Yacon
Yacon
Smallanthus sonchifolius
vegetable☀️ full-sun🪴 rich loam📏 medium🌡️ RHS H2
About
Andean tuber with crisp, mildly sweet roots for late season harvest.
Top tip
Grow like a tall, tender perennial; lift sweet, crisp tubers in late autumn after foliage dies back.
Also known as: Yacón, Jakon, Yacon, Smallanthus sonchifolius, Yakon, ground apple, Peruvian ground apple
Pest Resilience
4/5 — Good resilience
Very few pest problems; slugs may eat tubers in very wet conditions.
Companion Planting
Grows well with
Visual Characteristics
🍳
Culinary
Culinary Use
Raw in salads, juiced, smoothies, syrup, sliced as snack, pickled
The yacon year in your garden
Dispatching imaginary bots to check your garden out...
What to do now
How to Propagate
🔪Division
Easy🌱Tuber
ModerateHardiness Zones
H1a (tender)H7 (very hardy)
RHS H2
USDA 9–10 equivalent