Late potatoes ripen for a long time and are harvested between September and October, marking the end of the potato season. We present the best late potato varieties and give tips on growing late potatoes.
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) differ not only in their appearance, taste and cooking properties, but also in their ripening times. In addition, late potatoes herald the end of the potato season with their late harvest.
Later potatoes: What is that actually?
The late potatoes include all varieties that need a cultivation period of more than 140 days between planting and harvest. Very late varieties can take up to 180 days to grow and should therefore be planted early enough and encouraged if possible.
What is the difference between new potatoes and late potatoes? All varieties that require less than 140 days of cultivation time are counted as new potatoes. Early potatoes can be harvested as early as June, while late potatoes only begin to be harvested in September, when the foliage has completely died. While late-ripening potatoes can be stored much longer, early-ripening varieties seem to be less affected by potato diseases such as late blight (Phytophthora infestans).
The tastiest late potato varieties
The late potato varieties come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. We give an overview of different late potato varieties.
'Agria': High-yielding, predominantly waxy potato variety from Germany from 1985. It forms large, round to long-oval shaped tubers with deep yellow flesh and an aromatic taste.
'Bamberger Hörnchen': Popular old potato variety from the Bamberg area, created around 1870. The elongated tubers with the deep yellow, firm-boiling flesh have a spicy taste and are ideal as a Fried and boiled potatoes.
'Blaue Anneliese': Very late, stickyPotato variety with deep purple tubers. The flesh is extremely dark, the skin is almost black. The strong, spicy taste is particularly effective in potato salad or as fried and baked potatoes.
'Carolus': Floury, round-oval potatoes with striking red eyes on the beige skin. The Dutch variety has a high yield and is only slightly susceptible to late blight.
'Granola': Old potato variety with a spicy taste and classic yellow-brown, rough skin and yellow flesh. The predominantly waxy variety forms large, roundish-oval tubers.
‘Heiderot’: Long-oval shaped red potato variety with an aromatic and slightly buttery taste. The tubers, which are deep red to magenta on the inside and outside, are waxy and are ideal as fried and jacket potatoes or in a colorful potato salad.
'Pink Pine Cone': Croissant-shaped, waxy potato variety with a good, spicy taste. The skin is pinkish-brown in colour, the flesh light yellow. This old variety was bred in England around 1850.
‘Sarpo Mira’: Predominantly waxy potato variety from Hungary with an attractive, light red skin and deep yellow flesh. It forms soft pink flowers and has a slightly fruity taste.
'Vitelotte': Old French, slightly knobbly potato variety with rather small tubers. The skin is dark violet, the flesh is mostly light yellow and violet marbled.
Plant late potatoes
Late potatoes are planted between the end of March and the beginning of May. When planting potatoes, the soil should already be 8 to 10 °C warm. If you want to plant potatoes in a pot, the planter should hold at least 10 liters of soil. A nutrient-rich potting soil, such as our peat-free Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil, provides the potatoes with the necessary supply of nutrients for the first few weeks after planting. The high compost content supports a loose soil structure that is easy for roots to penetrate and serves to store water. The tubers are placed at a depth of about 10 cm and lightly mounded outdoors. Water vigorously once if the soil is dry and water regularly throughout the season if grown in pots.
Harvest late potatoes
Later potatoesare ready to harvest as soon as the potato plant above ground has completely died. This happens between September and the end of October. Now the tubers can be freed from the soil using a digging fork and stored in a dry and cool place. You can find detailed instructions for harvesting potatoes in our special article.
In summer, proper care of the potato lays the foundation for a good yield. We provide tips on water and fertilizer requirements as well as other care measures.