Fall is a time of food harvesting, and a few of our native plants have provided tasty nutrition for humans for hundreds if not thousands of years. One such plant is a member of the sunflower family, noted not for its sunflower seeds (of which it rarely produces any) but for its delicious roots. That plant is Helianthus tuberosus – the Jerusalem Artichoke. 

Common Name:  Jerusalem Artichoke 

Scientific Name: Helianthus tuberosus 

Family: Asteraceae (Aster Family) 

Alternate Common Names: Canada Potato, Earth-apple, Girasole, Sunchoke, Sunflower Artichoke, Sunroot, Tuberous Sunflower 

Plant description: Jerusalem Artichoke has upright, rigid stems that are light green to reddish brown in colour and are covered in stiff hairs. The stems are unbranched except for towards the top where the flowers are found. Shallowly toothed leaves occur in an opposite arrangement on the lower part of the plant and become alternate as they ascend the stem. They are up to 25cm long and 12cm wide, lance-shaped to ovate with a pointed tip, rounded base and rough texture on top. Leaves are borne on winged leaf stalks ranging from 2cm to 7.5cm long, becoming shorter as they ascend the stem. Stems terminate with flowers that measure up to 9cm wide and are characterized by 10-20 yellow ray florets (petals) surrounding a slightly darker center disk. At the base of each flower are 2-3 sets of overlapping bracts, each being 1.2cm long, hairy and pointed. Flowers become dry seed heads each containing flattened and slightly downy seeds. 

In the Garden: Jerusalem Artichoke is a very robust sunflower, putting on a dramatic display of yellow blooms in early fall. The tall, rigid stems persist throughout the winter months to extend wildlife value and garden interest. Best suited to large gardens or naturalized areas where it can be allowed to spread. 

Lifespan: perennial 

Exposure: full sun to part shade 

Soil Type: prefer loose, well-drained soil, but will tolerate poor soils.  

Moisture: moist to dry, but do not plant in areas that are consistently wet, as wet soil will rot the tubers 

Height:  300 cm 

Spread:  100 cm 

Bloom Period: Aug, Sep, Oct 

Colour: yellow 

Fragrant (Y/N): Y 

Showy Fruit (Y/N):  N 

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y 

Pests: powdery mildew 

Natural Habitat: open areas and moist thickets, prairie remnants along railroads, moist meadows along rivers, woodland borders, and is mostly found in disturbed areas 

Wildlife value: several native bees are attracted to the flowers and the seeds are an important source of food for many birds and small mammals; when growing near streams or ponds, H. tuberosa stems and leaves are used by beavers and muskrats for dam and den building 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone), Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis), and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) 

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9 

Propagation: Although possible to grow from seed, it is rarely done because this plant is so easy to grow from tubers or pieces of tubers (also, seeds tend to have low viability). Place your tubers in the ground, root-down and stalk-up, around 12.5 cm deep, and cover with soil. The best time to plant is in the spring after the danger of deep freezing has passed, but these hardy plants can be planted just about any time the ground isn’t frozen. 

Additional Info: Jerusalem artichoke has been grown commercially for use as a human food source, for livestock feed and for ethanol production. Cultivated varieties yield white tubers that are clustered near the main stem as opposed to wild types which produce reddish elongated tubers at the end of long rhizomes.  

Jerusalem artichoke is a very aggressive spreader in the garden. In my own garden, I planted them in half of a plastic 45 gallon drum, buried in the ground, to prevent spreading into my lawn. Each fall I harvest all the pieces of root I can find, and the little pieces I miss are enough to provide a full crop the next year.  

Native Range: 

Jerusalem Artichoke on the menu: I normally don’t offer commentary on the edibility of native plants in the garden, nor instruction on preparing them as food. This is because I grow native plants for wildlife, not for my own consumption. Jerusalem artichoke is one of the exceptions.  

The tubers of Jerusalem Artichoke are said to have a nutty flavour, somewhere between a potato and artichoke hearts (having never had artichoke hearts, I can’t verify this – but they do not taste anything like potatoes, in my mind). Depending on the variety and the growing conditions, the tubers may be small, thumb-sized or less, right up to the size of your fist.

