Itโs 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.

Grow Sweet Potato Vine Cuttings

Ornamental sweet potato vine never goes out of style. Itโs 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, itโs 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.
Iโll show you how I propagate it in jars of water.
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Supplies
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- 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

What is a leaf node? Itโs 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 6-8โณ 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.
2Pinch off lower leaves

See all the leaf node stubs in the image (above)?
Iโve removed the leaves to expose the entire section that will sit in water.
New roots will form at those nodes.
Just donโt submerge any leaves: they will rot.
3Place the stems in fresh, warm water

Warm water is a key to successful gardening. Plant roots do not like the cold the same way we donโt like cold feet.
I keep the jars in a slightly shaded area. They donโt need a lot of sun and you donโt ever want the water evaporating and exposing the roots.
After a week or so, youโll see white roots start to form at the former leaf node locations.
Some sweet potato vines grow really fastโwith tons of rootsโand others take their sweet time.
Either way, itโs a tough plant to kill. And I hope I didnโt just jinx your efforts by saying that.
4Replace the water every few days

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

You might notice the remaining leaves wilt slightly for a few days. Donโt panic. They should get perky again soon.
5Plant them in containers or keep them in jars

When the roots are at least 3โณ 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 itโs rarely tragic. You can see tiny bite marks in the image below. No big deal. They seem to nip and run.

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 youโll give this a try. Itโs a super fast way to get more plants from the purchase of just a few!
Resources
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How to Grow Sweet Potato Vine From Cuttings
Equipment
- 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.