Ornamental Sweet Potatoes

Randbponder, I'm praying for your daughter to come through this ordeal with good results. . God Bless you and your family during this waiting period.

I had a long ugly vine with only one good shoot coming from it. I buried all of it while leaving the good shoot with leaves exposed above ground. I don't know what's happening below ground with the straggly vine, but I'm in hopes it will either put up new growth or grow more roots.

Thank you for your prayers. I don't know if anything good will come from waiting. We are trusting that God has a purpose in this. She will be moving back in with us as she doesn't have a job now. and of course that means the insurance went with the job. I may have to go back to work, so we can help with COBRA. I trust a way will be provided. Cordele D; Give that scraggly vine plenty of water. even if it is connected to the main plant. It will put out roots. and don't pass up mounding some dirt up around all the plants if you want plenty tubers. The extra dirt helps hold more moisture around the roots. as well as giving a loose meadium for more uniform tubers. It seems to help with ornamentals too.
I had a good talk with our lord, while pulling weeds in my new iris bed.
I think I even got about a third of that bed done. Had to let the rest go for the night as it was getting dark enough that was hard to see weed from iris.
Holly Thank you too. it means a lot, And I do belive in miracles, and Devine intervention.

Russ you seem to be our resident expert on the edible tubers so I popped in to ask you a quick question - only to read about the difficulties you and your family are experiencing right now. I am so sorry to hear that your daughter is going through such a rough time and will keep you all in my thoughts with the hopes of swift and complete recovery for her.

Perhaps some one else can answer my question. I had tried unsuccessfully to start some regular SP vines in the spring which failed miserably. Wouldn't you know that I had 2 ignored potatos in the pantry that produced slips like crazy a few weeks ago (in fact one of them still is) so for the fun of it I went ahead and rooted them. Now I'm wondering if I'd plant them outside would they produce tubers or is it too late in the season?

This has been such a fun thread Holly. Can you believe it's still going strong after nearly 5 months and 200 posts?

La

LA; Thank you for the kind thoughts. I have had a weak moment or two, with the fact that the Dr. she was seeing told her he couldn't help her. She is still waiting for a call from another. I am still hoping for her to see about getting to Rodchester MN. There they have at least 18 Vascular surgens.

On the sweet potatos, You are a whole zone different than I am, I would say go for it. Have you rooted them yet? They will root in the dirt, if kept moist. I like to see mine root, so I do it in a glass. If the slips are long enough to plant deep, that will also help. I have another Daughter that lives north of Columbus. This spring she was complaining that it rained every day. That would have been good for S/Ps. to get a good start. Don't know if you are getting that much rain now or not.
I don,t know when your first killing frost is for sure, that would probably make the difference. I think I had a late start last year. and still had a good crop. I would keep them watered while they are puting on tubers. You might not have many large tubers but I think you should still get some. Right now mine are running all over the place, and I have hilled them up around the main stem of the vines, to give nice loose soil for the tuber development. Don't have a pic right now but maybe I should post one. I planted my ornamentals about the same time as the others. They are looking good too. My aim for them this year was to get tubers. then next spring I will have some slips for some of the planters in town, and for the planters at our church. as well as for tradeing at the IARU at Cedar Rapids.
LMK how they do. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`Russ

La, I say go for it, too. Your growing season is different than mine but I would think you have a couple of months yet for them to grow and you should get something in that time frame. Plus you have nothing to lose by trying.
Russ, Keeping you and your family in my prayers. Holly

Thank you Holly, And DW thanks you. I know The Lord does things in his own time. We need to be patient, no matter how much we would like to hurry up and do something. If she were still little, we would have her to Iowa City or Rodchester. But she has waited a week and a half, for this other Dr. to give her a appointment. I and all her friends have told her to get on the phone and pester them, make them get on the stick.
But yes God does have a plan. We will continue to trust in his wisdom, and wait for his answer.
Just reciently one of my brothers, 7 years older Had a stroke and couldn't remember hardly any thing. He got a run around too. He got sent home twice. Finally one of the Vascular surgens in Omaha gave him a call. Told him to get in here. This can't wait. So he says that Dr. is the best. Well I guess after all he did have 3 strokes before they got anywhere. He has come through fine and his memory is nearly back to normal and he don't have slurred speach or anything like that. So we have even told Connie about that Dr. as well.
I guess it is hard for a parent to say that it has to be their decision. after all she is 42.
Well I think she will help me plant sweet taders next spring! OK??

Haven't read this whole thread - it is really loooong! But I wanted to share my experiences. Once I grew canna pretoria and marguerita in a pot, and then brought it indoors to enjoy a little longer. Eventually I put it in the basement and let it go dormant. Then brought the pot up in the spring, watered it, and they both began to grow again.

