The Best Potatoes To Grow In Containers (Plus How to Grow Them)

Are you searching for the best species of potatoes to grow in containers? 

Search no more because you’re in the right place to discover different potato species, why they thrive well in containers, and how to grow them.

French fingerling potatoes, Hannah sweet potatoes, Russet, Japanese sweet potatoes and other potatoes grow well in containers. How you grow and care for potatoes will determine the yield. In general, Potatoes mature quicker when grown in containers.

Containers provide solutions for lack of space to grow potatoes in the garden. Knowing the varieties of potatoes that grow in containers is one thing, growing healthy Potatoes is more important. 

Because not all species of potatoes require much sun to grow, while some need full sunlight for photosynthesis to aid their growth. Whichever species of potatoes you want to grow in containers, there is an easy way to do it and ensure that potatoes yield productively.

In this article, you’ll discover 10 best potato species that blossom in containers and easy growing methods.

Varieties Of Potatoes Species That Grow In Containers

Let’s consider the various potato species that thrive in containers, under the right conditions. 

In the table below, we’ll cover the potato names, scientific names, countries of origin, sun requirement, and maturity period.

Having listed the various potato species and their characteristics, let’s discuss each potato in much detail: 

1. French Fingerling Potatoes

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French Fingerling Potatoes can grow both on ground and in containers.

Just as the quality of soil matters when growing french fingerling potatoes, it’s also important to expose the plant to sunlight.

French fingerling potatoes require between 6 — 8 hours of sunlight every day to remain healthy. When growing french fingerling potatoes in containers, you need to channel full sunlight 

You can also use growing light in alternative to sunlight for this species of Potatoes. This plant requires much light to thrive and be productive. Exposing it to direct sunshine at least 6 hours daily will keep the potatoes healthy.

You can as well move the potatoes outside from time to time if you don’t have growing lights — quality sunlight makes it easy for potato roots to absorb the nutrient that’ll make it grow faster.

A well-drained, moist, and fertilized soil in containers will make french fingerling potatoes to florish and produce well. 

Which Fingerling Potato Seeds Grow Well in Containers?

French fingerling potatoes grow well in containers. You may experience low growth when you cultivate french fingerling potatoes purchased from grocery stores — most of the potatoes are treated with substances that retard germination.

If you need potato plants that grow well in containers, then buy certified disease-free fingerling potato seeds from a local nursery or from a garden catalog.

Potatoes seeds from the local nursery do well in containers when you take care of the plant.

Planting Potato Seeds

You can plant complete potato seeds or cut them into smaller sizes. For example, you can divide a potato into 2 – 3 smaller sizes. The number of sizes you cut depends on how big the potato seed is.

When you’re done cutting, allow the potato seeds to dry at least one day or maximum of 3 days to heal over before planting in a well-drained, moist, fertile soil inside containers.

When air-drying the cut seeds, let the cut side be up to air on a clean place at least for one day or maximum of 3 days.

Planting and Fertilizing Your Potatoes

Containers that hold 3 – 4 layers of organic starter fertilizer will be enough to cultivate potatoes. 

Fill the containers with soil and then nestle the potato into the soil. After nestling down, cover the potatoes at least 1 inch of soil and tamp down gently.

After the planting, ensure you water it very well for the soil to be moist before you leave it for the next day. 

With this exercise, your potatoes in containers will blossom and produce many crops.

2. Hannah Sweet Potato

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Hannah sweet potatoes are in different varieties. All these varieties can survive in containers. They’re not only going to survive when grown in containers, but yield high.

Hannah sweet potato doesn’t need much sunlight to grow like french fingerling potatoes. With 3 – 5 hours of sunshine each day, you can successfully grow hannah sweet potatoes in containers.

Hannah sweet potato is known to be a warm-weather plant that can grow almost in a tropical region. However, it can thrive in a cold weather region as well.

Sweet potatoes are among the fast-growing plants in containers. Within 90 – – 170 days, your hannah sweet potato is ready to harvest.

Since they can grow well in warm climates, freezing temperatures delay or reduce the rate at which they grow and produce.

Size Of Containers

Also, the size of your container determines the number of hannah sweet potatoes that you’ll plant — because they hardly survive under cold weather.

You can use at least a16-inch diameter and 16-inch high container to grow 4 – 6 potato seeds in cool weather regions.

Hannah sweet potatoes should be watered once in a week.  

The best time to water hannah sweet potatoes in containers is in the morning, when the sun is not out yet. Watering potato plants early hours of the day, between 7am – 10am will help to drive the nutrients down into their roots.

You need to supply hannah sweet potatoes with an adequate amount of moist soil, otherwise, your plant will be starved — thereby resulting in stunted growth. Lack of nutrients affect how they will thrive in cold weather conditions.

3. Russet 

Russet potatoes undergo several growth stages. The first stage is the seedling plants, which takes a few days before you transplant them to bigger containers.

