How to Grow Jerusalem Artichokes: A Complete Guide
You can grow Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) by planting egg-sized tubers 10 to 15 cm deep and 30 to 45 cm apart from February to April, in full sun. The plants grow 2 to 3 m tall, need almost no care, and produce a heavy crop of tubers ready to lift from November through winter. They come back every year, so plant them where they can stay, or contain them.
Ready to plant? Jerusalem artichokes are grown from tubers, not seed. Our Jerusalem artichoke tubers come as a set of three, ready to go in the ground in spring.
Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), often called sunchokes, are one of the most productive and forgiving perennial vegetables you can add to a food forest. Related to the sunflower rather than the globe artichoke, they produce tall, cheerful yellow flowers above ground and a generous crop of nutty, sweet tubers below, often far more than you know what to do with in the first year.
Unlike most vegetables, Jerusalem artichokes are almost always grown from tubers rather than seed. The tubers establish quickly, crop reliably in their first year, and grow true to the parent plant, whereas seed-raised plants are slow, unpredictable, and rarely produce the flowers needed to set viable seed in a typical garden. Planting a tuber is simply the way this crop is grown, both by home gardeners and commercial growers alike.
This guide covers how to plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, how to keep this notoriously vigorous plant under control, and how to harvest and store the tubers once they're ready.
Jerusalem Artichoke Quick Facts
Latin name: Helianthus tuberosus
Difficulty: Very easy (the challenge is containing it, not growing it)
Plant: Tubers, February to April once the soil can be worked
Position: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant of most soils, prefers well-draining
Time to first harvest: November onwards, in the first year
Plant lifespan: Effectively permanent once established, very hard to remove
Step 1: Choosing and Preparing Tubers
Choose firm, healthy tubers roughly the size of a hen's egg, ideally with two or three visible eyes or buds.
Small tubers can be planted whole; larger tubers can be cut into sections, as long as each piece has at least one healthy eye, similar to preparing a seed potato.
Let any cut surfaces dry and callous over for a day before planting, which helps reduce the risk of rot.
Step 2: Planting Jerusalem Artichoke Tubers
Plant tubers 10 to 15 cm deep and 30 to 45 cm apart, in rows roughly a metre apart, as mature stems can reach 2 to 3 metres tall and cast significant shade.
Plant in early to mid spring once the ground is workable, ideally after the worst of the winter wet has passed.
Water in well after planting, then leave largely undisturbed, shoots typically appear within a few weeks.
Step 3: Choosing a Site and Containing a Vigorous Plant
Choose a spot in full sun, Jerusalem artichokes will tolerate poor soil, but need good light to flower and tuber well.
Important: Choose the planting site with real care. This plant spreads via underground tubers and can be extremely difficult to remove once established, many gardeners recommend a dedicated bed, large buried containers, or a barrier-lined trench to keep it contained.
Plant into a bottomless container or lined trench sunk into the ground to physically block spreading tubers, if you're at all unsure about giving it free rein.
Consider planting Jerusalem artichokes as a summer windbreak or privacy screen for a vegetable bed, their height makes them useful as well as productive.
Step 4: Ongoing Care
Watering: Water during prolonged dry spells, particularly in the weeks before flowering, though established plants are fairly drought-tolerant.
Feeding: Little to no feeding is usually necessary, Jerusalem artichokes thrive in average soil and can become leggy and floppy in overly rich ground.
Support: Tall stems can catch the wind; a simple stake or the shelter of a fence line helps prevent toppling in exposed gardens.
Flowering: Cheerful yellow, sunflower-like blooms appear in late summer and are a magnet for pollinators, leave a few stems unharvested if you want to enjoy the display.
Step 5: Harvesting and Storing
Tubers are ready to harvest once the foliage dies back after the first hard frost, typically from November through to March.
Lift gently with a fork, working carefully around the base of the plant, as tubers can be knobbly and easily missed.
Jerusalem artichokes store best left in the ground and lifted as needed through winter, they don't keep well once dug, so harvest little and often rather than all at once.
Always leave a few small tubers in the ground; missed pieces will readily resprout the following spring, which is both a blessing and the reason containment matters, and gives you next year's planting stock for free.
Troubleshooting
Plant spreading beyond its bed: The single most common issue, dig out escaped tubers promptly, and consider a barrier for future seasons if this becomes a recurring problem.
Tubers rotting after planting: Usually caused by waterlogged or heavy soil over winter, improve drainage or plant slightly later once the ground has warmed and dried a little.
Tall stems falling over: Stake plants in exposed or windy sites, or plant along a sheltered fence line.
Digestive discomfort after eating: Jerusalem artichokes contain inulin, a fibre some people find hard to digest in large quantities, start with small portions, and cooking thoroughly helps.
FAQ: Growing Jerusalem Artichokes
Can Jerusalem artichokes be grown from seed instead of tubers?
They can flower and occasionally set seed, but seed-raised plants are slow to establish, variable in yield, and unnecessary for a crop that grows so readily from a piece of tuber. Planting tubers is the standard method for good reason, it's faster, more reliable, and guarantees the tubers you get taste like the parent plant.
Is Jerusalem artichoke actually related to the globe artichoke?
No, despite the shared name, Jerusalem artichokes are a type of sunflower grown for their tubers, while globe artichokes are a completely different plant grown for their flower buds.
Can I really not get rid of it once it's planted?
It's notoriously persistent because even tiny leftover tuber fragments will resprout. This isn't a reason to avoid growing it, just plant it somewhere you're happy to have it long-term, or use a physical barrier.
Why does Jerusalem artichoke cause digestive discomfort for some people?
The tubers are rich in inulin, a prebiotic fibre that some digestive systems process less easily than others. Cooking well and eating modest portions, especially at first, usually solves this.
Can I plant tubers straight from the supermarket or kitchen?
You can, though tubers sold for growing are usually selected for healthy, disease-free stock and reliable cropping, which gives you a better start than tubers intended for eating.
Few crops give back as generously, or as reliably, as Jerusalem artichokes, plant a handful of tubers once in a spot you're happy to dedicate, and you'll be harvesting nutty, sweet tubers with almost no ongoing effort for years to come.
Get Started with Jerusalem Artichokes
Jerusalem artichokes are one of the most productive perennial vegetables for an Irish or UK garden: a handful of tubers planted once will keep you in crops for years. At Earthling Plants we sell Jerusalem artichoke tubers, sent as a set of three ready to plant. If you would like the other kind of artichoke, grown for its edible flower buds, try our globe artichokes, and browse more perennial vegetables.
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