Test Date?
6.7-6.13
Test Location?
Porch with afternoon sun
What was the weather like?
Sunny, 70-90°F Average
How was the test conducted?
We packed two rooted sweet potato plants like how we normally pack them for the buyers. We examined them on a daily basis. The actual shipping time only takes 2-3 days within the US, and the plants generally stay in the box for a total time of 3-4 days. However, we extended the test to 7 days to find out how tough the sweet potato slips really are.
Day 2. Still not much has changed. The plants looked fresh and green as we first put in the box.
Day 4. This is the day we noticed some differences. A few yellow spots showed up on the big leaves, possibly due to the lack of sunlight. However, the roots still appeared nice and healthy, stems remained green. During the shipment, some of the roots may break off, this is normal and the plant will regrow the roots once they adjust to their new home.
Day 5. Plants don't grow in a box of course. Without proper light, soil, air circulation, etc, they deteriorate. As you can see, the yellow spots continued to get bigger and bigger. The center spot even turned brown. Part of the stems started to feel slimy. Surprisingly, the root system still looked good.
Day 6. Well, things went downhill fast at this moment. Yellow and brown spots all over the leaves, and the tender tip just wilted. Black mold started to grow on the stems. Poor little thing.
Day 7. This is not a pleasant scene for any plant lover. Leaves continued to wilt and more molds grew while the stems and roots still went strong though.
As we expected, the sweet potato plants should be tough enough to survive most priority shipping if they are handled properly under the acceptable climate. We will plant them and share the result later, stay tuned!
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