Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Won't grow here

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Won't grow here

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✕

Out of range today and still out of range in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 32 ecoregions — 22 climate-resilient through 2070 · 10 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

Eastern Australian temperate forests

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Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests

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Edwards Plateau savanna

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

12"

Habit

Trailing tender perennial vine grown as a warm-season annual

Care tips

•

Wait until after the last frost and warm soil to set out slips — sweet potato is frost-tender and only perennial in Zones 9-11.

•

Give each plant room: vines mound just ~9 inches tall but sprawl 8-10 feet wide and root at the nodes.

•

Keep the soil consistently moist for best growth, even though established plants tolerate drought and dry soil.

Lifecycle

Planting

Grow in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soil in full sun, where the best leaf color develops. A tuberous plant not grown from seed: purchase plants (slips) in spring and set them out only after the last frost date, once the soil has warmed (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Transplanting

Set out spring-purchased slips after frost danger passes. Container plants can be overwintered indoors in a bright location and moved back out the following spring.

Early growth

Keep soils consistently moist while the vines establish and trail. Maintenance is low; rotate the planting to a new spot each year to minimize fungal leaf disease (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Maturity

Trailing stems mound to about 9 inches tall but spread 8 to 10 feet wide, rooting at the nodes. In Zones 9-11 it is a tender perennial; in colder regions grow it as an annual and dig the tubers in fall (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Propagation

Propagate in spring from sprouted sections of an overwintered tuber or from cuttings rooted in water. For fall storage, dig the tubers, dry them, and store in vermiculite or peat in a cool basement (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder).

Pollination

Pollination not applicable

Sweet potato is grown for its tuberous storage roots and is propagated vegetatively from slips, sprouted tuber sections, or water-rooted cuttings rather than from seed, so pollination is not part of garden cultivation. The species can produce pale-pink-to-violet trumpet flowers, but Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder notes that most ornamental and crop cultivars rarely flower.

For people

Edible

Cultivated for over 2,000 years for its orange-fleshed (among other colors) edible storage roots. Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder notes the tubers of ornamental foliage cultivars are also edible, though less flavorful than dedicated food varieties. The leaves and shoots are eaten as a cooked green in many cuisines.

Native range

AHS heat range

6-12

Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Ipomoea batatas for USDA Zones 9 to 11 in full sun with medium water; it is a tender perennial winter hardy only to those zones and grown as an annual (or with tubers dug in fall) in colder climates such as St. Louis.

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder records it as tolerant of deer, drought, and dry soil, with low maintenance, though it requires consistently moist soils for best growth.

•

Native range is tropical America (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Mexico); it is not native to the United States or Canada and is frost-tender, so outside Zones 9-11 it is treated strictly as a warm-season annual.

In the designer

Growth over time

3-6" tall · 38-48" spread

Slips set out after the last frost establish roots and begin trailing.

Design roles: Edible · Filler · Container

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Sweet potato

At a glance

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations