When to plant Jerusalem artichokes for delicious, nutty-flavoured veg – they're stars in the kitchen

Jerusalem artichoke is one of those underrated vegetables that doesn’t get enough spotlight. It’s sweet, nutty and surprisingly easy to grow – but to start with, you’ll need to know when to plant Jerusalem artichokes.

The first stages of learning how to grow artichokes are arguably the most important – start too early, and the frosts could attack the young growth before it has a chance to grow into mature plants.

I was determined to find out the best time to plant Jerusalem artichokes, so I spoke to a couple of experts for their tips on the tuber vegetables – including the National Plant Collection holder of Jerusalem artichokes.

What you'll need

According to the RHS’s chief horticulturist, Guy Barter, you can plant Jerusalem artichokes sooner than you’d think.

‘Jerusalem artichoke roots are planted now,’ he says. ‘Being an acquired taste, a square metre is enough for most people.’

We’re certainly having a mild tail-end of winter, which means the ground is better equipped for receiving tubers than it usually is at this time of the year – so you can add Jerusalem artichokes to your list of things to plant in March. If you're looking for tubers, Jerusalem Artichoke ‘Fuseau’ is highly rated at Crocus.

It’s wise to keep an eye on the weather forecast, though. I spoke to David Barrett, holder of the National Plant Collection of Helianthus strumosus (pale-leaf woodland sunflowers) and Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichokes), who explained more.

‘The most important factors I have found over many years are that the tubers are reliably hardy, but the leaves and stalks are not,’ David said. ‘This means that if you plant out sprouted or unsprouted tubers, you have to look out for frosts in the spring, but not the autumn.’

The young foliage could be at risk of late winter and early spring frosts – so it’s worth working out how to protect plants from frost, just in case a colder spell takes us by surprise.

Or, you could take a leaf out of David’s book and wait a few more months.

‘Because my plants are growing in northwest Wales at 1,100 feet, in containers, I don’t plant out tubers until May,’ he explained. ‘They have been kept dormant in pots of barely damp compost over winter and are beginning to grow away by planting out time.’

That’s a good point – you can start Jerusalem artichoke tubers off in pots earlier in the year if the ground isn’t quite ready for planting yet, or you want to avoid the chance of frosts meddling with the young plants (just as you would when planting dahlias in pots, for example). Then, you can plant them outside when spring is in full swing.

If you want to grow Jerusalem artichokes from tubers, it’s best to order them as soon as possible.

‘Autumn and winter are the times to buy tubers,’ said David. ‘In spring, you will need to look for plants, or rooted 'cuttings' in plugs.’

It’s wise to prepare your soil with some organic matter before planting, like Miracle-Gro's Peat Free Premium All Purpose Compost from Amazon. Or, of course, you could continue growing them in containers.

‘Being a big plant, fertility is important,’ David adds. ‘They will grow on poor soil, just not as well. They need nitrogen in summer and water often. The bigger the container, the better.’

These Muddy Hands 60-Litre Plastic Plant Pots from Amazon are ideal.

So, if you're wondering when to plant Jerusalem artichokes, you can get started now if you're really keen. Just keep an eye on the weather and, ideally, have some outdoor plant covers to hand.