Decorative Sweet Potato Vines

Decorative sweet potato vines

Are ornamental sweet potatoes edible? If you want sweet potatoes to eat, the tubers from your ornamental sweet potato vines are indeed edible.

How long do ornamental sweet potato vines last?

You can store sweet potato vine tubers for 6-8 months, if done properly.

How do you grow decorative sweet potato vines?

Sweet Potato Vine Plant: Step-by-Step Instructions

Take a sweet potato and place it in a cup of water or a vase. The bottom of the sweet potato should be sitting in water.
Wait for the potato to sprout. This typically takes around four weeks.
Once the potato sprouts, the vines take off quickly. Enjoy your new plant!

How do you take care of ornamental sweet potato vines?

The care of sweet potato plants is similar to most other vining houseplants in the home, spending summers outdoors. While tolerant of drought, these plants prefer to be kept moist (not soggy). Though prolific growers, you may fertilize monthly, if desired, using a general all-purpose, water soluble fertilizer.

Do ornamental sweet potato vines produce sweet potatoes?

Like the edible versions, ornamental sweet potatoes are vining plants related to morning glories, but the ornamental types are grown strictly for their attractive foliage. A common question is, "Do they produce edible sweet potatoes?" The answer is no.

Can you keep sweet potato vines over the winter?

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.

Do sweet potato vines like shade or sun?

Does sweet potato vine like sun or shade? Plants are adaptable to varying light conditions from full sun to shade. Foliage color is richest when plants receive at least 6 hours of full sun per day. Leaves will be greener when planted in shade.

What do you do with sweet potato vines in the winter?

Overwintering. Cutting is a good way to overwinter sweet potato vines because they will last all winter in the water and be ready to plant in the spring. Another way to overwinter sweet potato vine is to dig up the sweet potato vine's tuberous roots and store them in a cool, dry space in peat or vermiculite.

Will ornamental sweet potato vine climb a trellis?

It trails beautifully to provide plenty of color and lush foliage to complement more prominent flowering plants. Sweet potato vine will also spill attractively out of window boxes and hanging planters, as well as climb trellises and walls.

Where is the best place to plant sweet potato vines?

Choose a sunny site with rich, well-draining soil. They prefer hot, humid conditions similar to their native habitat and may fail to thrive in dry desert climates. In cooler regions, boost performance by planting in a warm location such as a south-facing wall or heat-absorbing patio.

Can you eat the tubers from ornamental sweet potato vine?

So while the tuberous roots of the ornamental cultivars are edible, their flavor and texture are not likely to be of the same quality as those selected for eating.

How fast does sweet potato vine spread?

How Fast Does Sweet Potato Vine Grow? Sweet potato vines grow very rapidly, reaching up 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, in a single season! They'll grow quicker, with soil that is kept consistently moist, but not wet!

Should I trim my sweet potato vines?

The long vines of sweet potatoes can overrun a garden. In early to mid-September, feel free to cut them back by 25%. This simply makes the plants easier to deal with when digging. Sweet potatoes with edible tubers developing below the ground.

Can you grow sweet potato vine as a houseplant?

You can simply grow a sweet potato vine as a hanging houseplant in a smaller container where your plant with beautiful lime green foliage can spill out, and enjoy eating sweet potato leaves as well. Containers also need a trellis to help the vines move upward rather than outward as they spread all around your home.

Do sweet potato vines need to climb?

Sweet potato vines aren't vivacious climbers, preferring instead to crawl along the ground. As they crawl, the vines set down roots along the length of the stem. Where these vines root in the ground, you'll find sweet potato tubers in the fall.

Is ornamental sweet potato vine poisonous to dogs?

Are Sweet Potato Vines Poisonous to Dogs? Sweet potato vine plants are safe for dogs and puppies to eat as long as they don't ingest any seeds. The seeds can be toxic if enough are eaten. Eating seed may cause hallucinations, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, or mouth dryness.

Can you eat potatoes from decorative potato plants?

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.

Do ornamental sweet potato vines bloom?

While the ornamental sweet potato plants don't often flower, when Blackie does, it produces lavender or purple trumpet-like flowers.

Do sweet potato vines come back every year?

After a hard frost, a sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) usually look like something the cat left out in the rain, limp, rotten and dead, but as long as the roots survive it will come back in the spring. Sweet potato vine grows as a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11.

Do sweet potato vines choke out other plants?

Newer varieties of sweet potato vine are compact, have denser leaves, and are less likely to spread vigorously. These qualities make them perfect for container gardens because they won't overtake companion plants.