Before You Plant Sunchokes, You Need to Read This Post
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Sunchokes (AKA Jerusalem artichokes) are gaining popularity for their health benefits. I’m sharing how to grow sunchokes, when to harvest and how to use them – plus the big mistake that we made when we first planted them.
Table of Contents
What are Sunchokes?
Sunchokes are native to eastern North America. They are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes or Sunroots. They are not related to Artichokes, but they are related to sunflowers. The whole “Jerusalem” thing is supposedly linked to the Italian word girasola, which means sunflower.
Sunchokes are a perennial plant that grows six to ten feet tall. While they do have pretty yellow flowers, most people grow them for their edible roots. Their roots are high in inulin, and eaten raw or cooked.
Historically, Native American valued them as a food source, especially during late winter when food supplies run low.
How do you Grow Sunchokes?
Grow sunchokes from roots or sections of root, planted in spring or fall while roots are dormant. You can grow the plants from seed, but starting with tubers is easier and faster.
For best results, use the following planting guidelines:
- The plants prefer loose, well-drained soil, but will tolerate poor soils. (Lighter soil makes harvesting easier.)
- Space sunchoke tubers 12 to 18 inches apart, 4 to 6 inches deep.
- Space rows 4-6 feet apart (they will be prone to spreading).
- Soil temperature at planting should be at least 50°F.
- Plant in full sun.
- Do not plant in areas that are consistently wet, as wet soil will rot the tubers. Plants are drought tolerant, but produce best will a regular supply of water.
- pH of soil best between 5.8 and 6.2 (neutral soil)
- Preferred growing temps = 65 to 90 F.
- Cover your soil with an inch or so of organic mulch for easier harvesting and root protection.
- Plant in a dedicated bed that can be mowed around for control. Or sink barriers into the soil around the sunchokes at least 24 inches deep to prevent spreading. (More on this below.)
When are they Ready to Harvest?
Harvest sunchokes in late fall or early spring. They require 110 -150 days to maturity, depending on the variety and growing conditions. Light frost increases the sweetness of the tubers.
Unlike potatoes and some other root crops, sunchokes do not store well. Their skin is thin and dries out easily. I keep them in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. They keep best in the ground, dug as needed for use.
In northern areas, a thick layer of mulch may keep your tubers accessible longer. It may also encourage mice or voles to move in and have a snack, but there’s usually enough to share.
For bigger roots, avoid crowding plants and water regularly. You can also cut off flower stalks to encourage root growth. Please don’t cut off all your sunchoke flowers! They flower late in the season, when pollinators have few flower choices.
How do I Eat Jerusalem Artichokes?
Sunchokes are edible raw or cooked, including the skins. They are difficult to peel and turn grey quite quickly, so a good scrubbing is a better option.
Raw, sunchokes are similar in texture to a water chestnut or jicama. After a light frost, they take on a somewhat nutty flavor. For my part, they taste best raw after a frost.
See Jerusalem Artichoke Recipes for easy recipes and cooking tips.
Do Sunchokes Cause Gas?
Sunchokes are loaded with inulin. Inulin is a type of starch that acts as a prebiotic in the digestive tract, feeding our beneficial bacteria.
Inulin is a widely used filler in many foods to bump up the fiber counts. It also increases calcium absorption in the body, and doesn’t spike blood sugar. There are even sweeteners made for diabetics made out of sunchokes.
See Jerusalem Artichoke Benefits: Nutrition, Flavor, and Uses for more information.
Eating a large amount of sunchokes may lead to “mild gas”. They have the nickname “fartichokes”.
I can verify that eating a large portion of boiled sunchokes will give you horrible, gut-racking gas like you have never experienced before… except for that one time when you were pregnant and thought it was a good idea to eat prunes, cheese curds and cucumbers in large amounts all at the same time.
