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Both ornamental gardeners and vegetable gardeners love growing sweet potato vines. These tender plants from the Ipomoea batatas family, can be very decorative and produce large, sweet-tasting roots. Easy care and fast growing, ornamental sweet potato vines can be planted in hanging baskets, mixed containers and even grown as a ground cover in the flower bed. While edible, tubers from ornamental sweet potato vines tend to be bitter. Edible sweet potato vines often found in vegetable gardens produce the sweet-tasting, starchy roots that can be roasted, baked, mashed and fried.
When growing sweet potato vines, you can order sweet potato plants or slips from a nursery or you can start your own sweet potato vines from tubers or roots.
Types of Sweet Potato Vines
Gardeners can choose from a wide selection of decorative and edible sweet potato vines. Here are a few popular varieties:
Georgia Jet: A high-yielding edible variety, Georgia Jet thrives in Northern and Southern gardens, produces sweet, orange tubers with a sugary aroma, and can be grown in 20-gallon Grow Tubs.
Murasaki: Edible Japanese variety features attractive, purple-skinned tubers with a sweet, nutty flavor. Its dry, white flesh is rich in fiber and vitamin C and excellent for roasting.
Bush Porto Rico: Edible bush-type plant with small runners is ideal for vegetable gardeners with limited space. The copper-colored roots are full-flavored and among the best for baking.
Treasure Island Kaukura: This 2020 Green Thumb Award winner is a dual-purpose variety, producing very ornamental, dark purple foliage and nutritious, delicious, orange roots.
Marguerite: An ornamental variety with striking, bright chartreuse, heart-shaped leaves, Marguerite is fast growing, and its cascading foliage brightens window boxes, hanging baskets and patio containers.
Materials You’ll Need to Grow Sweet Potato Vines
If growing your own sweet potatoes from roots or tubers, you’ll need:
- Sweet potato tuber or root
- Water (distilled or rain water is recommended)
- Glass jar
- Toothpicks
- Sharp knife
- Potting soil
- Container with drainage holes
Propagating Sweet Potato Vines
- Preparing the tuber: Select a sweet potato that is free of blemishes and disease and has not been stored in the refrigerator.
- Placing the potato in water: Place the tuber, pointy side up, in a jar of water so that at least half of the root is submerged in water. Use toothpicks to hold the tuber in place.
- Waiting for the sprouts. It often takes 2-4 weeks before the root starts to sprout, so be patient. Change the water in the jar every three days during this time.
- Separating the slips. Once the slips have developed, you can either break or cut them from the sweet potato root.
- Planting the cuttings or slips: Choose a container with drainage holes or a Grow Tub. Fill with potting soil and then dig a hole large enough to accommodate the sweet potato slip. Tamp soil around the plant and water well.
Caring for Ornamental Sweet Potato Vines
Sweet potato vines are fast-growing plants and easy to grow as long as you care for their temperature and water needs. Wait to set sweet potato vines outside until all danger of frost has passed. Sweet potatoes are tender plants and do not tolerate cold weather. The plants prefer full sun (six or more hours of direct sunlight daily) and loamy or sandy soil. Keep the soil moist, not soggy. The vines benefit from an all-natural, slow-release fertilizer.
Pruning
If growing sweet potato vines in the garden for edible roots, do not prune them. The foliage is feeding the potato growth. If growing ornamental sweet potato vines, pruning the vines controls the plant’s growth and makes for a neater appearance. When pruning the vines, cut about ¼” above the leaf nodes. Also cut off any vines that are broken.
Do Sweet Potato Vines Bloom?
Ornamental sweet potato vines are grown for their foliage and rarely flower, but some non-hybrid varieties may produce blossoms.
Pests and Diseases Associated with Ipomoea Batatas
Fungal diseases may affect sweet potato vines, especially those growing in the ground. Starting with disease-free plants and planting your sweet potatoes in potting soil are preventative measures you can use when growing ornamental sweet potato vines. Monitor your sweet potato plants for signs of insects. Common ones include slugs, weevils and flea beetles.