Crop type: Potatoes
Solanum tuberosum ‘Jazzy’
Common name: Potato ‘Jazzy’
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
‘Jazzy’ is a PBR-protected AGM modern second-early potato that produces large quantities of small, visually appealing tubers. They have cream skin, light-yellow flesh, a pleasant waxy texture and good flavour. The crop is especially useful for salads, boiling and roasting.
Its high tuber count, compact size and early maturity also make it suitable for large containers. The defining harvest is numerous small oval potatoes rather than a few large baking tubers.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Crop class
- second early
- Tuber form
- many small oval tubers with cream skin and light-yellow waxy flesh
Space seed potatoes around 30cm apart in rows 60cm apart. In pots, allow one tuber per 30cm of container diameter so the prolific crop has enough compost volume.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Use deep, fertile, moisture-retentive soil improved with well-rotted manure or compost. Even watering is particularly important when many small tubers are developing. Containers must drain freely and may need daily attention in warm weather.
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. Cover or earth up new shoots whenever freezing temperatures are forecast, and keep early container crops frost free.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Bushy clumps carry deciduous green foliage above the ridges. The harvest consists of numerous small cream-skinned oval tubers; a cut example reveals light-yellow flesh. The plate should communicate abundance and salad-potato scale without red skin, exaggerated flouriness or long knobbly forms.
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 divided leaves, five-lobed flowers and fleshy fruits. Potatoes are cultivated for underground stem tubers.
Safety
Eat only sound, non-green tubers. Leaves, stems, flowers, berries, sprouts and green tuber tissue are harmful if eaten. Keep discarded plant material away from children and pets.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Chit certified seed potatoes rose-end uppermost in a cool, bright and frost-free place. Plant in early to mid-April, placing tubers sprouts upwards in trenches about 15cm deep. Cover carefully and water.
Begin earthing up when stems reach around 23cm, leaving their upper 10cm visible. Repeat until ridges stand 20–30cm high. In containers, start with about 15cm of compost and add more gradually as stems rise. Keep evenly moist throughout tuber formation.
Check from July and lift when the many small potatoes reach a useful salad size. Insert the fork well away from the stems or tip out containers and gather by hand. Use soon after harvest for the best waxy texture and fresh flavour.
Propagation
Propagate vegetatively from certified seed potatoes, optionally chitted for four to six weeks before planting.
Suggested locations
- Allotment or vegetable bed
- Cottage or informal garden
- Raised or no-dig bed
- Large patio container
- Potato grow bag
Pruning
No pruning is required. Remove diseased foliage promptly and dispose of blighted material appropriately.
Pests
May be susceptible to cutworms, slugs, wireworms, leaf and bud eelworm and potato cyst nematodes. Rotate annually and inspect the many small tubers carefully at harvest.
Diseases
May be susceptible to potato scab, blight, tuber rot, blackleg, stem canker and, rarely, honey fungus. Use certified stock, sound drainage and crop rotation.