Start slowly when eating sunchokes, and perhaps avoid serving them in large quantities at dinner parties. Give your digestive system time to build up the right bacteria to deal with the extra inulin.
Readers have suggested a couple of different tips to beat sunchoke gas. One suggested that you eat some sunchokes raw, and don’t scrub all the dirt off.
I assume that some soil microbes come with to help aid digestion. Another reader says that harvesting after frost is a big help, as the frost naturally breaks down some of the inulin for you.
A Word of Caution About Growing Sunchokes
“Easy to grow” and “disease-free through heat and drought” are code words for “You will Never Get Rid of this Plant!”
When I first planted sunchokes, I skimmed over the note in the seed catalog that said “they will spread and may be invasive”.
I planted my tubers late in spring, in one corner of a garden bed. There were nine rather wrinkled little roots, and I didn’t think they would all survive. Not only did they survive, they thrived. We tried to harvest the whole patch that first year, but must have missed a few.
The next spring they were back, and they were spreading. We tried to keep up eating them, but the fall was muddy and we couldn’t get in to harvest.
By the third season, we had the lovely thicket of 12 foot tall flowers you see at the post. As I was digging them in fall, I tossed some damaged roots off into the tall grass away from the garden.
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Sunchokes Spread from the Smallest Bit of Tuber
Fast forward to spring. Those root bits haphazardly thrown into the weeds – they’ve now sprouted into plants. There’s a new sunchoke colony.
I decide to get rid of extra sunchokes. Two friends come over.
Four different adults attack the patch. Bushels and bushels of sunchokes leave the garden. The patch size is reduced roughly by half to start the spring.
Time passes. My boys work the bed again. They remove more sunchokes from the same area that the adults have already gone over.
Before I put the transplants in, I work over the same area one more time. THERE ARE STILL SUNCHOKES COMING UP! This area has been gone over by four adults and two kids, and there are still sunchokes hiding in the dirt.
Here’s the main patch. You can see the smaller outliers in the foreground. That area should be clear.
Here’s a nice, innocent looking sunchoke seedling.
Once we dig it up, we see that this single tuber is trying to regrow an entire sunchoke thicket.
Even tiny pieces, no bigger than the tip of my thumb, can regrow entire large, vigorous plants.
They’re virtually unstoppable. Weeks later, and I’m still digging up shoots from among my cabbage seedlings.
Plan Ahead with Your Sunchoke Plantings
I urge you, do not plant sunchokes anywhere else you might like to grow other plants at some time in the future. You will spend very large amounts of time attempting to remove them if you do.
Plant them in their own area that you can mow around, to keep them under control. You can also plant them in pots – as long as they are big pots. Try one tuber per 18 inch diameter pot. Look for varieties that naturally grow shorter, and have an option for providing support if needed.
My neighbor says her horseradish plants are the same way. Plant both at your own risk. Maybe we should plant them next to each other, to see which one wins.
Alternatively, introduce pigs or chickens into your sunchoke area and let them tackle clean up duty. Jerusalem artichokes make a fine fodder crop.
What Tries to Take Over Your Garden?
Sunchokes are good for you. They look pretty, taste okay, and are quite expensive to buy in many areas, if they are available at all.
They’re a “perfect” choice for a new exotic vegetable to try. I just wanted to let you know that you’re likely to have a lifetime commitment with them once they enter your garden. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Are there any other plants you’ve grown that want to take over your garden? Leave a comment to warn other gardeners before they end up fighting them, too.
Also, if you could include in your comments roughly what area you are from, that would be great. Some plants will spread in some locations but not in others.
This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie and her family have 35 acres in northeast Wisconsin. They grow dozens of varieties of fruiting trees, shrubs, brambles, and vines, along with an extensive annual garden. Along with her passion for growing nutrient dense food, she also enjoys ancient history, adorable ducks, and lifelong learning.
Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2026.
Are the greens edible as well?
