Crop type: Potatoes
Solanum tuberosum ‘Desiree’
Common name: Potato ‘Desiree’
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
‘Desiree’ is an AGM early-maincrop potato producing heavy crops of oval red-skinned tubers. Their pale-yellow flesh stays firm when cooked, stores well and suits many kitchen uses, with baking a particular strength. The plants are tolerant of drought.
The profile records good resistance to potato blight and scab. Combined with storage ability and drought tolerance, this makes ‘Desiree’ a resilient general-purpose maincrop with a distinctive red-and-yellow harvest.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Crop class
- early maincrop
- Tuber form
- oval red-skinned potatoes with firm pale-yellow flesh
Use maincrop spacing of about 37cm between plants and 75cm between rows. Large containers are possible, with one seed potato per 30cm of diameter.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Prepare deep fertile soil with organic matter. Drought tolerance gives useful resilience but does not remove the need for water while tubers swell. Avoid waterlogging.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full shade or partial shade as listed on the exact profile; linked potato guidance recommends an open site with good light
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2
Protect emerging shoots from frost and use a sheltered position where possible. Earth up or cover new growth on freezing nights.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Bushy clumps carry green deciduous foliage. The mature oval potatoes have a clearly red skin and pale-yellow interior. A cut tuber should show the firm flesh, distinguishing the cultivar from white-fleshed red potatoes and from deep-red floury 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 foliage, five-lobed flowers and fleshy fruits. Potatoes are cultivated for underground stem tubers.
Safety
Eat only sound, non-green tubers. Potato leaves, stems, flowers, berries, sprouts and green tuber tissue are harmful if eaten. Keep unwanted growth away from children and pets.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Use certified seed potatoes, optionally chitted rose-end uppermost in a cool bright place. Plant in the maincrop window from mid-April to early May, placing tubers sprouts upwards in 15cm-deep trenches and covering carefully.
Earth up emerging stems repeatedly, beginning at about 23cm high, until ridges reach 20–30cm. Keep tubers covered to prevent greening. Water well in dry periods despite the cultivar's drought tolerance.
Lift from late summer for immediate use or leave healthy plants longer to bulk up. For storage, remove yellowing tops, wait around ten days, lift carefully and dry briefly. Store only sound tubers in a cool, dark and frost-free place.
Propagation
Propagate vegetatively from certified seed potatoes, chitted before planting where desired.
Suggested locations
- Allotment or vegetable plot
- Raised or no-dig bed
- Cottage or informal garden
- Large patio container
- Potato grow bag
Pruning
No pruning is required. Remove diseased foliage promptly; cut healthy tops before lifting for storage.
Pests
May be susceptible to cutworms, slugs, wireworms, leaf and bud eelworm and potato cyst nematodes. Rotate annually and lift without damaging tubers.
Diseases
Shows good resistance to potato blight and scab. It may be susceptible to tuber rot, blackleg, stem canker and, rarely, honey fungus. Resistance reduces rather than eliminates risk.