I once planted a sweet potato from the grocery store that had begun to sprout - directly in the garden - and it grew like crazy and made a dark green ground cover. Also produced several sweet potatoes that were edible! Planting the whole potato produced better than starting sprouts for edible sweets in our short season.

Russ, Your right it is "much" harder when they are adult children. Remember faith blooms eternally.
Caitlin, Wish I had tried that. I had Red Cannas and Marguerita planted in the same pot last year.

Thanks everyone for the input. Now the trick will be to find a bare patch of ground that hasn't already been invaded with vegitation. LOL!

If you don't have a patch to put it in and it is only one or two a half barrel will work. I should not be the one to tell you this as I am bad about forgeting to water planters enough. I have murdered a few plants trying containers. But I am getting a little practice right now. Two people have trusted me enough to water their potted plants while they are gone for a few weeks. I almost failed untill DW reminded me after the third day. Hopfully I will get better, now that I have a routine schedual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`Russ

I skimmed the thread so I'm not sure it any one addressed the color issue but I wanted to let you know it is not uncommon for the new growth from colored tubers to revert to the normal color as yours did in your first photos. The tuber was probably from a tricolor but the new growth reverted back to the wild form. This happens frequently. The only way to be assured to propagate a color that is true to the parent is to start new plants from cuttings. I had beds of the tricolor and blackie all over and the next springs, they were replaced with the wild color form. I am still digging up and tossing out tubers whenever I see the wild form popping up.
Jan...

Well this I did not know. So I guess I may have to, bring some vines in.
It will crowd my space, But I do want to have a good bunch of ornamentals, for next spring. Guess I may have to make room some place besides the kitchen.
gapehen; in Georgia, zone 8; must be lucky then and the root never freezes. as hers keeps comming back. That is the Margurite. I know I know. Thats zone 8.
Well I will try a few from slips from the tubers. If it don't work- - - - - I guess I have extra tubers for the dinner table. If they don't taste the same, I might have to try adding pepper or something. LOL
Think it is still worth a try.
Holly: how did yours do? Did you get any tricolor from the tubers??

This message was edited Jul 12, 2007 3:38 PM

Ornamental SPVs are not meant to be eaten.

I always eat the bright red ones that he Lime green ornamental SP makes. They are VERY delicious--the flesh is a cross in color between Youkon Gold and the sweet Potato.
I wash them, wrap them in paper towels and nuke them for about 4 minutes in the Microwave. Cut them open and eat them with a bit of butter on each bite. YUMMMMMMMMMM......

Don't freak--after all, it IS a potato!

Gita

No budgie, they were not. But many do eat them. They are not poision. They just were not bred for taste or uniformity and eye apeal as lets say a Georga Jet or Centenial or any other market S/P. And if they don't reproduce true to type do we just throw them away??
I'm not getting on a high horse or any thing. just trying to weigh the pros and cons.
I have a friend that is a horticulturist, and DWs brother also has studied the field for his greenhouse. I will pick their brains, and try get the scoop. May take me a few days , but will post the results~~~Russ

Mine go in the compost bin. I recycle but in a different way. LOL

Well they do add to the compost. We recycle too. Newspaper. goes under mulch. Food scraps go to compost, meat scraps go to kitty. plastics cardboard, tin cans are recycled. glass we haul to the city. our small town doesn't take glass. Shopping bags go to goodwill. What is left Hmmm no garbage. I like that. I use grass clippings on the garden over the paper, unless it gets hot and dry and the grass don't grow. Then I improvise. A layer of fill sand over paper will keep the weeds from running amuck and only costs $5.00 per ton. if you haul. I don't like wood chips for the garden as they take too long to decompose. Now saw dust is a different story. I have used that too. Either one tills up very nice in the spring, and helps keep nice loose soil .
I never used to like spinich as far as I was concerned that was a weed. But then I had some in a green salad and found it to be good. Still won't eat it when it is cooked dead and slimy. My children still don't eat squash. Thats ok that is all the more for me. Yummy! Same with S/Ps.

What did I do wrong? I have tried two or three times to sprout sweet potatoes from the grocery store, in water, but all they did was rot and stink...should I try planting in the ground instead?

This has been such a great thread! I never thought of saving the tubers from the ornamental sweet potato vines so this will save me a ton of money next year! Thanks guys.

Last spring I planted regular sweet potato vines all along one edge of my half circle bed by the driveway--about 25 feet. The main reason I did this was that I was running out of room in the veg garden and also needed something to fill space on the road easement. I trained the vines to grow toward the road instead of choking out my Russian Sage and other garden plants (I learned the hard way not to just chop off unwanted vines--they just got bushier) Anyway, the plants got HUGE and spread about 15 feet--all the way to the road. We had to start mowing a strip next to the street because people were driving around instead of over the tendrils that made it that far. It was so funny watching everyone slow down and stare at the monster green vines and try to get up the nerve to ask a complete stranger what they were. The leaves were very pretty and green and made such a thick mat they choked out most of the weeds that usually grow out there. It was a show stopper! Even without the prettier variegated foliage they were definetly worth growing.

