Overview

Embark on a rewarding gardening journey with our premium yacon live plant root propagules. Yacon, scientifically known as Smallanthus sonchifolius, is a fascinating root vegetable often referred to as ‘Ground Apple’ or ‘Bolivian Sunroot’ due to its sweet, crisp, and apple-like texture. These organic dormant root propagules are specifically for growing new plants, not for immediate consumption as edible tubers. We offer both red/purple and white varieties, allowing you to select the perfect addition to your culinary garden. Yacon plants are known for their ease of cultivation and ability to produce abundant, healthy tubers that can be enjoyed fresh, juiced, or cooked. Growing your own yacon live plant is a fantastic way to enjoy fresh, organic produce right from your backyard, providing a unique flavor profile to your meals and snacks.

Key Benefits

Growing yacon live plant offers a multitude of benefits, from its unique taste to its nutritional value and ease of care. These benefits make it an excellent choice for both novice and experienced gardeners.

• Unique Culinary Experience: Yacon tubers have a distinct sweet and crunchy texture, often compared to apples or water chestnuts. They can be enjoyed raw in salads, juiced, or used in various cooked dishes, offering a refreshing and healthy addition to your diet.
• Nutrient-Rich Harvest: Yacon is celebrated for its health benefits, particularly its high content of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a type of prebiotic fiber that supports gut health. It’s also a good source of antioxidants and beneficial compounds.
• Easy to Grow: Despite its exotic origin, the yacon live plant is surprisingly easy to cultivate. Once established, it requires minimal attention, making it suitable for gardeners of all skill levels. It thrives in well-drained soil and a sunny location.
• High Yield Potential: A single yacon plant can produce a substantial harvest of tubers, providing a generous supply for your household. Proper care and a long growing season contribute to a bountiful yield.
• Versatile Use: Beyond the edible tubers, the leaves of the yacon plant are also edible and can be used in teas or cooked like spinach, adding another layer of versatility to this remarkable plant.
• Organic and Sustainable: Our root propagules are grown organically, ensuring you receive healthy, chemical-free starting material for your garden. This promotes sustainable gardening practices and healthy eating.
• Adaptable Growth: While preferring warmer climates, yacon live plant can be started indoors in cooler regions to extend its growing season, making it adaptable to various US climates with proper protection.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

To successfully grow yacon and achieve a bountiful harvest, understanding its specific care requirements is key. Yacon thrives in well-drained soil and a sunny location. When planting your dormant root propagules, ensure the ground is workable and free from frost. If you have a shorter growing season, starting your yacon indoors can give it a head start. These propagules are frost-sensitive, so it’s crucial to plant them with protection or after the last danger of frost has passed in your area. For optimal growth, the plant ideally needs at least five months of frost-free conditions to produce sizable tubers.

Choose a spot in your garden that receives full sun to partial shade, with at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily for the best results. The soil should be rich in organic matter and have excellent drainage. While the plant can tolerate periods of drought once established, consistent watering, especially during dry spells, will lead to better root production. Applying a potassium-rich fertilizer can also be beneficial to encourage robust tuber development. When storing dormant crowns before planting, keep them in damp peat moss or a similar medium to prevent them from drying out.

Harvesting typically occurs in the fall or early winter, once the foliage has been killed by frost. Carefully dig up the tubers, separating the edible tubers from the root propagules (crowns) that you will save for next year’s planting. Store the edible tubers in a humid environment, as they do not keep well if allowed to dry out. The flavor and sweetness of yacon tubers actually improve with age, so storing them for at least a month out of the ground is recommended. Under ideal storage conditions, they can be kept for four months or more. You’ll find that with these tips, it’s quite simple to grow yacon in your home garden.

Size & Details

You will receive dormant root propagule pieces of either the red/purple or white variety of yacon, ready for planting. Please note these are the roots used for growing new plants, not the large edible tubers. We offer two sizes: Medium (Md) pieces, which easily fit through a 2-inch square but not a 1-inch square, and Large (Lrg) pieces, which do not fit through a 2-inch square. These sizes ensure you receive viable planting material suitable for establishing a robust yacon live plant. Yacon plants typically grow to a height of 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 meters) with a similar spread, forming bushy foliage above ground. The root system, where the edible tubers develop, can extend significantly below the soil surface. The growth rate is moderate to fast, allowing for a substantial harvest within a single growing season under favorable conditions. Each propagule has the potential to produce a full-sized plant, yielding multiple edible tubers and additional propagules for future plantings. Instructions for planting and care will be provided via a URL for easy access to detailed information.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: A mature yacon live plant typically reaches a height of 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 meters) and can have a similar spread, producing a substantial amount of foliage and an impressive underground network of tubers.
• Q: What size propagule will I receive? A: You will receive dormant root propagule pieces in either medium (fits through a 2-inch square but not a 1-inch square) or large (does not fit through a 2-inch square) sizes, suitable for planting.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Yacon is primarily an outdoor plant, performing best in garden beds. However, it can be started indoors in cooler climates to lengthen the growing season before transplanting outside.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: The bolivian sunroot plant thrives in full sun to partial shade, requiring at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day for optimal tuber production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, yacon plants are generally considered easy to grow and care for, making them suitable for beginners. They require well-drained soil, adequate sunlight, and consistent watering for best results.
• Q: What condition will the propagules arrive in? A: Your organic yacon root propagules will arrive dormant, ready for planting. They are carefully packaged to ensure viability upon receipt, provided they are not exposed to freezing temperatures or left in mailboxes for prolonged periods.
• Q: Can I eat these root propagules directly? A: No, these are dormant root propagules intended for growing new plants. They are not the large, edible tubers that you harvest later in the season. You need to plant them to grow yacon first.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: The best time to plant yacon propagules is after the last danger of frost in your area, when the ground is workable. In colder climates, starting them indoors a few weeks before the last frost can be beneficial.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Yacon is frost-sensitive. In colder zones, tubers must be harvested before the first hard frost. In warmer, frost-free climates (USDA zones 8-10+), they can sometimes be left in the ground with a thick layer of mulch.
• Q: What is a ‘ground apple plant’? A: A ground apple plant is another common name for yacon, referring to the sweet, crisp, apple-like taste and texture of its edible tubers that grow underground.