how developed was the slip? for the main store stock have been treated so as not to sprout, so there could have ben some intervention there? if you still ahve the sweet potato, i'd suggest you cut it in 1/2 across the middle and stand both those ends in a "little" water, enough the keep the ends moist and keep the water up to them, if it is a viabe tuber new shoots will occur or it will rot that meaning it is not a viable tuber. in the mean time seek out a more viable tuber from a smaller green grocer or local markets, and treat it as i have suggested above. now when shoots appear which can be from the top or the botton whatever, let them grow to about 6"s then cut off that section of tubers, if there is enough shoots spaced out you could divide that section and plant them out into the garden they will grow once they start to grow mulch then well. roots are not needed though in many cases the shoots appear from the top and roots appear at the bottom in the water, the roots will come into play once you have removed enough of the top for shoots. would suggest also if you are happy with the crop take some vine slips in the autumn and stand them in water freshening the water as needed, once they take root then plant them into pots and keep in a warm place for the next seasons planting. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

My problem seemed to be lots of different problems (or just plain bad luck?). One year the slips that came in the mail were beautiful. I put them in water for a few days, planted them out, and they grew well and I had a successful harvest. One year the slips that came looked dead (and in fact were). I put them in water right away and they never perked up. This is the extreme negative experience I have had with attempting to grow sweet potatoes. Other years the slips came all wilty, as is typical. Some would perk up in water, some wouldn't. I planted them out and some would die and then a few more would grow for a while and then die. This loss through attrition seems to be the biggest problem I have had. The ones that survived would produce disappointing harvests of a few small sweet potatoes. One year I planted them out and they were growing nicely and then our wonderful desiccating prairie winds destroyed the young plants in one hot, windy day. They never recovered. Another year the young plants drowned due to too much rain. I have rich heavy clay loam soil - not the greatest for gardening due to water retention and compaction but it is incredibly nutrient-rich. I have my soil tested every other year and amend accordingly. The soil is slightly but consistently on the alkaline side. I do not know if that is a problem for sweet potatoes. Two years I suspect were my fault - planted slips in too-cold soil temps - but I planted out when my experienced neighbors planted theirs and they told me to go ahead and plant - no joy. I have ordered from reputable catalogs (they just contract with the same supplier don't they?), and I have ordered from the same company that a neighbor orders from - no real success with any. The one company I really should consider ordering slips from is Sand Hill. Glenn and Linda have quite the collection and they are in a similar climate as me, and are somewhat close geographically which should reduce shipping time and thus stress on the slips. I could get some short-season plants from them to try out. I welcome other suggestions for suppliers. I have looked into purchasing organic sweet potatoes for producing my own slips. A viable option but often the employees do not know the correct names of the varieties - unhelpful if they turn out to be long-season types. BTW the one neighbor of mine that consistently grows good sweet potatoes just lost over three quarters of his plants to deer browsing (he planted 100 plants). In a fenced-in garden (they jumped over). Needless to say he is quite disgusted (putting it mildly). I feel bad for him. This is THE crop he loves growing and he is rightfully proud of his accomplishments. Sometimes you just can't win. Thanks for all the comments folks, they are appreciated and are being taken under advisement.

I grow slips and have found that sometimes there is no method to the madness. This year I have some cut and some whole. They are all from the same source, and all in the exact same area, yet they all grew at different rates. Like yours some are huge, while others are very small. Some of mine that were cut in half even have different growth rates from their other half. I just think it is random. This is what I will say, if you cut your potatoes you increase the risk of fungus growth around the cut. I don't think it matters, but I have noticed they tend to rot quicker around the cut (obviously). I will be planting mine today as well. I just break them at the base and hope it has a few roots growing there. I'll trim the bottom few leaves and plant them about 3 inches deep. It seems to work for me. From what I understand sweet potatoes are not too picky. You could probably through a potato on some soil and it will eventually root.

No IME that is not normal. You will usually see slips sprouting before the potato sprouts much in the way of roots itself. Use the search to pull up all the other posts about growing sweet potato slips. Many of the recent ones have pics included. Dave Here's one pic I found http://www.motherearthnews.com/~/media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Articles/Magazine%20Articles/1985/05-01/Sweet%20Potatoes%20Slips/1985%2005%20slipping%20sweet%20potatoes%2001%20sweet%20potato%20slips%20550p%20jpg.jpg