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Saving ornamental sweet potato tubers

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)

14 years ago

While ferreting around in the garden I dug up one of my ornamental sweet potatoes. These were killed by frost a couple of weeks ago so the tops were all shriveled. I found a cute little skinny zigzag potato on the end which was still nice and firm. So I dug up the others to check. Some are whole potatoes, but half did not form a potato, but were just thickened roots.

In the past I tried taking cuttings from them. They all rooted quickly but died not long after potting up. I tried many different variations and decided it just doesnÂt work for me.

I remember some saying here they had better luck saving the tubers, like dahlias. Can anyone give me more details? Does it work to save the ones that are just roots? Or does it need to be a potato?

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Comments (2)

Donna
14 years ago
I've had reasonably good luck saving the tubers in a cool, dark, DRY place like a basement. Do not put them in plastic containers or touching other roots, plants, etc. They will begin to sprout in the spring at which time, you can cut them into pieces and plant. Amazing how big they get, isn't it?
northerner_on
14 years ago
I have similarly had good results saving them in a bag of dry peat moss in the basement over winter, then potting them up in the spring. I have never cut them into pieces though. Last year, after drying them off and dusting off all the dirt, I wrapped them in Saran wrap until January, then in planted them in pots of dry seed starter mix andkep them in the basement. In spring I wet the mix and brought them into the light and they sprouted. It took longer this way though.
I don't think it matters if they're roots or potatoes. I think potatoes are just thickened roots?
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That's a good basic explanation. Thanks! George
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linnea, I just posted an answer in the Annuals forum (Home, but in that winter sleep, zzzz...). Basically the same answer you got here. The main thing is keep them dry enough not to rot. I cut the sprouting ones in pieces in the spring and let them dry before potting up, though sometimes they rot anyway. If you have more than one tuber, you might try both ways. If you do, report back! :)
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I save them every year and store them in a cool room in basement( paper bags with peatmoss) until April and then pot them up. Check on them a couple of times to make sure they aren't too dry. I ended up with alot of the tricolored ones this year. I also overwinter geraniums in paper bags. Happy Gardening! Boop
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I think I have tried every way possible and haven't had much luck except this year. While digging up a companion plant to save last fall I dug up a pencil size sm root of my potato plant and so I just potted it up. It took awhile (untill christmas) but I have sm lime green leaves now. I'll try it next year too but root cuttings does seem to work. If I had been smarter last year I would have put in more roots but...I'll have to try that next year. I find that I am using these more and more every year so it will be worth it for me.
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