Yes. They are covered in fine hairs, so it’s best to pick them young and cook well. Sample a small amount first before eating in quantity, as the hairs may cause irritation for some. You can also eat the young shoots and flower buds.
I clicked on your link to buy on Amazon, & got a notice that they can’t be shipped into California.
There are restrictions on shipping live plant material to some areas. This is outside of my control. They are native to North America, but not specifically California, and have likely been banned due to their potentially invasive nature.
I don’t know where you live in California, but in the San Francisco bay area I have seen them in grocery stores, particularly in Asian grocery stores. Look for smoother less knobbly ones.
Hello. Good article. Thanks. I have sunchomes but they’ve never bloomed. In Rocky Mountain House AB. The ground is mostly gravel where they are. Maybe that’s why? What do you think?
Ours are spreading all over the place, even into quite poor soil, and they all bloom eventually. I suspect it may be more to due with the shorter growing season, as they tend to be one of the latest plants to flower in the garden. There’s also the possibility that you might have gotten a type that skips flowering to put more energy into the tubers. I haven’t seen them, but found mention of them in online forums.
Out of a bit over 400 varieties of Sunchokes worldwide, there are some that don’t bloom, even in full sun. If you have some that don’t bloom it might be the variety, or there’s one other reason. As I hinted to above, full sun is needed for quite a few varieties to bloom. Very poor soil could contribute, but sun or variety are the likely reasons for no blooms.
I have two varieties and I like experimenting with ways to eat them, and a wee bit with growing them. One variety flowers profusely in two patches in full sun, early morning through late afternoon. Planted in the shade of a huge Maple where they get first morning sun to noon, a good six hours, they might toss one or two blooms per plant, or skip blooming completely. I’ve also got them on the north side of a small shed where they get full sun only on the tops and only when they’ve made it to almost 6′ tall. Those also hardly ever bloom or bloom lightly.
Other plants that will keep coming back.
Nasturtiums, tomatillos, Orach (a spinach substitute that comes in green and purple colorations and grows 4’ tall, or more).
I’ve never had nasturtiums come back here, but orach and tomatillos, yep. Kale, radishes, lettuce, strawberry spinach (if I let them seed out) will come back, but I don’t mind.
I’m on my second season of sunchokes and will likely be giving them away on the side of the road…with a cautionary note not the throw uneaten in compost piles!
I ran out of time and energy last fall and didn’t get around to harvesting my sunchokes until spring…sounds like the delicious nutty flavor is due to my poor planning 🤪.
I had 12 plants that I underwatered and we had a drought year…I still probably averaged 5-10 lbs of tubers from each plant 😅.
Bonus! I weave my stalks as they’re growing through one or two holes in my pig panel fencing; in the fall, I cut at the soil level and left for nest material for native bees.
In the late spring (and through this summer) I cut the stalks into either 12 in. or 1 in. sections and buried the the 1in. in 4 inches of soil and drilled 12+ in holes and buried the 12 in sections…for moisture retention! I have very well draining soil and it’s either pouring buckets or zero rain for weeks…the stalks have helped drastically lessen the amount I’ve had to water! (I also used lawn clippings as mulch around newly planted trees and bushes.)
Excellent use of the materials at hand!
What a brilliant idea! We have a section of yard with clay-ey soil and I wonder if that would work there. After I buy a foot-long augur to attach to my drill to create space for the stalks!
Hi, could I possibly be about to create a mongoose problem?
I have an abundance of poison ivy, Virgina creeper, and privet in my yard. I’ve been pulling and want to plant something in its place so it won’t re-establish,
I have a patch of sunchokes out front. Would they be an improvement over poison ivy, privet, plus Virginia creeper? If I let them loose would they colonize the backyard forever, because I’ve swapped my rat problem for my mongoose problem? And could I enjoy a yard of sunchokes?
Best, Ella
I can’t say for certain what plants will or will not do. Sunchokes have been aggressive spreaders in my yard, even sprouting from chunks of damaged root tossed into the tall grass.
