If you are just growing slips, and planting those, I don't think they are technically considered 'clones'. In reality, and this is slightly educated supposition, the slips are simply a continuation of the same plant. Since the sweet potato the slips grow off of is a root, it's not a new generation of genetic material, it's just a regrowth of the same plant.

If however, you are taking cuttings from the living vines and rooting those... well, that might indeed be considered a 'clone'. In which case, I doubt there would be any degradation of DNA, but that's a guess.

They are all "clones". The only concern, I would think, would be possible diseases/pests that could be also propagated each year along with the "clones". The stock from the grocery might not be disease free either in the first place.

Is the difference between sweet potato slips, and say, a bulb - like a tulip - is that the original 'root' dies?

Depends on how one is defining "clones". What you are actually doing is just rooting cuttings, a common practice that some call "cloning".

Is there a reason to change? Perhaps. If there are any signs of systemic disease in the mother plant, if the growth is abnormally slow or shows any signs of weakness in the plant itself (smaller leaves, thinner vines, stunting, longer internodal spacing, etc.). Otherwise, no not IMO.

Dave

I don't actually recall where I heard it called cloning, but I am just taking vine cutting from plants and using it to make a bunch of plants. I guess after this season I will decide if I wanna switch it up, or if it produced enough. Thanks for weighing in!