Sweet Potato Vine

Question

I am growing a sweet potato as a houseplant. I was not concerned about the vegetable, so I just planted a piece of the potato that was sprouting in soil rather than cutting off and planting slips. But now I have a stalk (about 10″ high already) rather than a vine. What’s going on? Will pruning or some other care encourage more vine-like behavior? Thank you!

Answer 1

Could you please send us a photo of the plant? We will be better able to identify what is happening if we can see it. I suspect that there is some fasciation happening, but can't tell unless I can see it. It could also be that it does not have enough light. If it is growing upward in an attempt to find light, you can snip off the top 1/3 and place it somewhere it will get more light. This should stop the upward growth and it should start to vine more.