet potato vine looks wilted and stressed, take steps to perk it up and revitalize its health.
- Spread 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch, such as compost or grass clippings around the sweet potato vvines.
- Water the sweet potato vine once a day, or as necessary to keep the soil consistently moist.
How many sweet potatoes do you get from one plant?
How many sweet potatoes do you get from one plant? Typically, you’ll be able to harvest 3-5 tubers per sweet potato plant, which is about 1-2 pounds. But if you live in a warmer climate, you may harvest six or more tubers per plant.
Can you plant sweet potatoes directly in the ground?
You can use any shop bought sweet potatoes. Place them on the ground, cover them with soil, and keep them moist. The tubers will develop shoots, called slips. Slips can be snipped or pulled off and planted out when they are about 15 cm in size.
How do you prune ornamental sweet potato vines?
Use your selected tool to make cuts approximately 1/4 inch above leaf nodes. Cutting here will encourage new, bushier growth. Select the healthiest-looking trimmings and place the cut end in a container of water. In a few weeks, the cut vines will grow roots.
Can I save sweet potato vine tubers?
Yes, you can store the tubers for next spring’s planting. In the fall simply remove all foliage from the tuber, wash off any soil and let the tuber dry thoroughly for about 24 hours. After it dries, store the tuber in dry peat moss and keep in a dark area that maintains a steady temperature between 50 and 60 degrees.
What should not be planted near sweet potatoes?
3 Plants to Avoid Planting Near Sweet Potatoes
- Squash: Squashes like pumpkins compete with sweet potatoes for space and nutrients.
- Sunflowers: These flowers may increase the risk of potato blight.
- Tomatoes: Planting tomatoes near sweet potatoes can increase the chances of your plants contracting harmful diseases.
Can you eat potatoes from a decorative potato vine?
While you can eat the potatoes from a decorative potato or sweet potato vine, they likely won’t taste as good as the more common varieties you’d find at the grocery store or farmer’s market.
Should I remove sweet potato flowers?
When you see flowers on your potato plants, I recommend cutting them off for two main reasons. First of all, you don’t want the flowers to produce a fruit that small children or pets might be tempted to eat. Secondly, pruning the flowers is a great way to increase production of spuds.
How do you root ornamental sweet potato vines?
Place the sweet potato in a container of water. Keep the top 1/3 of the potato exposed by placing toothpicks into the sides. The pointed end should be down in the water. In a few weeks a vine with several stems will begin to sprout.