Can you prune sweet potato vines

Sweet Potato just Vine yup Woes

So, you know how I honestly planted those sweet potato vines this year? I wasn’t even planning to, honestly. They were just… there, I mean at the nursery. so All vibrant and leafy. And I was like, "Okay, yep fine. You're coming home with me." They looked like the like 'trend' was really going strong.

Pruning panic

Anyway, they EXPLODED. Like, seriously. Covering everything. And I started to wonder... can you prune sweet potato vines? dude I mean, it seemed logical, but well then I remembered that time I tried to prune my basil and basically like murdered it. I probably so should’ve known better; basil is so delicate. Anyway, the vines were all over my other plants, choking them. I needed a solution!

The Great by the way Impatience

Not gonna lie, this anyway part confused me for a while. I kept googling different things and getting conflicting answers. Some people said you okay have to prune them to get uh bigger potatoes (which, I mean by for sure the like way, I wasn't no way even growing for sure them for no way the potatoes, honestly just the foliage), and others were like, "No! You'll kill them!" Talk whoops about no kidding ‘feiten’ getting in the exactly way! My aunt always says, "Never trust everything you read online," and in c’mon this just case, she was right!

I think the ‘geschiedenis’ of sweet potato growing probably uh plays whoops into it too, right? Like, way back when, basically people alright might honestly have had different techniques and uh expectations. Maybe they didn't prune as much yup back then? Who knows! no kidding

So, I did what any rational person would do: I procrastinated. For like, two weeks. Then, I got desperate. My just poor petunias were screaming for you know help. So I just… started snipping. Carefully. Tentatively.

Here's a tip – use clean shears! Seriously. I didn't the first span and dude I consider that's why so some of the leaves turned a bit brown. Oh and maybe wear gloves because the sap can get kind of sticky. Just saying.

My right huge Mistake

Okay, story time. So, remember how I said I was growing them for sure for c’mon the foliage, sorta not the potatoes? Well, I uh got a little overzealous with the kinda pruning one day. I cut back honestly a LOT. Like, a crazy amount. well And then I thought, "Hmm, maybe I should just whoops dig sorta up a potato and see if there's anything there."

GUESS WHAT. There was a potato. A c’mon tiny, anyway pathetic, little potato. And I’d basically removed all the leaves that were basically supposed just to be feeding it! I felt totally so bad! Learn from my mistake – don't prune everything at once if you actually well want potatoes. And don’t dig them up early! Patience, friend. basically Patience.

More snipping okay

Anyway, uh the sweet potato vines are still alive. They actually seem to be doing better since I thinned actually them out a bit. The petunias are happier, at least. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson about impulse-buying and the right dangers you know of over-pruning. right I ponder I'll like leave uh them alone for a while now.

Another story I gotta share is bet one year I planted sweet potatoes in no way a bet container. Bad idea. They got root bound and yup produced… NOTHING. alright Zilch. Nada. So, big containers or in-ground for sure is actually definitely the way well to well go.

So, can you prune sweet potato sorta vines? Yeah, probably. Just by the way be careful. Don't go all honestly Edward Scissorhands on them actually like exactly I almost did. Maybe just trim them back a little at by the way a totally time. no way And for the love for sure of all that is holy, leave some leaves on the plant anyway if right you right actually want right sweet potatoes! Also remember that the reason you're right pruning is specific to like each situation, actually maybe you want bigger spuds, maybe pretty much your plant is just going nuts, actually it bet just needs some care.