Everytime I went out to weed or just enjoy my front bed someone would stop to ask what that great plant was and where they could get some too. No one recongized it as being from the veg garden and everyone was shocked when they found out what it was. It became a big joke in my neighborhood--especially when I had to dig them in the fall. I had BUSHELS of potatoes that I had to get rid of. I found out that if you just throw them into the middle of the compost bin they can overwinter (zone 7b) and will sprout the next year. My bin looked wild with all these long snakey shoots sticking out of the sides growing green leaves late this spring. Made great compost when I turned them under though.

KY, Holly might have a better answer, but I just let the tuber sit in the dark closet where I kept all the tubers last year. and when they started sprouting, those were the ones I chose. I don't put the tuber in water. I'll cut the upper end off the tuber ( about a 2" section) and stick tooth picks into the cut part to hold it just at water level. They usually sprout like crazy for me that way.
I have also set new plants in a mini greenhouse, and they started sending roots out from the stem of the vine.
Some grocery chains have their S/Ps sprayed to inhibit sprouting, which could be the case.
Timing could be another factor, The tubers that I saved over winter didn't start sprouting till about Feb.
Another thing you might try is to put the tuber in damp sand. and keep it just on the moist side. That might promote sprouting. I haven't had to resort to that but have heard that it seems to work.
I will send you a Dmail.

Garden mom That was so funny. I can imagine people staring too as that would be a lot of green leaves. I don't remember exactly where Bigelow is but I don't recall seeing an excessive amount of green except for the trees, when we took a road trip up by the Mongolin Rim. That is not saying every thing was barren. I just ment Not as much green as around here. Maybe I should say like spring and early summer here. Oh well you get what I mean.

Ahh, ok, I didn't realize they sprayed a sprout inhibitor on the ones at the grocer's. Thanks for the heads up! And heck, I plopped the entire potato into a glass of water...no wonder I got a stinky, rotten mess. LOL

KyWoods mine did the same thing. That is until I forgot about a couple of them in the pantry for a couple of weeks and they sprouted like crazy all on their own. In fact one of them is now sitting on my kitchen counter (no water, no nuthin') still throwing up sprouts left and right. I've just been popping them off when they get a couple inches long, sticking the whole thing in a little cup of water, and within a day or 2 it gets roots. Maybe we were trying too hard. Maybe the trick for us newbies is to stick 'em in a corner and let them do their own thing. Or maybe I just got lucky. LOL.

LOL, yep, that's gotta be it--we tried too hard!

lala_jane; I really think that is just about the way to do it. I think a little time in the closet, seems to get them started. not really dry. but a little humid. then once they start you can keep popping off the sprouts. or If there a bunch of sprouts, and you are not sure about popping them off just plant the whole thing or cut the end off with the sprouts , let the cut dry then plant that end with the sprouts. and you have the rest of the tuber for dinner. Yum yum~~~~~~~~`Russ

Omigosh - I have *never* had anything root as fast as a couple of slips did for me - slips that I had left in my car for a few days before putting them in water. Two days, I kid you not!

That is amazing. Was the car out in the sun, or protected somewhat?
I know they are pretty tough, but didn't know they were that tough.
Good luck, with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Russ

1/2 day sun - but they had no moisture whatsoever. When I realised that I had left them in the car, I shrugged and threw them out on the lawn for a couple hours, to boot. They appear to take torture rather well.

I'm just amazed that they rooted that quickly - maybe it was a survival mechanism.

T'anks, Russ!

Hey all,

Now that a have a few OSPs going gang busters in the ground I'm wondering if Holly ever answered as to whether or not her tubers from last year came true. Suzy didn't you also say that you've grown some SPVs from tuber? I'm hopeful that I'll have potatos this fall and just wondering what I have to look forward to.

Oh, I forgot, so glad you reminded me. I gave all of mine the ???Tri-color ones away and I will have to make a few calls and see what they did and if I can get a few pictures. I gave some to my DIL and I remember that she said hers got very colorful but I didn't get to see them or get any pic. and the rest went to another friend I'll call her and ask what they looked like. She was the one I originally got the tubers from so she will have a real good idea if they look anything like they should. I am growing Margaritas and Blackies both in the deck boxes and in the garden. I planted the ones in the garden specially to get tubers for next year.

HollyAnnS; I don't know this, but Budgilover says they won't come back true that they will revert to wild. However I, like you, have planted in the garden to get tubers. I have mounded up around the plant and keep watering them as it is so dry here. I am deffinatly going to try sprouting as many as I can. I guess if they don't I'll have extra tubers for the table. Maybe even sweetpotato pie. :o)
If I can remember that long. I will post what results I wind up with next spring.
Russ

The Margaritas that I grew last year 2006 came from tubers from 2005 that I got out of my deck boxes at the end of the year and then I overwintered in my laundry room. Here is a picture from last summer. These look true but I'm not sure about some of the other varieties.