If sunchokes outcompeted the other plants in your yard, at least they shouldn’t cause skin reactions, and you can eat the roots and pollinators enjoy the flowers. Sunchokes do not take well to mowing, and can get quite tall (10-12 feet), so it could turn your yard into a jungle thicket. We mow around our patches to keep them from spreading.
Maybe another aggressive grower like mint would be a better option? It’s hard to kill, and you can mow it to keep the area walkable. If you let it get taller and flower, the bees absolutely love the blossoms and it makes delicious honey.
You need something that will out compete your foes. Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy will simply climb the ‘chokes and the Privet will crowd right through them from any roots and rootlets missed. ‘Chokes are allelopathic like Walnut trees, but it takes a few years for the allelopathic compounds to get strong enough in the soil to fight competitors.
You need to be sure all of the undesirables are fully removed, roots and all, from the entire area before planting any ‘chokes. You might want to look into using full strength distilled vinegar with some dish washing detergent for a surfactant – to keep the vinegar clinging to the leave’s surfaces. Use gloves, mask and goggles!
do not plant creeping Jenny. you can pull up the roots, every piece you drop, makes a thousand new plants. took over 1/2 acre in 3 years
maybe I can plant some by the kudzu and see which one wins lol
I suspect the kudzu would take the high ground while the sunchokes spread underground.
There’s a patch of land on the sunny side of my house, cut off on all sides by house and driveway. I don’t think I can grow anything ELSE there and I don’t think they will escape too far. And I’ll have pretty flowers out my windows. I’m in Vermont.
Be warned – they have been known to damage concrete, including sidewalks, driveways, and home foundations. They are extremely vigorous growers. If you want to grow them there, you may want to place galvanized steel sheets down into the ground about 2 feet to block the roots in and prevent damage.
I would like to try growing sunchokes, with a different twist. Years ago I had great success growing a few tomatoes and potatoes in a huge old sawdust pile (over 50 years old now). The deep sawdust is dark brown and always moist, but well-drained. In fact, I believe there are several springs in the ground under the pile. I have used the old birch sawdust as mulch on my gardens for years with no problems. Planting sunchokes there would allow me to keep them away from other plants and make the space more productive. Are you aware of any issues I should know about?
I don’t see any concerns offhand, other than they may spread quickly in the pile.
Hey Nate Frost! The only problem I see is if you want to continue using the sawdust as mulch elsewhere. Small tubers, bits of tubers and bits of rhizomes in the mulch WILL allow the ‘chokes to spread wherever you spread the mulch. Well aged Birch sawdust is still probably a bit high in pH due to the tannins, but ‘chokes are so hardy so I don’t think that will be a problem.
If by chance there is still some heat being generated, that could give the ‘chokes an early boost in sprouting in the spring, around 50F triggers them.
How deep do the tubers grow? I have successfully contained my horse radish plants for years inside of an old 10 frame deep bee hive box. I am wondering if the same can be done with sun chokes.
I suspect that would probably work for sunchokes, too, as the tubers show up fairly close to the surface (less than a foot deep).
What a great idea! So do you use your deeps like tiny raised beds?
Blenheim New Zealand – I have a raised bed on the north side(not much sun) they love it – spread as you say. I love them as a Potatoe replacement.
What is your favorite way to cook them?
I wonder if you have a shade tolerant variety! If you do, that could be boon to lots of folks that don’t have good sunlight! I have one tiny patch of one of my varieties in the shade of a huge Maple tree that normally grow nearly 8′ tall with red skinned tubers that look like small sweet potatoes. The ones in the shade only make it to about 3′ with tiny tubers and they’ve been there for several years, so they haven’t grown used to shade.
I wonder what the rules are for sending the tubers from New Zealand to the US? I bet there are quite a few that would love to give these a try.
