How to Grow Mashuas Canada

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum)
  2. Quick Facts
  3. At a Glance
  4. Diseases
  5. Pests
  6. Growth Stages
  7. Harvest & Storage
  8. Plan your Mashuas planting
  9. Growing Mashua in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

Mashua needs cool summers — it performs best where highs stay below 27°C — and won't start forming tubers until day length drops to around 13 hours, so a long, cool growing season matters more than your frost date.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum)

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) orange flowers with red spurs — “Tropaeolum tuberosum flowering mashua plant P8250294 (49959301028)” by Teresa Grau Ros from Barcelona is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

2 sources cited · Verified

Quick Facts

Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) orange flowers with red spurs
Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) orange flowers with red spurs. Photo: “Tropaeolum tuberosum flowering mashua plant P8250294 (49959301028)” by Teresa Grau Ros from Barcelona, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Factor Value
Drainage Moist but well-drained (RHS); Cultivariable: tolerates poor soil, loose/light soil best for harvest, moderately acidic.
Lifecycle Tuberous, climbing perennial. Cultivariable gives USDA zone 9a as the best fit, noting about half the tubers survive a multi-day freeze at 25°F.
Edible parts tubers, leaves, flowers
Documented problems 4 diseases, 7 pests

At a Glance

A colourful collection of mashua tuber varieties from Peru
A colourful collection of mashua tuber varieties from Peru. Photo by Michael Hermann, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tropaeolum tuberosum Mashua Bacterial tuber stainin… Cucumber mosaic virus Powdery scab Mashua virus diseases (… Glasshouse red spider m… Glasshouse whitefly Cabbage white butterfly Aphids Flea beetles Mice Deer DISEASES PESTS

Diseases

Close-up of a mashua tuber surface
Close-up of a mashua tuber surface. Photo: “TropaeolumTuberosum tuber” by Richard Fensome (myself, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bacterial tuber staining (mashua, causal agent not yet confirmed)
low

Named only vaguely by Cultivariable (brown bacterial staining in wet, warm soil), no species identified -- generic entry created rather than guessing a pathogen.

Cucumber mosaic virus
low

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)

Mostly mild or asymptomatic in North American stock per Cultivariable.

Powdery scab
low

Spongospora subterranea

Raised or sunken scabby patches on tuber/root skin

Named specifically by Cultivariable as powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea).

Mashua virus diseases (potyviruses and Papaya mosaic virus, unspecified)
low

Covers Cultivariable's potyviruses (possibly Bean Yellow Mosaic, Turnip Mosaic, or unidentified mashua-specific strains) and Papaya mosaic virus, grouped since neither is singularly confirmed.

Pests

A mix of purple and cream mashua tubers
A mix of purple and cream mashua tubers. Photo by Carlillasa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Two-spotted red spider mite with silk threads, magnified — Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
Glasshouse red spider mite (two-spotted spider mite)
low

Tetranychus urticae

Named by RHS for UK growing.

Glasshouse whitefly adult on a leaf — Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sanja565658, CC BY-SA 3.0
Glasshouse whitefly
low

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Named by RHS for UK growing.

Pieris spp.

Named by Cultivariable; larvae feed on the foliage.

low

Aphididae (various spp.)

Named by Cultivariable.

Flea beetles
low

Chrysomelidae: Alticini (various spp.)

Named by Cultivariable.

Mice
low

Muridae (mice, various spp.)

Named by Cultivariable as "field mice," damaging tubers.

Deer
high

Cervidae

Named by Cultivariable as the single most serious mashua pest.

Growth Stages

Mashua foliage and small orange flowers on the vine
Mashua foliage and small orange flowers on the vine. Photo: “Tropaeolum tuberosum2” by NicolasGrandjean, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  1. Planting (BBCH 0): Cultivariable: plant whole or cut tubers (each piece at least 1/2oz with two or more eyes) 2-3in deep after frost danger passes, 30in row spacing; give the climbing stems support to grow up. RHS: propagate 'Ken Aslet' by division of the tuberous rootstock.
  2. Climbing growth (BBCH 3): RHS: grow in full sun or partial shade, sheltered, moist but well-drained soil; wear gloves when handling, as the plant is a skin allergen. Cultivariable: performs best where summer highs stay below 80°F, with afternoon shade helpful in hotter spells.
  3. Day-length triggered tuber formation (BBCH 4)
  4. Harvest and overwintering (BBCH 8): Cultivariable: tubers need about 10 weeks after formation to size up, harvested around mid-November. RHS: lift and store tubers somewhere frost-free over winter, or grow the plant in a deep container that can be moved indoors.

Harvest & Storage

Yellow mashua tubers with black striping
Yellow mashua tubers with black striping. Photo by Panda Rojo 666, CC0.

When to pick: Cultivariable: tubers need about 10 weeks after formation to reach good size, harvest falling around mid-November; colour develops late, so fully coloured varieties benefit from maturing as long as possible before frost.

Storage

Tubers keep 6-8 weeks at room temperature, or up to 8 months at 35-38°F/95% humidity; can also be frozen chuno-style for longer preservation (Cultivariable).

Plan your Mashuas planting

When to sow and plant Mashuas depends on your own frost dates. Check the Canada vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Mashua in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Cultivariable (specialist Andean roots and tubers breeder/grower resource), Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to mashua; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What problems affect mashua?

Our data links 4 diseases and 7 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.

Get the Canada Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

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Last verified 2026-09-04

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