Helianthus Species, Jerusalem Artichoke, Sunchoke, Sunroot
Helianthus tuberosus
Family: | Asteraceae (ass-ter-AY-see-ee) (Info) |
Genus: | Helianthus (hee-lee-AN-thus) (Info) |
Species: | tuberosus (too-ber-OH-sus) (Info) |
Synonym: | Helianthus esculentus |
Synonym: | Helianthus serotinus |
Synonym: | Helianthus tomentosus |
Category:
Bulbs
Vegetables
Perennials
Water Requirements:
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Sun Exposure:
Full Sun
Foliage:
Herbaceous
Foliage Color:
Dark Green
Height:
8-10 ft. (2.4-3 m)
Spacing:
24-36 in. (60-90 cm)
Hardiness:
USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 °C (-30 °F)
USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 °C (-25 °F)
USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 °C (-20 °F)
USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)
Where to Grow:
Grow outdoors year-round in hardiness zone
Suitable for growing in containers
Danger:
N/A
Bloom Color:
Gold (yellow-orange)
Bright Yellow
Bloom Characteristics:
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
Bloom Size:
2"-3"
Bloom Time:
Late Summer/Early Fall
Other details:
May be a noxious weed or invasive
Soil pH requirements:
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
Patent Information:
Non-patented
Propagation Methods:
By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
Seed Collecting:
Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds
Regional
This plant is said to grow outdoors in the following regions:
Hereford, Arizona
Mc Gehee, Arkansas
Morrilton, Arkansas
Amesti, California
Bostonia, California
Calistoga, California
Corralitos, California
Elkhorn, California
Interlaken, California
Pajaro, California
San Francisco, California
Watsonville, California
West Covina, California
Grand Junction, Colorado
Apopka, Florida
North Port, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Plant City, Florida
Villa Rica, Georgia
Boise, Idaho
Hayden, Idaho
Waukegan, Illinois
Barbourville, Kentucky
Benton, Kentucky
Pikesville, Maryland
Halifax, Massachusetts
Grand Rapids, Michigan(2 reports)
Florence, Mississippi
Mathiston, Mississippi
Olive Branch, Mississippi
Cole Camp, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Republic, Missouri
Beatrice, Nebraska
Carson City, Nevada
Munsonville, New Hampshire
Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Neptune, New Jersey
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Silver City, New Mexico
Croton On Hudson, New York
Fairport, New York
Saranac, New York
Shandaken, New York
Concord, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Pembina, North Dakota
Bucyrus, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio(2 reports)
Vinton, Ohio
Salem, Oregon
Sweet Home, Oregon
Du Bois, Pennsylvania
Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Crossville, Tennessee
Lenoir City, Tennessee
Arlington, Texas
Austin, Texas
Belton, Texas
Manassas, Virginia
Camano Island, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Kinnear, Wyoming
Riverton, Wyoming
show allGardeners' Notes:
Rating | Content |
---|---|
Positive | On Jun 25, 2018, FlaineClark from Du Bois, PA wrote: If you plan where to grow them and plan to keep them contained by regular mowing, you won't have any trouble with them. I have three varieties. |
Negative | On Dec 30, 2014, pmmGarak from Göppingen, Very low ornamental value, as the flowers won't appear before November in my zone 6b-7a area and won't last long - maybe that's a problem of my cultivar, since I've seen excessive flowering in September in south tirol. The stems grow well above 2 meters and tend to fall over. |
Neutral | On Sep 10, 2014, lancer23 from San Francisco, CA wrote: I grew it because its a pretty expensive item at the farmer's market. |
Positive | On May 24, 2014, slywlf from Brooksville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote: After doing a little reading on Jerusalem Artichokes I decided to give growing them a try. The stretch of fence I planted them along bordered my veggie garden, and I figured they would add both eye appeal and eventually tasty tubers. Well, my only mistake was growing them in that particular spot - they got so tall they cast afternoon shade on my tomatoes - as well as flopping on them before I succeeded in staking them back. So I moved my tomatoes (they were in 5 gallon buckets so that was easy), and time went by. The first autumn there was a family health issue and I never got around to harvesting. Catskill winters can be brutal, and I was afraid it had all been a waste. |
Positive | On May 12, 2013, SteveOh from Cherry Grove, OH (Zone 6b) wrote: Very tall (10' is typical), thick stemmed (2") and prolific in the right environment, this plant is not particularly attractive (just my opinion of course) and can be extraordinarily invasive. |
Positive | On Dec 28, 2012, williamca from Plant City, FL (Zone 9b) wrote: The Jerusalem Artichoke grew very well this year in my zone 9b garden. It was in the dry side of my garden with an Eastern exposure. It was tall and had to be staked but the lovely flowers make it worthwhile. The tubers will winter over in the ground and should do even better next year. In a year or two perhaps there will be enough tubers to make some pickles. |
Positive | On Jun 5, 2012, Hikaro_Takayama from Fayetteville, PA (Zone 6b) wrote: I boutght one pound of Jerusalem Artichoke tubers through Jung's Nursery seed catalog (along with some Egyptian Onions), and planted them in 2009. They all came up, and flourished with almost no care, despite our record-breaking drought that year. |
Negative | On Aug 6, 2010, dsa2591 from Gainesville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote: Just want everyone to know that the zone 9b that is listed has to be in California or Texas, because this plant will not grow successfully in South Florida. I've tried growing it in pots to keep the nematodes from damaging them, and to keep them from rotting in the ground during the summer to no avail. It just is too hot and wet in the summer for the tubers to survive. My neighbor grew some once in a raised bed of pure sand, and they lived two years before succumbing. She got one good crop, but said it wasn't worth the trouble to replant. |
Positive | On Jul 4, 2010, nicholtammy from Huntsville, Its kinda taking over a friends garden but not really choking stuff out it brings shade to the other plants the grass is a problem we cannot get rid of |
Positive | On Dec 12, 2009, texasflora_com from De Leon, TX (Zone 8a) wrote: After reading a lot about sunchokes and seeing the pictures, I do believe that all these years that I thought these were just regular sunflowers, many of them may have actually been sunchokes. They've all been frostbitten now so won't know until next year. |
Positive | On May 16, 2009, Lavaux from Lavaux, Sunchoke (topinambur) is a prized veggie in France that also grows well near Lake Geneva, Switzerland (climate zone approx. 8b). Planted tubers bought in a supermarket (probably Fuseau) and others bought in a nursery (Sakhalinsky Rouge) in March/April in fertile, unamended but fertilized loam on a south-facing slope with full sun. They are going gangbusters - already 1 1/2 feet high by mid-May. So far, no unmanageable pest problems despite the numerous white grubs and wire worms populating my patch of dirt. |
Negative | On May 2, 2008, Gabrielle from (Zone 5a) wrote: I got this last year in a trade thinking it would be a great food source. It was absolutely beautiful, but got so big it flopped. It was so big it would pull over anything I tried to stake it with. I dug it out and thought I had gotten all of the roots. This year it is coming up all around where I had it. I have sprayed it twice with round up, but it is still determined to come back. Hopefully I can get it under control before time to plant other things. Maybe it would be better behaved in poor soil. |
Positive | On Oct 13, 2007, maccionoadha from Halifax, MA (Zone 6a) wrote: I love this plant. I grow it in a raised bed as part of a chocolate scent garden. The blossoms have a vanilla/chocolate scent. They taste like a combination of potato, carrot, water chestnut; eaten raw or cooked like potatoes. |
Neutral | On Jan 17, 2005, JodyC from Palmyra, IL (Zone 5b) wrote: Bees are the most important pollinators, although the flowers are also visited by bee flies, wasps, beetles, and butterflies. Among the bees, are such visitors as bumblebees, Miner bees, Halictine bees, and Panurgine bees. The flowers are usually cross-pollinated by these insects, and rarely become self-pollinated. The caterpillars of the butterflies Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checkerspot) and Chlosyne gorgone (Gorgone Checkerspot) eat the foliage. Similarly, the caterpillars of many moths and other insects feed on various parts of Jerusalem Artichoke, including Pyrrharctia isabella (Isabella Tiger Moth), Papaipoma rigida (Sunflower Borer Moth), Papaipoma rigida (Rigid Sunflower Borer Moth), and Stibadium spumosum (Frothy Moth). Other kinds of insects that feed on this plant include Publil... read more |
Positive | On Jul 18, 2004, GSFriend from Little Falls, NJ wrote: I didn't come to Jerusalem artichoke as a gardener -- although I am now interested in that. I looked to add it to my diet because the inulin, whether it helps with diabetes or not, seems clearly to foster the growth of the system's benign bacteria. The system's bacteria grow in an atmosphere of little or no oxygen. They generally grow only inside the system. Yogurt does not provide this type of bacteria, although it does provide types of beneficial bacteria that grow in an environment that has oxygen. |
Positive | On Sep 29, 2003, mocloa from Hendersonville, TN wrote: It is interesting to see the note on the inulin because just today I was reading Crockett's "Victory Gardening" and it said the same thing about being a good plant for diabetics. Something about the starch in the tuber breaking down into something other than sugar. I love this plant for the tubers. My first experience was about 10 years ago from a friend's garden in Seaford, De. I have not planted any myself as I have heard it is very evasive and I have a small area to grow flowers. Also bought this from the produce section of a supermarket. |
Positive | On Sep 28, 2003, gonedutch from Fairport, NY wrote: This is a great plant for a privacy blind. But do not use it for the back of the border for it will invade the garden. Some Sunchokes in my garden are 11 feet tall so that I have to bend the stem to harvest the 12/15-flower clusters for a field bouquet. Add some lavender Obedience Plant(Physostegia)flowers, white and/or lavender Windflower (Japanese Anemone, some Asters and Goldenrod (Solidago) for a colorful fall bouquet! |
Positive | On Jul 18, 2003, bfguy wrote: I got my starter tubors at a produce stand in the spring and planted 6 or 8 of them out. That was 5 years ago, and have several patches of them (hundreds) that I have to keep from spreading everywhere. Not a hard task at all. Have not killed them all yet, and they are ready to dig and eat for about 5 months of the year (first frost to sprouting time) over fall and winter here in central NJ USA. They are weeds, but wonderful weeds. |
Positive | On Jul 5, 2003, legry wrote: Hi! I have not a jerusalem artichoke yet, but I like to have it. Please, may somebody send me plant? |
Positive | On Sep 10, 2002, darius from So.App.Mtns., Freshly dug tubers are high in inulin, and are a safe alternative to potaotes in a diabetic diet. As the tubers are stored, the glucose turns into carbohydrates. Fresh tubers produce more gas that storage tubers. Delicious sliced raw in salads, cooked like a potato, or pickled. Tastes somewhat like water chestnuts or jicama. High in iron. Must be stored in a high humidity environment to prevent tubers drying. |
Neutral | On Sep 3, 2001, poppysue from Westbrook, ME (Zone 5a) wrote: This perennial sunflower is a Native to SE US and Canada. It can be seen growing wild in meadows and along roadsides. Plants grow up to 10 feet tall and have course oblong shaped leaves covered with stiff hairs. In late summer it is covered with 4 inch golden yellow daisies. The tuberous rhizomes can be dug in the fall, cooked and eaten like a potato. It spreads rapidly and may be too aggressive for the home garden. Plant it in an area of its own where it can be controlled with the lawn mower |