Transplanting a sweet potato vine

Question

I have two sweet potato vines growing in a window box together with other plants but they seem to be taking over and I have noticed that the other plants are suffering. I have removed them and transplanted them into another pot. As I was digging them out I saw lots of pink 'tubers' in the earth that broke off.....some were huge! Does this mean that my vines will die now and what is the best way to make sure they survive in a new pot?

Answer 1

Those are the "potatoes".  They are technically edible (not poisonous - related to real sweet potatoes) - but they taste really nasty.

They didn't all need to go with the plant when you moved it.  If you got enough of the root mass, they should be okay.  You might want to consider cutting them back a bit, so they have less top growth to support while they work on re-establishing their root system.

Answer 2

i would have taken the other plants out and left the potato in there.. i dont know tho.. gl with it..

Answer 3

Sweet potato vines tend to take over small planters and flower pots, they spread out and cover other flowers and suck all the water and nutrients out of the soil. You can control them by cutting back every week, but they still hog all the water and fertilizer. Any potato thats left in the window box may re sprout. Transplanting the vine shouldn't be a problem, but remember to give it plenty of water or it will suffer. If you put it in a new pot, the best thing I've found to mix with it is purple heart and asparagus fern.