This week: Jerusalem Artichoke, a Super-Spreader
Hello!
This week, I discovered I’m growing Helianthus tuberosus, or Jerusalem Artichokes, in the “I’ve been given this seedling” section of my garden. While I’m always happy to meet a native plant, this plant will live the remainder of its life on the slope along the property line, outside of my actual garden.
That’s because Jerusalem Artichoke is no shrinking violet: it grows six to ten feet tall in full sun and blooms from late summer into the fall. It is an aggressive spreader that cannot help but turn into a dramatic mass planting. While it is not deer-resistant, it is so robust that deer browse is not a problem. Use this plant where you want natives but don’t want to tend to them, like the edge of a property where you want to suppress invasives.
Where exactly Jerusalem Artichoke is native to is disputed because it has naturalized to almost every U.S. state—it is quite the super-spreader. In 1605, French explorer Samuel de Champlain reportedly found it growing in Cape Cod and thought it tasted like artichokes. By 1650, it was a food crop all over Europe. In 1805, Lewis and Clark dined on it in what is now North Dakota. Native Americans along the Missouri River, in the Dakotas, the Great Lakes, and in the Northeast were all eating it, likely long before the 1600s.
The Jerusalem Artichoke has nothing to do with the Middle East, nor is it an artichoke even though it is edible. It’s a sunflower with an edible tuber. The name probably comes from a mispronunciation of its Italian common name, Girasole Articiocco, which translates to sunflower artichoke.
Humans aren’t the only ones eating this plant. It’s a larval host for the Silvery Checkerspot caterpillar and is a favorite of beneficial insects, butterflies, and songbirds.
Elsewhere:
If you’re a composter like me, you’ve probably been intrigued by countertop composting machines. Turns out they don’t make compost, and what to do with the “not compost” is a bit more complicated than putting it in the garden. This gift article from The New York Times explains it all.
Have a great week,
Julie