Okinawan Purple Sweet Potato Slips – Live Rooted Plants

Grow a striking harvest with Okinawan purple sweet potatoes, prized for their buff-colored skin and vivid violet-purple flesh. Their lightly sweet flavor and creamy, starchy texture make them a distinctive choice for roasting, steaming, savory dishes, and desserts such as Hawaiian sweet potato and haupia pie.

These are live rooted slips of Ipomoea batatas, not seeds or harvested tubers. Select a pack of 2, 5, or 20 slips to start your warm-season planting.

Variety Highlights

• Variety: Okinawan purple sweet potato, also known as Hawaiian sweet potato.
• Skin: Buff-colored.
• Flesh: Violet-purple, often deepening in color when cooked.
• Flavor: Delicate and lightly sweet, with a creamy, starchy texture.
• Kitchen uses: Roasted, baked, steamed, mashed, or used in pies and other desserts.

Unlike Murasaki sweet potatoes, which have purple skin and pale flesh, Okinawan sweet potatoes are distinguished by their purple interior.

What You Receive

• 2 live rooted slips
• 5 live rooted slips
• 20 live rooted slips

Choose your preferred quantity before adding to cart. Handle the roots and tender stems gently when unpacking and planting.

Planting Instructions

Plant after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Choose a full-sun site with loose, well-drained soil and enough space for spreading vines.

• Space slips 12–18 inches apart in rows 3–4 feet apart.
• Make a planting hole deep enough to accommodate the roots without crowding or bending them sharply.
• Set roots downward, cover the lower portion of the slip with soil, and keep the upper leaves above the surface.
• Firm the soil gently and water well after planting.

Growing and Care

Keep the soil consistently moist while slips establish, without leaving it waterlogged. Sweet potatoes grow best in warm weather and need a long frost-free season. Give vines room to spread and monitor soil moisture during hot, dry periods.

Harvesting, Curing and Storage

The existing variety information gives an approximate harvest window of 90–120 days after planting, but readiness varies with climate and growing conditions. Watch for yellowing vines and check a sample root before harvesting. Lift carefully to avoid cutting or bruising the roots, and harvest before frost.

Cure harvested roots in a warm, humid, well-ventilated location for approximately 1–2 weeks before storage. Keep cured sweet potatoes in a cool, dry, ventilated place, and inspect them regularly.