What causes the stems of sunchokes to turn red and lower leaves to die?

Question

The bottom leaves of my sunchokes are beginning to die in tall grass, and a reddish color (with a small bubble that looks like a boil from the long stems that come out) is going up the main stem on one of the plants.

Does that mean I should dig them up, cut back on the water, or something else?

finally was able to get some images of it from someone:

Hi! Would you please post a few pictures of your sunchokes? The whole plant would be good, and especially something that shows the bubble that looks like a boil. That way we can see what you mean, which will probably make it easier to get you some good answers! Thanks! — Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL, Aug 07 '16 at 20:54
I don't have a smart phone, and it would look funny taking a picture with a laptop so I tried to describe it as best I could. — black thumb, Aug 07 '16 at 21:10
Use a digital camera. It's a good idea to track the growth of your plants with pictures — Graham Chiu, Aug 08 '16 at 05:33

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 08 '16 at 05:42

2

Harvest when all the leaves have died back and after your first frost as that makes them sweeter. I left mine in the ground until I needed them which was late autumn, but some people leave them in the ground in winter as well. They'll keep better in the ground then out.

answered Aug 08 '16 at 05:42

Graham Chiu

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can you please review the answer again? – black thumb Aug 19 '16 at 03:16

What causes the stems of sunchokes to turn red and lower leaves to die?

1 Answers1