Transplanting of Russet

Transplanting of Russet potato will enable it to have bigger containers that’ll house enough nutrients. When transplanting russet, be careful not to over cut the root. Take your transplanting knife down beyond the root and move it with soil.

However, when you cut one or two roots during transplanting doesn’t affect its growth, so long you plant it on well-drained and organic fertile soil. 

Russet potatoes thrive well in containers when it’s planted in an organic soil and watered appropriately. 

Russet Need Full Sunlight

The plants need full sunlight for better photosynthesis. Russet needs sunlight for at least 6 hours each day to grow healthy and blossom.

If you can’t channel direct sunlight indoors to grow russet, then use growing light. Get growing light that has the capacity to emit higher lumens. Growing light with dimmable features is suitable to grow russet in containers.

 Another way to grow russet indoor is by taking the plants outside from time to time to receive direct sunlihgt  — and get enough light to flourish.

Russet Planting Spacing

Containers of 14-inch diameter can take 3 russet potatoes for a start. The normal planting spacing for russet plants is 10-inch apart from each other.

Russet do well in containers when you maintain 10 inches planting spacing and provide them with quality manured soil to grow healthy and produce more. 

4. Yukon Gold

Yukon gold potatoes can survive under cold and warm weather conditions. 

The plants require partial sunlight when it’s hot weather. Full sunlight when the weather is cold.

Growing lights with dimming features are highly-suitable to grow yukon gold potatoes in containers because they have the capacity to regulate the amount of light they emit. 

Generally, Yukon gold requires 8 hours sunlight to grow when the weather is a bit cold each day. Then, 6 hours when the weather is warm each day.

If you’re using growing light to cultivate yukon gold potatoes in containers, let the weather conditions be the determinant factor of how you’ll regulate the amount of brightness the growing light emits.

Yukon gold maturity period during spring or summer is between 60 – 80 days, while during fall or winter it takes 80 – 90 days to mature.

Cold weather condition

The plant may experience sprouts growth during cold weather. When the weather is cold, you can water yukon gold potatoes once or twice weekly for the soil not to be over moist. 

You can watered yukon gold more than 2 times in a week when using clay pots —  because clay pots have the capacity to absorb water and diffuse it once there is sunlight.

Russet Do Well In Compost Soil

Yukon gold potatoes grow well in a loose and well-drained soil that’s properly mixed with organic matter such as compost.

Loose soil will enable the fertilizer and other nutrients to penetrate very well into yukon gold potatoes’ roots. 

Yukon gold potatoes require planting spacing of 10 – 15 inches apart when growing in containers. The planting spacing will enable proper ventilation among the potatoes.

Nitrogen fertilizer is suitable for Yukon gold potatoes at every plating stage. Application of nitrogen fertilizer should be based on manufacturer instruction.

After application of fertilizer, you can water immediately. The water will help drive the fertilizer into the soil and moist the soil. Plants absorb nutrients easily from moist soil.

Yukon gold potatoes can easily contact disease through air. Growing yukon gold potatoes in containers, they’ll enable you to control the amount of air they receive.

The weeds are not a major threat to the plant. That’s why it thrives very well when it grows in containers. 

5. Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Japanese sweet potatoes florish well under full sunlight. Sunlight is as important as well as moist organic soil to the plants.

You need to ensure Japanese sweet potatoes receive full light when growing them in containers. The plants need at least 6 hours full light each day to germinate and produce very well.

Inasmuch as Japanese sweet potatoes require full sunlight to yield well, it doesn’t mean they can survive under heat. 

Containers to Grow Japanese Sweet Potatoes

The plant can survive under low heat. However, don’t use containers that absorb heat internally. Avoid metal and plastic containers that absorb heat when you want to grow Japanese sweet potatoes. 

Metal or plastic containers that absorb heat kills or delay the growth of Japanese sweet potatoes. Once the container is heat-up watering them immediately will increase the damage. 

Therefore, allow the containers to cool for a while before watering.

Japanese sweet potatoes don’t need much water to survive as much as they need light. During the seedling period, Japanese sweet potatoes need partial light to grow faster and flourish.

When growing Japanese potatoes in containers where there is no direct sunlight, you need to move the containers out from time to time for the plant to receive adequate sunlight. 

Japanese sweet potatoes can grow under growing lights. Get growing lights that have a dimmable feature that’s designed to enhance plants productivity.

6. Red Thumb

Red thumb potatoes are among the species of potatoes that grows faster in containers. It takes only 4 – 6 weeks for the red thum potatoes to mature. 

These species of potatoes need moderate watering and partial/full light when growing them in containers. 

Red thumb potatoes require 3 – 6 hours light per day. The plants need at least 3 hours of light each day.

The seedling period of red thumb potatoes need partial sunlight to germinate faster and quickly. During pre-mature state, red thumb potatoes need full light to mature faster.

Watering Of Red Thumb Potatoes

Watering is done at least once in a week. Red thumb potatoes in containers don’t need much watering. However, you need to keep the soil moist.

The potatoes require a moderate feeder to grow healthy and productive. Fertilizer can be done once in two weeks. 

