Growing Mauka: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Mauka is a rare Andean root crop, related to the four o’clock flower, that stayed completely unknown to science until the 1960s despite having been domesticated for thousands of years. It’s grown for dense, cabbagey-flavored roots that are always eaten cooked, never raw.
More flexible than its Andean relatives
Unlike oca and mashua, mauka doesn’t need short days to form roots, so it can be started at any time of year given at least 4 months of growth. That makes it a far more flexible pick than its short-day Andean cousins, and lets it be grown successfully as an annual well outside the range where it survives winter.
A big plant that needs room
Start seed indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost, surface-sown since light aids germination, then transplant out after frost risk passes. Mauka grows into a big, sprawling plant, so give it real space, roughly 3 feet between plants in the row and 5 feet between rows.
Perennial where winters stay mild
In climates where the ground doesn’t freeze more than an inch deep, roughly USDA zone 8a and warmer, mauka can be left in place as a true perennial, protected over winter with a heavy mulch. Roots and lower stems grow substantially larger over several years than a single annual harvest produces, so a permanent planting in a mild-winter climate outperforms digging it clean every fall.
Mauka has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. In the Garden Designer, give it a generous, sprawling footprint rather than treating it like a compact root crop.
Source: Mauka (Mirabilis expansa), Cultivariable.
Companion planting guide for Mauka · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 6-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-4 ft
Method: Start indoors: Start indoors from seed, then transplant outside. It needs a head start most zones can't give it by direct-sowing alone.
When to plant mauka, by zone
Every zone mauka grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6a & 6b | Mar 14–Mar 21 | May 9–May 16 | Oct 6–Oct 13 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 27–Mar 6 | Apr 24–May 1 | Sep 21–Sep 28 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 11–Feb 18 | Apr 8–Apr 15 | Sep 5–Sep 12 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 4–Jan 11 | Mar 1–Mar 8 | Jul 29–Aug 5 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 19–Dec 26 | Feb 13–Feb 20 | Jul 13–Jul 20 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 20–Nov 27 | Jan 15–Jan 22 | Jun 14–Jun 21 |
Harvest dates are about 150 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Mauka plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: about 10 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-4 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Mauka: Cultivariable sells mauka as the straight species, propagated from seed or root/stem caudices, since named cultivars aren't part of this crop's very limited commercial history. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy mauka seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries mauka seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing mauka" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Mauka: A rare Andean root crop unknown to science until the 1960s despite thousands of years of domestication, grown for dense, cabbagey-flavored roots eaten cooked.
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