Wash the tubers well, then pretty much anything you can do with potatoes you can do with these tubers: sliced and pan fried, steamed, boiled, microwaved, added to soups, roasted or even eaten raw to add a bit of crunch in salads. Google “Jerusalem artichoke recipes” and you’ll find lots. My personal preference is roasted in the oven or wrapped in tinfoil on the BBQ – this seems to concentrate the sugars and flavour.  

According to the Food Revolution Network (https://foodrevolution.org/blog/jerusalem-artichokes/), “Jerusalem artichokes are also a good source of inulin and oligofructose, which are types of fiber that act as potent prebiotics, or food for probiotics, which are the good bacteria in your gut. Inulin is a soluble fiber that also works to balance your blood sugar.” 

However, there is a downside for those with sensitive stomachs. The inulin and oligofructose can cause gas, bloating, and even abdominal pain and diarrhea in certain people. For this reason they are also known as “fartichokes”. Cooking them well can help reduce this effect, and some say that harvesting after a good frost also helps. As with consuming any wild plants, though, if you are at all concerned be sure to do some research first and approach with caution. 

Most sources I’ve read indicate you can loosely wrap the tubers in a paper towel and store in the crisper drawer for up to two weeks. I either have an excellent crisper, or exceptional tubers: mine stayed crisp and delicious for more than 6 months left loosely bagged in an unsealed large freezer bag in the drawer. 

Happy Native Plant Gardening. 

Without a doubt, the most active pollinator attracting plant in my garden (and with over 300 species of Ontario natives and a few near natives, that’s saying something) is Monarda fistulosa, aka Wild Bergamot.  While the flowers are blooming, there is constant activity with bees of all sizes – from tiny ones the size of a grain of rice to large bumblebees – and butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and even the occasional hummingbird. These just started blooming in my southern Ontario garden in the first week of July and will keep going for a few more weeks. Though susceptible to powdery mildew, my resident bunny never touches it.

(Plant Description and In the Garden sections, below, courtesy of Shaun Booth from In Our Nature.) 

Common Name: Wild Bergamot 

Scientific Name: Monarda fistulosa 

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint Family) 

Alternate Common Names: Bee Balm, Wild Horsemint, Mint-leaf Beebalm, Purple Beebalm 

Plant description: Wild Bergamot features multiple, light green stems that are 4-angled and varyingly hairy. Opposite leaves are found along the stem, measuring up to 10cm long, 3.8cm wide and are borne on 1.5cm long leafstalks. Leaves are broadly lanceolate to ovate, coarsely toothed, hairless to finely hairy and have rounded bases with pointed tips. Branching stems are topped with 7.6cm wide clusters of tubular flowers. Each flower has a tubular upper lip, with protruding stamens and tufts of white hairs at its tips, and a curved lower lip. The outer surfaces of the lips have fine hairs. Flower heads are backed by green bracts that may have a pinkish tinge. Flowers turn into rounded seed heads that contain small, dry, oval seeds. 

In the Garden: Wild Bergamot blooms profusely with pastel purple flower-heads that resemble mini-firework displays. The leaves have a lovely minty-oregano fragrance when rubbed. The rigid stems and rounded seed heads stand strong through the winter months to extend seasonal interest. Herbivores tend to avoid this plant. 

Skill level:  beginner 

Lifespan: perennial 

Exposure: full sun to part shade 

Soil Type: thrives in a wide range of soils, from acid to lime to rich to poor to sand to clay 

Moisture: dry to moist 

Height: 60-120 cm 

Spread: 60-90 cm  

Bloom Period: Jul, Aug, Sep 

Colour: pink, lavender, rarely white 

Fragrant (Y/N): N (but foliage is aromatic) 

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N 

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y 

Pests: powdery mildew can be a significant problem with the monardas, particularly in crowded gardens with poor air circulation; rust can also be a problem 

Natural Habitat: open wooded sites, prairie ditches, meadows, sunny hillsides & rocky slopes 