I used to have a 10×10 above ground garden. I planted 1 sunchoke plant, not having a clue what it was, I just heard it gets about 10 feet tall. So, I planted it, it did get about 10 feet high. But because I was ignorant of what this plant actually is, I assumed it was a like an artichoke. When it didn’t produce artichokes, I was a bit disappointed, but I let it grow to see how tall it would get.
The next spring, I broke off the stalk at the ground, and proceeded to till up the garden. Needless to say, I tilled up the roots system from that 1 plant, and in about a couple weeks, I had about a million little sunchoke plants growing. Each little piece of that root system started its own little plant. It took some time digging up each little piece of the tube. Every time I thought I dug them all up, a week later there were more!
With all this being said, I sure wish I would have at least known about this to actually try to eat the root. Gonna make another bed dedicated to this plant and see how it goes..
Oh dear.
Did you ever manage to clear it out of your original bed? We now have small patches around the yard wherever I tossed damaged tubers in addition to our original bed. It’s a very determined plant.
I bought some tubers off Amazon to help supplement my rabbit feed bill. Sounds like this will do the job. Can’t wait to get them growing. I have a patch of cleared ground near the rabbit colony where I plan to plant the tubers. I also have a honey beehive and hope they enjoy the flowers.
Wowza, think I’ll skip planting Jerusulum Artichokes…that invasive spreading is right up there with the experience I have with 4 O’Clocks….they’re everywhere. Have to dig up tubers to stop the spreading and give them away. If you toss them they will multiply!! Pretty invaders….
4 o’clocks are poisonous to Japanese beetles . I was going to plant them under the linden tree that the beetle destroys every year.
Do not plant periwinkle! I made an uneducated mistake and have spent so many hours trying to eradicate it.
Wow, what an eye-opener! I’ve been considering planting sunchokes, but your post made me realize there’s so much more to it. The insights you shared about soil type and spreading tendencies really got me thinking.
I’ve lived the past 40 years in high-rises in downtown Chicago. A year or so back, we moved into a two-flat on the northwest side. We have small yards front and back and a tiny 2×18′ garden area. Now, I’ve always enjoyed having morning glories, either on a small (1×3′) trellis in the dining room, or on my desk. I thought “gee, it would be nice to have some morning glories in the yard” and tossed some seeds in the back corners of the planting area. I had NO idea. Not only were these plants gargantuan (I’d guess the leaves were something like 20-30 times as large as the ones previously growing on my desk), but their tendrils were like somebody had released a green Kraken all over my garden. They totally bullied out the green beans, and have been trying to do the same to the peppers. I hope I can snag all the seed pods before they can plant themselves for next year!
A bigger issue is the roots. Some of the morning glory family are annuals but the common (wild ) one has white long horizontal roots that will reshoot every year from any small fragment. So, if you don’t want them to take over, dig and dig everywhere in winter when most things are dormant and get them out. I speak from hard experience.
I’m a first time sunchoke planter, luckily or hopefully, I planted them in a raised garden box 2×4.
Im in Denver CO and they’ve been growing like crazy. Looking forward to harvesting in the fall.
I’m also in denver. I’ve read that they can be planted in the fall or spring. but nothing mentions when to plant for zone 5b. what do you think? should I plant them now (November) or wait till early spring?
They’re pretty durable in the soil. It think you’d be fine planting them in fall, as the damaged roots we tossed into the wild areas around the yard in fall sprouted the next spring.
I beg to differ on storage. The vast majority of mine held up just fine packed in lightly damp sawdust outside in a crate, in the carport (no heat) loft. Outside temps here don’t generally go past -5 at night. Boise Mountains, Idaho. Only a couple handfuls went bad out of 3 sink’s worth. We harvested after the first couple of frosts, and now, at the end of April, I’m taking what we didn’t eat and putting them in the freeze dryer.
I’m glad yours kept well and thank you for sharing your experience. Mine have not been as cooperative.