Tropaeolum tuberosum
Family Tropaeolaceae
One vine, three harvests: mashua climbs 6-10 ft in a season, throws hummingbird-red flowers, and every part of it is food — peppery nasturtium-like leaves, edible blooms, and knobby fall tubers that go from radish-hot raw to sweet and mild when cooked.
As a companion it earns its trellis — a fast, ornamental screen that hummingbirds patrol and pests reportedly avoid, happy in full sun or part shade. The tubers wait underground until frost ends the show. If you already grow nasturtiums, this is their adventurous Andean cousin; give it a fence.
⚠ Spreads aggressivelyMashua spreads vigorously and regrows from bits of root, so it's very hard to fully remove once established — give it a contained bed or a spot where it can roam freely, and edge it every year.
Full Sun to Part Shade
Moderate water
Fast growth
Excellent edible
Attracts hummingbirds
From the print shop
Our Plant Library collection carries mashua — Tropaeolum tuberosum, print Nº 296, “Mashua.”
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Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what mashua actually needs.
Life cycleTender perennial, grown as an annualMashua · Common problems
1 problem on file
Almost none — it repels many pests
1 problem on file
Almost noneMashua · Growing & propagation
LightWater
Soil
Fertilizer
PruningA climbing Andean nasturtium relative grown for tubers AND as an ornamental — vivid orange-red hummingbird flowers scrambling up a trellis, then a fall crop of knobby colorful tubers. Peppery and pungent raw, they turn mild and sweet cooked. Short-day tuber formation means a long autumn is needed.
SpacingPropagateMashua · Seasonal care & spray guidance
early spring
1 jobDividingIn springMashua is propagated by division rather than from seed. Split the stored tuber clump in spring and replant the divisions, keeping healthy firm tubers and discarding any that have gone soft in storage. Mashua is a deciduous perennial that rebuilds itself each year from its tubers, so dividing the clump is both how the crop is renewed and how a single planting becomes several.
the growing season
2 jobsWateringIn summerMashua wants soil that is moist but well drained, in full sun or partial shade, on clay, loam, or sand at an acid to neutral pH. Water through summer to hold that moisture rather than letting the bed swing between dry and soaked. A vine that puts on two and a half to four metres of growth in a season moves a lot of water, but the tubers sit in the soil all season and rot in ground that stays saturated.
What to watch forThrough summerThrough the summer, turn leaves over and check for glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite, which are the pests RHS records on mashua. Also watch for virus diseases, which show as mottling or distortion. There is no cure for a virus, so pull and destroy an affected plant rather than propagating from it. Both listed pests are warm, dry, sheltered-conditions feeders, so they build up fastest exactly where mashua is happiest. Virus matters more than usual here because the crop is propagated clonally by division, which carries any infection straight into next year's planting.
autumn, and putting it to bed
1 job
ProtectionIn autumnMashua carries an RHS hardiness rating of H3, meaning it survives only about -5C to 1C and only in mild or coastal winters. Outside that narrow band the tubers must spend winter somewhere that never freezes, so plan the crop as something you lift and store rather than something that stays in the ground. Give it a sheltered position from the start. The plant is a tender Andean perennial with no woody structure and no real dormancy hardiness. Its tubers are the whole plant, so once they freeze there is nothing left to regrow from the following spring.
Mashua · Calculators & field guides
Mashua · Yearly calendar
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BloomBloomSeptember to November
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Mashua · Ecology & uses
Tropaeolum tuberosum
AttractsMoisture
DeerProtect young plants
Origin✓ Commonly eatenedible tubers, leaves, and flowers
UseUseUseEdible valueColorful tubers dug after frost — peppery raw (like a radish-nasturtium), mellowing sweet when cooked; the flowers and leaves are edible too.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Mashua · Varieties & cultivars
Named varieties of mashua differ in winter-chill needs, ripening time, hardiness, and whether they set fruit on their own — pick one that fits your climate.
1 variety
Also known as Tropaeolum tuberosum var. lineomaculatum 'Ken Aslet'
RHS hardiness H3, roughly -5C to 1C, needing a sheltered spot in full sun or partial shade. Deciduous, with rounded 3 to 5-lobed grey-green leaves and long-spurred, cupped, orange flowers veined brown within with red spurs, borne in summer and autumn. Propagated by division; tubers can be lifted and stored frost-free over winter, or the plant overwintered indoors in a deep container. RHS lists it as a skin allergen, so wear gloves. Note that stock circulating in the USA has tested positive for several viruses, so buy from a source that has cleaned its material.
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Sources & plant identity
Tropaeolum tuberosum
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Mashua questions, answered straight.
Mashua is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. One caveat on this one: edible tubers, leaves, and flowers. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
Colorful tubers dug after frost — peppery raw (like a radish-nasturtium), mellowing sweet when cooked; the flowers and leaves are edible too.
Division or seed.
Where mashua sits in the library.
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