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Annual Root Vegetable · zones 9–11 · 20 varieties

Sweet potato

Ipomoea batatas

Convolvulaceae — the only crop in its plant family here.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is an annual root vegetable for USDA zones 9–11. It wants full sun and pH 5.5–6.5 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 90–120 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for sweetpotato weevil and black rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 7 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.

Zones 9–11 — USDA USDA
Sun Full sun
Water Moderate
Matures 90–120 days — from transplant from transplant
Mature size 12 in
Spacing 9–15 in
Soil pH 5.5–6.5
Frost Tender
When to plant sweet potatotypical · zone 6b
Your zone
…or your ZIP, for your real frost dates

Establishing
Growing
Roots sizing up
Harvest
Curing

Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.

Growing sweet potatoevery fact says where it came from

What we will not put a number on

We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.

Site & soil

Hardiness zones
9–11
Sun
Full sun
Soil pH
5.5–6.5
Soil texture
Sandy, Sandy loam, Loam, Well drained
Frost tolerance
Tender

No published figure for the temperature that would kill it and a heat limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.

The plant

Mature height
12 in
Mature spread
3–15 ft
Growth rate
Fastest
Spacing in row
9–15 in
Between rows
36–48 in
Planting depth
3–5 in
Container size
10–20 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
Support
Self-supporting
Grown from
Cutting, Transplant

Water & feeding

Water needs
Moderate
Water per week
1 in/wk
Critical water
Establishment
Feeding
Moderate

Timing & fruiting

Days to maturity
90–120 days from transplant
Harvest cues
Lower leaf yellowing
Chilling injury below
50 °F

There is no line here for how many weeks early to start it indoors, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Planted again for autumn

Set plants out by
late Jul typical · zone 6b

90 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.

Edible parts per source: root, leaf, stem.

What tends to go wrongmost-cited first
PestsSweetpotato weevilWirewormsRoot knot nematodesFlea beetlesCutwormsVoles
DiseasesBlack rotFusarium wiltInternal corkSoil rotScurf

Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.

⚠ Reported toxicityverbatim from cited sources

Different parts differ — the edible part is the root and leaf and stem; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.

PetsNon toxic to dogs, Non toxic to cats, Non toxic to horses

Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).

All 20 varietiesthe ones with their own page are linked
Variety Type DaysColorWhat it is known for
All Gold Heirloom Orange 90–120 Orange
Beauregard Orange 90–100 Orange
Bonita White 100–110 White
Bush Porto Rico Heirloom Orange 100–110 Orange
Carolina Ruby Orange 90–100 Orange
Centennial Heirloom Orange 90 Orange George's Plant Farm describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Covington Orange 100 Orange
Garnet Orange 90–110 Orange
Georgia Jet Orange 90 Orange
Hernandez Orange 100 Orange
Jewel Orange 100–120 Orange
Molokai Purple Heirloom Purple 90–120 Purple
Murasaki White 120 White
Nancy Hall Heirloom Yellow 110 Yellow George's Plant Farm describes this askeeps a long time after picking
O'Henry White 90–100 White
Okinawan Heirloom Purple 120–140 Purple
Orleans Orange 100 Orange
Vardaman Orange 100–110 Orange Backbone Valley Nursery describes this askeeps a long time after picking
Vermilion Orange 100–110 Orange
White Yam Heirloom White 110 White
Sources7 cited · 7 organizations
  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
  • Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
  • Mississippi State University Extension
  • NC State Extension
  • University of Florida IFAS Extension
  • University of Maryland Extension
  • Utah State University Extension

We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 19 of the 21 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.

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