Fertilization Of Red Thumb Potatoes

When applying fertilizer, ensure you don’t add much quantity that will damage their root. You can apply 2 – 3 pounds of complete fertilizer in a ratio of 5- 10-10. The 10-20-10 fertilizer stands for:

• 5 pounds of nitrogen
• 10 pounds of phosphorus
• 10 pounds of potassium

The application of complete fertilizer helps to speed up the maturity of red thumb potatoes in containers. Make sure the fertilizer has 3 compositions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium before you apply it.

Fertilization of red thumb potatoes can be best done in the morning or in the evening after 5 – 10 minutes of watering. The moist soil will enable fertilizer to soak down and easy for plants to absorb.

Proper Mixed Soil In Containers To Grow Red Thumb Potatoes

Fill the containers you want to plant red thumb potatoes with well mixed soil of organic manure. Otherwise, improper mixture of the soil does affect the growth rate of red thumb potatoes. 

Red thumb potatoes are more sensitive to soil than the water and the light.

Re thumb potatoes thrive very well when they grow in containers with a good composition of mixed soil. 

The plants do well under well-drained, moist, and fertilize soil in containers with access to 3 hours direct sunlights each day.

Red thumb potatoes can thrive in hot weather and do well. Too much cold-weather affects their productivity and causes delays in maturity — why it’s better to supply much light than water. 

7. La Ratte Potatoes

La ratte potato was first discovered in Denmark and later in France. It does well in a moist soil compared to other potatoes.

The potatoes grow very well in containers. When using containers to grow La ratte potatoes you need an interval of watering to keep the soil moist.

You can water La ratte potatoes in containers once in a week or once in 2 weeks. When watering la ratte potatoes in containers, ensure you don’t supply much water that’ll make the soil become soggy instead of moist.

Since you are using containers to grow Ratte potatoes, you don’t need to be concerned about the season. The potatoes can grow any season of the year — so long the soil isn’t overwater to become soggy but moderate.

8. Jewel Yam

Jewel yam potatoes are hard plants that do well in warm weather. They need full light to grow faster and produce more.

Jewel yam potato flourishes very well when grown in containers. It yield much in containers like as much as it does on the ground

It requires partial sunlight across all the growing seasons. Cultivating jewel yam potatoes in containers with full light makes it productive and blossom.

Jewel yam potato is among potatoes species that need light for several hours. Lack of light for a long time does affect the productivity of Jewel yam potatoes.

Jewel potatoes need 8 – 10 hours direct sunlight each day. 

The potatoes thrive more under full lights than much watered soil. However, they need moist soil and well-drained soil to flourish. 

Jewel yam potatoes do very well in containers when you supply it with adequate light. Growing light with full spectrum will make the potatoes flourish and stay healthy.

This is more like a home growing plant with ease. Once you have functionable growing light with full spectrum without dimmable features you can grow the potato in containers.

Jewel potatoes need little application of fertilizer to florish and blossoms. You can apply 2 – 3 tea spoons of fertilizer to grow jew potatoes in containers of 14 inches diameter and 14 inches high.

9. Russian Banana (waxy)

Russian banana potatoes prosper when they’re cultivated in containers. 

The challenge most people encounter is the planting spacing. The potatoes require 10 – 12 inches spacing when growing in containers. They need adequate ventilation for higher productivity.

The potatoes have the capacity to withstand any heat but grow slowly in cold weather. However, the plants thrive in mild winters.

When there is much cold, increase the growing light spectrum to emit higher brightness and low heat that’ll make the plant grow faster.

Russian banana potatoes slow in germination when there is not enough ventilation. That’s why during planting, ensure you provide much planting spacing for adequate ventilations — especially growing in containers.

Russian banana potatoes blossom in containers irrespective of the weather conditions because you can regulate the amount of direct light they receive each.

10. Rose Finn Apple

Rose finn apple potatoes produce blossoms when grown in containers. They prosper in containers because of the amount of light they receive either directly from the sunlight  or the growing light.

Planting and growing rose finn apple potatoes in containers makes the cultivation to become faster because containers speed up maturity period.

Containers help you to avoid weeds and insects that disturb potatoes during their growing stages.

The potatoes need to be well watered at least 1 time in 2 weeks to ensure the containers are well watered and moist. 

Rose finn apple potatoes need much water to produce effectively than most other species of potatoes. 

They require full grow light for the potatoes to do well. At least 6 hours sunlight each day is enough for the plant to grow faster.

Rose finn apple potatoes grown in containers require 10 – 12 inches planting spacing — the planting spacing depends on the size of the containers.

You can use smaller containers during seedling and later transplant to bigger containers as they grow and for better penetration of nutrients.

Conclusion 

Here you have varieties of potatoes that grow in containers. Cultivating any of these potatoes in containers that’re filled with well-drained soil, moist, and fertilized will cause the plant to blossom.

Containers help to speed up Potatoes maturity period than when they are cultivated on the ground, especially when you know how to care for them.