Llez · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sweet potato
Plant·Ipomoea batatas
Full sun
Sun
Medium
Water
Well-drained soil
Drainage
Zones 9–11
Hardiness
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has moderate water needs.
Through the year
FruitingLeafing outDormantDying backFloweringReady to harvest
Works well with
from wiki dataNo companions recorded.
WHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs moderate water
Needs well-drained soil
Prefers soil pH 5–7
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Prefers sandy loam, loam soil
Struggles in compacted soil
Adds a moderate amount of organic matter to the soil
Partners with mycorrhizal fungi to boost nutrient uptake
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives ground cover (dense foliage provides excellent ground cover)
Gives organic matter (leaf litter and root biomass contribute to soil organic matter)
Gives oxygen (produces oxygen through photosynthesis)
Attracts pollinators
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Ground cover
Height15–30 cm
Spacing30 cm (min 20 cm)
Root depthShallow
Width60–180 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by slips, stem cuttings, seeds
Difficulty
Establishes in about 1 yr
Doesn't self-seed on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
Photograph Llez · CC BY-SA 3.0