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How to Grow Sweet Potato Vine from Cuttings

Published on July 30, 2019Last updated November 18, 2021 โ™› By Melissa J. Will

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Itโ€™s easy to grow sweet potato vine from cuttings rooted in water. Use this method to fill summer planters or grow fresh indoor plants during the winter.

You can also grow clematis and honeysuckle vines from cuttings and more help for growing from seeds and cuttings.

Rooting sweet potato vine cuttings in jars of water.

Grow Sweet Potato Vine Cuttings

Sweet potato vine cuttings in jars of water.

Ornamental sweet potato vine never goes out of style. Itโ€™s bright, beautiful, fast-growing, and adds a punch of cheer to any garden container.

There are tips for growing sweet potato vine here.

And better yet, itโ€™s easy to grow more from cuttings.

This easy-going plant can grow in soil or water so your options are wide open.

You can also use it as a houseplant, though it can be attractive to various pesky flies that hold parties indoors, so beware of that.

Iโ€™ll show you how I propagate it in jars of water.

About Plant Patents

Some plants areย patentedย and asexual reproduction is not permitted without permission from the patent holder. Patents and trademarks are usually listed on plant tags.

Supplies

Some product links may go to affiliate accounts like Amazon.com but I always suggest you check your own cupboards first or buy locally.

  • Ornamental sweet potato vine (lime green is the most common color but also check for the darker varieties too).
  • Scissors or fine garden snippers (clean with rubbing alcohol, or bleach solution (4 teaspoons bleach per quart or liter of water).
  • Jars or vases with warm water.

1Take a cutting below a leaf node

Using scissors to remove sweet potato vine cuttings.
Cutting stems to propagate sweet potato vine

What is a leaf node? Itโ€™s the location on the plant where a leaf grows out of the main stem. When leaves are removed, roots can grow in their place. Cool, right?

I like to have about 6-8โ€ณ of vine to use for a cutting.

Using clean scissors (I keep rubbing alcohol handy), clip off a piece of vine just below a leaf node.

Roots will sprout wherever nodes have contact with water.


Two methods for propagating sweet potato slips.

Related: How to Grow Sweet Potato Vine from Cuttings



2Pinch off lower leaves

Sweet potato vine cutting.
The bumps on the stems are nodes and this is where roots and leaves can form

See all the leaf node stubs in the image (above)?

Iโ€™ve removed the leaves to expose the entire section that will sit in water.

New roots will form at those nodes.

Just donโ€™t submerge any leaves: they will rot.


Flower pot with green sweet potato vine and flowering annuals.

Related: Creative Ways to Grow & Display Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine



3Place the stems in fresh, warm water

Rooting sweet potato vine cuttings in jars of water.
Black and green sweet potato vine

Warm water is a key to successful gardening. Plant roots do not like the cold the same way we donโ€™t like cold feet.

I keep the jars in a slightly shaded area. They donโ€™t need a lot of sun and you donโ€™t ever want the water evaporating and exposing the roots.

After a week or so, youโ€™ll see white roots start to form at the former leaf node locations.

Some sweet potato vines grow really fastโ€”with tons of rootsโ€”and others take their sweet time.

Either way, itโ€™s a tough plant to kill. And I hope I didnโ€™t just jinx your efforts by saying that.


4Replace the water every few days

Sweet potato vine cutting in a jar of water.
Rooting sweet potato vine in a jar of water

You donโ€™t want the water getting gross or murky so keep it fresh. You can use the old water to water other garden plants.

Sweet potato vine cuttings growing in jars of water.
Sweet potato vine cutings in mason jars

You might notice the remaining leaves wilt slightly for a few days. Donโ€™t panic. They should get perky again soon.


5Plant them in containers or keep them in jars

Sweet potato vine and purple petunias.
Flowers and sweet potato vine

When the roots are at least 3โ€ณ long, you can plant your vines in containers (use potting mix, not garden soil) or continue growing them in jars.

Various insects will nibble on the leaves but itโ€™s rarely tragic. You can see tiny bite marks in the image below. No big deal. They seem to nip and run.

Large flower pot of sweet potato vine and petunias.
Lime green sweet potato vine steals the show

Grow Sweet Potato Indoors

As mentioned, you can bring the cuttings indoors and keep them going all winter long (either in containers with proper container mix) or in water jars or vases.

They can attract whiteflies and other tiny insects so keep this in mind. I like to keep a fan running for good air circulation and to discourage indoor soil pests.

You could also overwinter them in a heated greenhouse so long as the temperature remains moderate (not cool and definitely not freezing).

Last year I tried keeping the cuttings in water all winter long in our house. The plants grew like crazy and lasted right through until April when they started to brown.

I hope youโ€™ll give this a try. Itโ€™s a super fast way to get more plants from the purchase of just a few!


Resources

Empress of Dirt

FREE TIP SHEET

Seasonal Plant Cuttings Calendar

Includes plant lists from this article.

Examples of plants you can grow from cuttings in spring, summer, and fall.
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Collage of flowering annuals you can grow from cuttings

Related: 12 Flowering Annuals You Can Grow From Cuttings


~Melissa the Empress of Dirt โ™›

Sweet potato vine cuttings.
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5 from 8 votes

How to Grow Sweet Potato Vine From Cuttings

Step-by-step instructions for taking a stem cutting from a sweet potato vine plant and rooting it in water to grow a new plant.
Steps15 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Author: Melissa J. Will
Cost: $5

Equipment

  • Snippers
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Mason jar

Supplies & Materials

  • 1 Sweet potato vine plant
  • 1 Water room temperature

Instructions

  • Clean snippers with rubbing alcohol.
  • Take an 8-inch cutting by snipping below a leaf node.
    1 Sweet potato vine plant
  • Pinch off lower leaves from lower 4-inches of stem.
  • Place stem in mason jar of room temperature water, submerging leaf-less section of stem.
  • Replace water every few days.
  • When roots are at least 3-inches long, plant in potting mix.
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Sweet potato vine cuttings in jars of water.
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I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
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