How to Grow a Purple Sweet Potato Vine
The sweet potato plant is an important commercial crop and is also popular among home gardeners. The stems form a creeping vine and the leaves of the sweet potato are a dark purple, which is highly unusual. The edible tubers can range in color from yellow to purple. Sweet potatoes are fairly easy to grow, although you'll typically need to start them indoors. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Ensure that you're in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hardiness zones 9 or 10. Sweet potatoes need a hot climate and are only able to tolerate a mild frost.
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Fill the pots with peat moss or some other soil-less medium. Take cuttings from a mature sweet potato plant just before the first frost and plant the cuttings in the pots. Place the pots in a southern-facing window and allow the cuttings to take root.
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Select and prepare the outdoor site. Sweet potatoes grow best in full sun where they're exposed to direct sunlight for at least six hours each day. However, they're also quite tolerant of shade. Apply good compost if the soil is poor and ensure the soil has good drainage. Sweet potatoes prefer neutral soil with a pH around 7.
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Plant the rooted cuttings outdoors in the spring after there is no danger of frost. They should be at the same depth in the soil as they were in the pot. Space them far enough apart so the mature plants won't compete with each other. This varies widely by the particular variety and may range from six inches to two feet. Water the cuttings thoroughly after you plant then and apply a layer of mulch if necessary to ensure the soil has good drainage.
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Water your sweet potatoes often during the growing season. Ensure the soil stays moist, although you can allow the surface to dry out. Sweet potatoes benefit greatly from fertilizer and you may apply a balanced fertilizer as often as once a week during the growing season. You may remove dead leaves to improve the appearance of the sweet potato plants if you desire, although they won't harm the plant.
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