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Silver Creek Nursery Ltd.

Beaver Valley Purple Sunchoke

Beaver Valley Purple Sunchoke

Species: Helianthus tuberosus, Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes or J Chokes

History: Beaver Valley Purple was introduced by heirloom vegetable gardener William Woys Weaver in the latter half of the 1900s. When he visited Sarah Morgan, a cook and gardener, at her home in Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, she showed him the unique purple sunchokes growing in her garden. According to Morgan, the purple sunchokes had been growing on the property when her husband purchased it in 1920 and locals already considered it an heirloom variety at that time. Weaver, a fan of heritage vegetables, named the variety and began to offer it through the Seed Savers Exchange. 

Why We Grow It: Beaver Valley Purple produces a unique reddish-purple tuber that is visually quite distinct from other sunchokes. Sunchokes, similar to a potato, can be prepared and eaten in a variety of ways!

Fruit Specs

Recommended Use: Fresh eating, cooking, attracting pollinators

Fruit Size:

Storage: Keeps a few months when stored in cool, humid conditions

Harvest: October

Growing Specs

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 3

Soil Preference: Prefer loose, well-drained, fertile soils that are slightly acidic but adaptable to most kinds of soils

Flowering Time: Summer - Late

Bloom Colour: Yellow

Pollination Requirements:

Sun/Shade Requirements:

Full sun to partial shade (approx. 6-10 hours of sun daily)

General Growth Habits:

Sunchokes generally get 6-12ft tall depending on the variety. Not generally bothered by pests or diseases. Flowers late August to September. Harvest October to December, but best after one or two lights frosts.

Shipping vs. Pick Up

CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.

Size at Purchase

Our bareroot perennial vegetables are sold as root crowns or tubers and will often have little to no vegetative growth on them. Depending on the plant, you may receive one or two root chunks, crowns, or tubers per order. The size varies significantly between species.

Like with our other plants, we recommend planting our perennial vegetables dormant so the transplanting process is less stressful on them. As a result, they may not look like much when you receive them but they tend to start growing fairly quickly.

Quantity
Regular price $14.00 CAD
Regular price Sale price $14.00 CAD
Sale Sold out
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