Growing Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes): A Complete Profile

By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes despite having no connection to Jerusalem or to the globe artichoke, are a perennial sunflower relative grown for their knobby, nutty-flavored tubers rather than their flowers.

Planted like a potato, dug like one too

Plant whole tubers or budded pieces about 3 to 6 inches deep as early in spring as the soil can be worked, spaced roughly 1 to 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. It tolerates most soil types and needs little fuss once it’s up, growing into a dense, coarse-leaved stand 6 to 10 feet tall that usually benefits from staking against wind. Cheerful small yellow, sunflower-like blooms show up from late summer into fall.

Give it a permanent bed, not a rotation slot

Sunchoke spreads by rhizome and reseeds itself, and any tuber piece left behind in the soil sprouts the next year. Once it’s established in a spot, it’s difficult to remove completely, so plan for it as a permanent bed rather than something to work into an annual rotation. At harvest, dig thoroughly and expect volunteer plants to keep showing up for a season or two afterward regardless.

A same-year harvest that keeps giving

Unlike most other perennial vegetables in this dataset, sunchoke produces a harvestable crop the same fall it’s planted rather than making you wait a year or more. Cut back the tall foliage, then dig the tubers with a garden fork or potato digger about two weeks after the flowers fade, typically after the first frost. Fresh tubers store at cold, humid conditions for a few months, but their thin skin bruises and dries out easily, so they’re best dug as needed through fall and into winter rather than pulled all at once.

Sunchoke has no recorded companions or antagonists in our data. See the full companion guide for sunchoke for how it’s tracked. Give it its own square footage in the Garden Designer well away from anything you don’t want it to eventually crowd out.

Sources: Artichoke, Jerusalem, Oregon State University Extension; Growth, Harvest, and Serving of Jerusalem Artichoke (Sunchoke), The Ohio State University Extension; Helianthus tuberosus, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

Companion planting guide for Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke) · Find your planting dates

Typically viable in USDA zones 3-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.

Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke) doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.

See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →

How many Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke) plants fit per square foot?

Spacing: about 4 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 6-10 ft.

Varieties worth considering

• 'Stampede': Listed among the standard Jerusalem artichoke varieties for the Pacific Northwest by Oregon State University's Extension vegetable guide, and separately described elsewhere as an extra-early, knobby type. (source)

Cited from the source shown next to each variety. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement.

Where to buy sunchoke seeds

• Botanical Interests
• True Leaf Market
• Burpee
• High Mowing Organic Seeds

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Search YouTube for "growing sunchoke (jerusalem artichoke)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

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Growing Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke): A perennial sunflower relative grown for its tubers, planted like a seed potato and dug like one too, best given a bed of its own since any leftover tuber sprouts the following year.

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