A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 ? potato vine?

I posted this in the summer, as it was called a maple plant...then,I was told a potato vine? I took it in, and all the new leaves fall off, yet it seems to be fine with the vine?? thoughts/;-)they crumble and fall off?

Yes, "Sweet potato Vine" (Ipomoea batatas) probably the variety called "Blackie".


This is a tender perennial that is only winter hardy to zone 9 and up.
I'd say that it's probably behaving badly because it wants more sun and heat,
just imagine growing a crop of sweet potatoes,
they'd want summertime heat and full sun all day long,
your little plant wants the same thing, he doesn't understand winter.

Angie - did you know that you can cut a sweet potato into segments about 2 inches big, and pot them up? They will grow a very nice vine for you too! I did this a few springs ago, and then put it outside - I'm going to have to do it again, just as soon as I find some window space!

These were the "potatoes" that I got from it at the end of the season:


The REAL sweet potato plant is the vine in the center of this:

Thanks ZuZu and Lynne:-)

Should I cut it back?

Does the sweet-pot vine bloom? (Not the Ipomoea.)

I had them in pots where the got tons of sun all summer and the black one had quite a pretty little pink blossom. I had had them before, but I had never seed them blossom so it was neat to see.

I'm sorry, my post was confusing.
Ipomoea batatas IS real sweet potato.
Sweet potato is in the same plant family as Morning Glory, believe it or not,
and has a similar (though smaller) trumpet shaped flower.

Chenno ~ It is possible that if you dug up your plant, you might find tubers in the soil.
But, to be honest, the plant looks pretty small, and it may not have formed any potatoes.
I grew mine outside this summer and dug up several potatoes when the weather turned cold.
I'm saving them and I will replant them in about 6 weeks.

Margaret - my vines from a real sweet potato did not bloom, but then again, I'm not sure if they had enough time to grow and bloom.

Great info, love them pictures.