I tried washing the sweet potato and placing in water,now it has roots AND leaves growing down in the water??

Question

How did that happen? Am I going to lose the leaves in the water? If I turn it upside down all the roots will dry out. Agh!

Answer 1

It's still good.

If you want to eat it, just cut off the roots and stems, and cook as you wanted to before.

If you want to grow it, pull it out of the water, and plant it into some earth.  The foliage will grow out eventually since it is a tuber, as long as the roots are kept healthy and looked after.

Answer 2

Sweet potato is modified root of the plant. It is a storage organ of this plants. It is also the vegetative reproducing plant organ.  Whatever is produced by the leaves when the plant is in the field is transported to these underground roots and is stored in the form of starch.  The roots therefore  swell, grow bigger and bigger. When the water supply is cut off,  the upper leaves dry out  and the underground roots i.e. sweet potatoes are dug out. These roots have eyes or the buds on them. When they are transferred to moist conditions (favourable conditions), these eyes start sprouting and produce new leaves and roots.

In your case these things have happened. Now if you want to have sweet potato plants, you can plant them in sand soil mixture 1:1 and some fertiliser. Keep them properly watered in a well drained pot or soil. Get fresh Sweet potatoes in your garden. All the Best!!!

Answer 3

Growth starts in the "eyes" of the tuber. You will lose the leaves in the water but, the others will still grow. Do not turn it upside down, let it continue to grow, as is.

Answer 4

Sweet potato germinates easily ( So also the white potato)

You have provided it with all the requirements for germination.

Now you will have to provide it with the rwquirements for growth,

Click on the link below and see / read ==

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case5/c...

http://www.garden.org/plantguide/?q=show...

http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/YS/crafts/spo...

From = A Botanist