How To Grow An Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet potatoes aren’t just good to eat they’re also good to make a beautiful vining house plant! The quick growing vines will have purplish green colored leaves that are very attractive. You can grow them any time of the year.


There was a time when sweet potato plants could be found growing in many kitchen windows. They were a cheap, easy yet beautiful way to have indoor plants. Sweet potato plants are making a comeback and once again are showing up in homes everywhere.

When choosing a sweet potato, pick one that is nice and firm. You can use either the yellow or red variety and if at all possible choose one that already has buds or “eyes” to produce a faster plant to enjoy.

You can use a jar that has a wide mouth or any type of container that isn’t really large at the top. Insert toothpicks into the potato on all four sides at the center of the potato. The toothpicks are to support the potato on the jar or vase.

Fill a jar or vase with water and place the end of the potato that is more tapered into the water. Now all you have to do is set the potato where it will get lots of sun and wait for it to grow. Normally within just days you’ll begin to notice shoots starting to grow from the potato.

Within a week or so there should be roots growing down into the water and you should have more shoots growing up out of the potato. It’s a good idea to change the water about once per week, stale water might start attracting gnats or other insects.

You can actually just keep the vine growing in water, but if you want you can transplant it into soil after about three weeks. Just carefully remove the potato, remove the toothpicks and plant it in a pot that is large enough to completely bury the potato.

You’ll be really surprised at what a beautiful house plant a sweet potato can become. With it’s purple colored stems and leaves mixed with green it’s a really pretty vine.