PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Lamiaceae FAMILY

Stachys affinis

Stachys affinis

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Prefers a well-drained soil in a sunny position[1]. Thrives in an ordinary garden soil[2], preferring one that is not too heavy[1, 3]. It grows best in a soil that has been well fed and does not dry out in the growing season[1]. Plants seem to withstand even water-logged conditions in the winter[4]. The Chinese artichoke is occasionally cultivated for its edible tubers, they are planted out in March and harvested from October onwards[2, 5, 6]. Although top growth is killed back by frost, the tubers are very hardy and can be left in the ground over winter to be harvested as required[7]. It is virtually impossible to find all the tubers, there are always some left behind that will grow the following season[PFAF]. Plants are very tolerant of high summer temperatures[4]. The tubers begin to sprout at temperatures above about 5°c[4]. Plants take 5 - 7 months to develop their tubers[4]. Plants rarely flower in Britain[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If sufficient growth has been made, it is possible to plant them out during the summer, otherwise grow them on in pots for their first summer, leaving the tubers in the pots to overwinter in a cold frame and then plant out in late spring when in active growth. Seed is rarely if ever produced on plants growing in Britain. Division. The tubers can be harvest and replanted at any time whilst they are dormant. They do start into growth fairly early in the year so it is better to have moved them by the end of early spring[PFAF]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Stachys+affinis>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1960 · ISBN - ↩︎Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
  4. [4]Oriental Vegetables — Larkcom J. · John Murray · 1991 · ISBN 0-7195-4781-4 ↩︎Well written and very informative.
  5. [5]Flora of Japan. (English translation) — Ohwi. G. · Smithsonian Institution · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  9. [9]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  10. [10]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  13. [13]Famine Foods listed in the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. — Reid. B. E. · Southern Materials Centre; Taipei · 1977 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
  14. [14]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  15. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