Wildlife value: Butterflies and many, many native bees are attracted to Wild Bergamot – it is one of the busiest flowers in my garden when in bloom. Hummingbirds may also visit occasionally. The aromatic foliage is unpalatable to most herbivores. 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: none 

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9 

Propagation: Wild Bergamot is very easy to start from seed, which should be surface sown because they need light to germinate, but they do not need to be cold stratified. Store seeds in a cool, dry environment for spring sowing. Colonizes by rhizomes so lift and divide every 3 years to control its spread, improve air circulation and for general plant health. Most sources recommend dividing in early spring before new growth starts, but I have successfully divided wild bergamot all summer long. Plants may also be propagated in the greenhouse from stem cuttings. 

Additional Info: Not a good choice in a boulevard garden as it has very low salt tolerance. Prefers drier soils than M. didyma. In most years in my garden, the Wild Bergamot becomes white with powdery mildew by the time the blossoms are nearly done, and I often get good regrowth and a second flush of flowers by cutting them back at this time to the lowest set of leaves. 

Native Range: 

A couple more Monardas to consider: The plants below are gorgeous in the garden, but have a much more restricted range than M. fistulosa. Monarda didyma is found mainly in southern Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania while M. punctata is native to the very southwestern tip of the province (Essex County and parts of Chatham-Kent) and to lower Michigan and parts of New York. Perhaps I will do a feature on these at a later date. 

Monarda didyma:  Bee Balm, Oswego Tea, Firecracker Plant, Wild Oregano (and several other common names, is a bright red cousin of Wild Bergamot that will grow to about 120 cm (4’) tall in well drained sand, clay or loam soils in full sun to part shade. Hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies are especially attracted to the red flowers.  

Monarda punctata: With the least flashy flowers of the three Monardas, the gorgeous Spotted Bee Balm, aka Dotted Horsemint, makes up for it with leafy bracts that turn a glorious pink. It is also the most drought tolerant of the three. In my garden, if you want to see a great black digger wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus) just stand by the M. punctata for a few moments when it is blooming – they are almost always on the plant. 

Common Name:  Blue-stemmed Goldenrod         

Scientific Name: Solidago caesia

Family: Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Alternate Common Names: Woodland Goldenrod, Wreath Goldenrod

Plant description: Blue-stemmed Goldenrod has sparingly branched, arching stems that are green when young but turn blueish purple with age.  Leaves are alternate, elliptic-oblong (long and rounded) in shape and measure about 12cm long, 2cm wide and become smaller as they ascend the stem. They are stalkless, hairless and have serrated edges. Small clusters of 1-12 yellow flowers develop from upper leaf axils (where the leaf meets the stem) and at the very tip of the stem. Each flower is 3mm wide and has 4-5 ray flowers (petals) surrounding 4-5 disk flowers. At the base of each flower, you will notice small bracts that are overlapping, smooth and oblong. Flowers mature into small, finely haired seeds that have small tufts of hairs attached to them.

In the Garden: Blue-stemmed Goldenrod is a shade-loving goldenrod with a well-behaved clumping habit. As if its graceful, arching stems and dark green leaves aren’t reason enough to love this plant, it is adorned with bright yellow flowers late in the season that make it a real crowd-pleaser.

Skill level:  beginner

Lifespan: perennial

Exposure: medium shade to full sun

Soil Type: most well drained soils; tolerates poor soil

Moisture: medium to dry

Height: 45-90 cm

Spread:  30-60 cm

Spacing: 45 cm

Bloom Period: late-Aug, Sep

Colour: yellow

Fragrant (Y/N): N

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y

Pests: no serious insect or disease problems though rust may be an occasional problem

Natural Habitat: rich, deciduous or open woods, the edges of woods and in clearings

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: none

Wildlife value: attracts native and honeybees, wasps, flies and butterflies and the seeds are occasionally eaten by the several small songbirds

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-8

Propagation: Small seeds need light to germinate and benefit from 90 days cold, moist stratification. Mature plants may be divided and new plants may be started from stem cuttings.

Additional Info: This species is primarily clump-forming and does not spread aggressively as do some of the other goldenrod species and hybrids.

Native Range: