Best Jerusalem Artichoke Varieties for Scotland

Jerusalem artichokes are very hardy and shrug off a Scottish winter, so the choice is about height and tubersA swollen underground stem or root a plant uses to store energy, which can also grow into a new plant, the classic example being a potato. Full definition →. There are two varieties to choose between: Dwarf Sunray, which is shorter, and Fuseau, which has large, smooth tubers.

What Scotland means for the choice

Jerusalem artichokes are grown like potatoes but are very hardy, so the tubers can stay in the ground and be dug from late autumn right through winter. They can reach 3m, which makes exposure the thing to weigh: Dwarf Sunray is a good choice for exposed sites, tall plants may need support in exposed locations, and several rows can act as a windbreak. They like a sunny site with moderately fertile, moisture-retentive soil, but tubers may rot in ground that waterlogs, which matters in a wet climate. They'll also crop in partial shade. The Jerusalem artichoke growing guide covers planting, spacing and harvest.

Neither holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and only a few varieties are sold commercially in the UK.

Dwarf Sunray

Dwarf Sunray is a short variety, growing about 120–150cm against up to 3m for the species, with long, smooth, pale tubers. That makes it the one to choose for an exposed plot, where a tall plant is harder to hold up. Compact varieties are also the better choice for a container: one at least 45cm wide and deep takes one or two tubers, though it will give a smaller crop than plants in the ground.

Fuseau

Fuseau has large, smooth-skinned tubers that are easy to peel, which saves work in the kitchen. It isn't a dwarf variety, so expect a tall plant, up to 3m, that needs shelter or support on an exposed site.

Buying tubers, and keeping them smooth

Tubers for planting are sold from late winter to mid-spring by garden centres and online. They are relatively expensive to buy in the shops but easy to grow, and you only buy once: after the first year, replant some of your own harvest. Pick firm, smooth tubers a little smaller than a hen's egg, and avoid knobbly ones. Variety isn't the only thing that decides smoothness, either. A plant short of water makes smaller, knobblier tubers that are fiddly to prepare, so a smooth variety still needs watering in a dry spell.

The tubers have a nutty flavour and are used like potatoes, and frost is said to improve their taste, which a Scottish winter supplies. The plants are sunflower relatives, with yellow blooms at the top of the stems in late summer and autumn.

Which one for your situation

• An exposed or windy plot: Dwarf Sunray.
• A large container: Dwarf Sunray.
• Large, easy-peel tubers: Fuseau.
• A windbreak: either variety, planted in several rows.

Choose the spot with care: any tuber left in the ground will sprout, and the plants regrow each year. Slugs and snails may nibble new shoots and can eat into tubers left in the ground over winter. The fungus sclerotinia survives for long periods in soil, so it's worth knowing before you commit a permanent bed to the crop.

Common questions

Sources