The sprouted section of the sweet potato (a slip) can be removed from the sweet potato, placed in water to develop roots and then be planted. Alternatively, you can cut the section containing the slip away from the sweet potato and plant both the slip and a piece of the sweet potatoes directly into the soil.
Sweetpotato is cultivated by vegetative propagation. Growers take stem cuttings from the vines, which then root and form new storage roots. In some colder climates, where vines do not develop well, producers will plant roots. Botanical seed is used in breeding programs.
Put your slips into a glass or bowl of water with the roots submerged and leaves kept above the glass edge. New roots will emerge from each slip within a few days. When the roots are about an inch long, they are ready to plant!
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.
Unlike regular potatoes, you can't just plant a whole sweet potato in the ground and expect a crop; it will rot underground. Sweet potatoes are grown from sweet potato slips. Slips are the stems and foliage that sprout from already grown sweet potatoes. Twist them off the potato, root them in water, then plant them.
You can propagate sweet potato vine in either water or soil, both are great methods to use.
Remove lower leaves from sprouts and let “root” in a jar of water. Roots will develop quickly; you should begin to see roots in 1-2 days.
Carefully cut off each slip (shoot) and immerse in shallow water until a myriad of small roots emerge. Some gardeners recommend getting the slips by half-burying a sweet potato in moist sand or potting mix. After a few weeks in a warm location many shoots will have appeared.
Place the sweet potato into the jar. Fill the jar with water leaving about 1-inch space between the water and the top of the jar. Keep the sweet potato plant in moderate to full sunlight at room temperature or above 65 degrees. Check the water levels and add more water when needed.
Harvest roots as soon as they reach eating size and before a frost. Sweet potatoes generally mature in 85 to 120 days. Check root size after 80 to 85 days because they don't stop growing and can start to split when overgrown. Digging is easier if you cut the vines off first.
Is a sweet potato vine an annual or perennial? Hardy in USDA zones 9-11, sweet potato vine is perennial in warmer climates, but is most often grown as an annual.
You can buy slips or grow your own by placing a sweet potato in a tray filled with potting mix. Half bury the tuber in the mix and mist or water regularly to keep the soil moist. Sprouts will grow and root over the next couple of weeks.
Like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are starchy tubers that form underground. But the heart-leafed vine that produces sweet potatoes requires a longer growing season (100 to 140 days) and warmer soil than the kind of plant that produces regular "white" potatoes.
To grow slips, do as Arnold suggests: Gather a few sweet potatoes, and cut them in half. Place the halves in damp potting soil or water, with half the tuber submerged. Use toothpicks to keep the sweet potatoes upright in water-filled jars.
Sweet potato greens are the edible leaves of the sweet potato vine. Though widely eaten throughout Asia & Africa, they are less well known to most of us in the U.S. The good news is they're edible and delicious, high in Vitamin C and B6, and they thrive in the summer heat, unlike all the other leafy greens we crave.
The sweet potato vines will continue growing in water for months or even years, whether from cuttings or from a tuber. Keep the water level constant, and empty the water and refill the jar with clean water every few weeks to discourage bacteria from growing.
If your sweet potato is oozing, soft and squishy, discolored, smelly, or have a bunch of sprouts, it's time to toss. If there are only a few sprouts and the sweet potato is still firm you can cut the sprouted portion off, cook and eat right away, or you can plant it!
Sweet potato vines thrive best when a balanced slow-release 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 fertilizer is applied. Use either organic or non-organic fertilizer since this plant will not produce an edible crop.
Place your slips into a clean jar filled with cool water and place the jar on the windowsill or somewhere it can receive indirect sunlight. Just as with the sweet potato, add water to keep the jar full and replace the old water once a week to keep them from rotting.
Root system. The sweetpotato root system consists of fibrous roots - that absorb nutrients and water and anchor the plant - and storage roots - which are lateral roots that store photosynthetic products.
Sweet potato plants (Ipomoea batatas) are vines of tropical origin that thrive in hot weather. All varieties of the sweet potato produce edible tubers. Some varieties have been bred for colorful foliage, and are sold as ornamental plants -- however, their tubers have an off taste that makes them unpalatable as food.