Hello! I love houseplants, vegetable & herb gardening; so, discovering this site was a blessing. Thanks for sharing such beautiful images of your plant life & abundant information! I'm trying some new & different things; so, I will post a few questions in the forums. I wanted to grow beautiful vines from a sweet potato (just for decorative/ornamental purposes … not trying to grow potatoes in a garden). Ironically, that experiment started on it's own in my pantry with a forgotten sweet potato (not from the organic section) that sprouted stems (see image). Sweeeeet! Soooo, NOW what do I do (& how)? Do I …

Cut or pinch the new sprouted stems from the potato & plant them in soil?
Cut or pinch & root the stems in water before planting in soil?
Root the entire or chunk of potato in water?

I have fond memories of experimenting rooting potatoes with my mom (she was a teacher) & school science teacher; but, don't remember the details. Please lend me your expertise & experience. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. Meanwhile,

EnJOY your weekend!

This is how I grow sweet potatoes every year and it works great. Once you have growth like your picture, you cut them off near the tuber and stick them in moist soil and they are guaranteed to root and grow quickly.

If your soil outside is nice and moist you can stick the cuttings directly into the garden soil. Make sure at least a couple inches of stem is below the surface. They need a long growing season to bear fruit but if you're in the south you still have plenty of time.

Dave, thanks for your help. I look forward to growing beautiful vines in containers (again, not trying to grow potatoes). I'm in the midwest.

A sweet potato from the produce section in the grocery store will likely make a vine with plain green leaves, light purple blooms. The "ornamental" cultivars are also Ipomoea batatas, also edible. You can plant the slips as described, or the whole potato, or pieces of the potato.