Crop type: Potatoes
Solanum tuberosum ‘Red Duke of York’
Common name: Potato ‘Red Duke of York’
Crop slug: potatoes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Red Duke of York’ is an AGM heritage first-early potato bred in 1942. Its attractive oval tubers have deep red skin and pale yellow, floury flesh with excellent flavour. It is a useful all-rounder, especially good boiled or served as a salad potato, and can also be left a little longer to bulk up.
This cultivar is generally preferred to the original ‘Duke of York’. Its plants are more vigorous, the tubers are larger and its eating quality is considered better. Disease resistance is relatively low, but its distinctive appearance, early harvest and flavour maintain its popularity.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Crop class
- first early
- Tuber form
- oval, deep red-skinned tubers with pale yellow floury flesh
Space seed potatoes about 30cm apart in rows 60cm apart. The bushy foliage fits containers as well as open ground; use one seed tuber for every 30cm of pot diameter.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Deep, fertile, moisture-retentive soil gives the heaviest and best-quality crop. Improve the bed with well-rotted manure or garden compost, ideally in autumn, and keep moisture steady during dry periods. Avoid waterlogged conditions.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun or partial shade
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2
Choose an open site protected from frost. Potato foliage does not tolerate freezing, so earth up or cover newly emerged shoots when late frost is forecast. Container plants may be held in a frost-free greenhouse for the earliest crop.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Bushy clumps carry deciduous green foliage and white to purple flowers in spring and summer. The harvest's defining feature is its strongly coloured deep-red skin, contrasting with pale yellow flesh. Show the smooth oval tubers at edible harvest stage rather than green or sprouting.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy, clump forming
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Solanum includes annuals, perennials, shrubs and climbers with simple or lobed leaves, five-lobed flowers and fleshy fruits. Potato cultivars are grown for their underground stem tubers.
Safety
Only sound, non-green potato tubers are edible. Foliage, flowers, berries, sprouts and green tuber tissue are harmful if eaten. Wear gloves where appropriate when handling plants and treated seed potatoes, and keep discarded plant material away from pets.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Chit certified seed potatoes rose-end uppermost in a cool, bright, frost-free place until sturdy shoots form. Plant around late March in a 15cm-deep trench, with sprouts facing upwards, and cover carefully. Alternatively plant individually in large pots or potato grow bags.
Draw soil around the stems once shoots reach about 23cm, leaving their top 10cm exposed. Repeat to make a final ridge 20–30cm high. This protects shoots, suppresses weeds and prevents light from turning tubers green. Water in dry weather, especially in containers.
Check tuber size from about June. Lift when flowers open or buds fall and potatoes reach roughly hen's-egg size. Insert the fork well away from the plant to avoid spearing the crop. First earlies are best eaten promptly.
Propagation
Propagate vegetatively from certified seed potatoes, optionally chitted for two to six weeks before planting.
Suggested locations
- Allotment or vegetable bed
- Raised or no-dig bed
- Large patio container
- Potato grow bag
- Frost-free greenhouse container for an extra-early crop
Pruning
No pruning is required. Remove and dispose of diseased foliage promptly. For storage crops, healthy yellowing top growth can be cut off about ten days before lifting.
Pests
May be susceptible to cutworms, slugs, wireworms, leaf and bud eelworm and potato cyst nematodes. Rotate the crop and inspect tubers during harvest.
Diseases
Its overall disease resistance is fairly low. It may be susceptible to potato scab, blight, tuber rot, blackleg, viruses, stem canker and, rarely, honey fungus. Begin with certified stock, rotate annually and lift promptly if blight threatens.