Good. Thanks, At least I should have one variety, that will work.
It had me somewhat concerned. about my SPs in the garden, as they all came from tuber shoots too. I gave a bunch away at the RU this spring. And I really wanted everyone to get a good yield, including myself.
I also have thought about flower boxes on the wood privacy fence, by the patio, with SP vines trailing down. Oh well something will grow from them. :o)

how exciting, i just planted 2 little red potatoes, wondering what would come out of it.

Here I am to resurrect the thread that will not die. LOL!

I've been meaning to come on for awhile to enquire about when to dig any tubers that may have formed over the summer. Do I need to dig them before a frost?....before a freeze? Do they stop growing when the weather gets cool so I might as well dig them now?

But before I even got the chance to pose my query I found tubers! I was emptying out a pot that had contained some blackie SPV and low and behold there they were. They are quite small and I'm wondering if there's any point trying to save them. What do you guys think?

And my final question is HOW to save them. Where do I want to store them, at what temp, etc? I have lots and lots of vine that was planted directly in the ground, so I'm thinking (hoping) that if I found tubers in my little pot, there's bound to be more in that mountain o' vines in the ground.

I just leave mine in the pots and they die back and resprout in spring time. But, I'm way down South so we can do that with most things in our area. I would think you would have to dig the tubers before the first freeze. I don't think a light frost would hurt them but Hey! It doesn't often get below 32 here and we only have hard freezes every once in a blue moon!

I am in awe of all the work it is for you gardeners and plant people in the north! I'm afraid if I had to go through what y'all do, digging up and storing bulbs, bringing lots of plants indoors ... I would not garden! Guess I've lived in Florida too long ... getting lazy in my old age!

Plantlady you are so right when you speak of the work it is to overwinter. I save anything I can find a window sill or an overhead light for, and by the time October rolls around there is no room in my house to move! I really got into coleus this year and it is KILLING me to let the mother plants die. But I have been advised to take cuttings of each variety and to to give those folks their due, unless you have a GH that's the only possible way to go. I have most of my cuttings rooted and I am already fretting over how I'm going to keep the 60 little babies alive for the next 7 months. (And those 60 cuttings are but a small fraction of my house turned jungle).

I'm hoping that over-wintering the tubers will work as that's one less plant I'll have to strive to keep alive. ;-)

Layla-Jane;
If the SPs in the ground were planted early spring. I would think they might be ok by now however I usually leave mine in until we have a killing frost. If the frost just gets the taller leaves, the plant will still thrive. I have a couple blackies in the ground. All the upper leaves turned black and shriveled up. I left them alone and they are still growing. nearly all the leaves that were frozen, have either dropped off or I pulled them off. and they are still filling the area out. So I am going to wait until that killing frost. I also have a dozen regular SPs in the garden. I will do the same for them as I did dig one and only had one large tuber and 4 that were trying to form. There is an old saying that root crops that you want to store over winter should be dug in a month ending in R.
But if you had a late planting like I did, I would wait as long as I could, to dig.
Last year I stored about half of them in a closet in the kitchen. It was a little cooler than room temp, and dry.
They stored very well until early spring, when they started sprouting. I used those that were sprouting to make new slips, for this year.
This will be my first year for ornamental SPs, but I would think that the larger your tubers are the better chance they have of storing over winter.
I am also thinking that you have more rain than we had, so yours could be ahead of mine.
You could carefully dig down into one hill and check for size, without disturbing the tubers. Just to have a look.

Anyone know how they do as house plants? I have mine in my heated/ac basement under flourescent lights, and they keep losing leaves! It's a hanging fiber basket I got at HD with three different colors of the vine in it. It's been down there a couple of months. I didn't want to plant it outside because the critter here destroy all plants.

KY. They need about 6 hrs. of sunlight. If your fluorescent lights are either Daylite or grow lights it should work but just the normal inexpensive ones won't really give the full spectrum they need.
I have some in part shade and some in full sun. The ones in full sun have filled in a large area. and those in part shade have only covered a 3' x 3' area. They have all survived 1 night of 31 F. or in other words a light frost.
May I ask what critter would destroy them outside?
I had a problem early on with rabbits, until I sprayed them with deer & rabbit repellent. Now they are keeping ahead of the grasshoppers even.
~~~~~~~~~~Russ

I live in the middle of over 25 acres of woods, so if they don't get eaten, they are dug up. (That's what happened to the ones you sent me, Russ--sorry!) I've tried Liquid Fence, cayenne pepper, other "guaranteed" repellants, but to no avail. I'm about ready to give up gardening unless I move away from here!