How to Grow a Sweet Potato Plant
A sweet potato sprouted in water grows into a cascading, heart-leafed vine that makes an attractive houseplant — and with more space and warmth, it can also be grown outdoors for an actual harvest.
Sprouting Slips
Suspend a sweet potato half-submerged in water using toothpicks, similar to the classic avocado method, and set it in a warm, bright spot. Within a few weeks, small shoots called "slips" emerge from the submerged end, which can be twisted off and rooted separately in water once they're a few inches long.
Rooted slips can be grown as trailing houseplants in water or potting soil, or transplanted outdoors after the danger of frost has passed for those hoping to harvest new tubers.
Sweet potato vines need a long, warm growing season of about 90 to 120 days to produce a real harvest of tubers — gardeners in cooler climates often grow them purely as ornamental vines instead.
Growing It On
Outdoors, sweet potato vines want full sun and loose, well-draining soil, spreading widely as they grow — give them plenty of room. Indoors, the vine simply trails attractively from a hanging container or shelf with minimal care beyond regular watering.
