Thank you for your question to extension.

Potatoes don't always bloom. This does not indicate that there is anything wrong with the plants. Potato plants most commonly bloom when we have cool, wet weather during the early summer. Even then, they sometimes don’t.

When a potato plant blooms, it sometimes forms tiny green fruit that look like cherry tomatoes. These are the parts that are considered toxic, because of the large amounts of solanine within them. The actual fruit (green berries) should never be eaten.

Also, these can’t be planted since they will take a very long time to reach maturity and will probably not grow true to type. This blooming and fruiting doesn't affect the plant much. If there are small children around who might be tempted, either prevent them from getting near to the plant or remove the fruits. It will not harm the plant. The normally edible part of a potato plant is the underground tuber. This is actually a modified stem. As long as it has not been exposed to the sunlight to the point where it turns green, it is edible.

If you want "new’" potatoes, you can dig them up before maturity through the summer and early fall. These can be eaten right away, but they don't store well. For storage, harvest mature potatoes after the tops have yellowed and begun to dry.


Do not cut the tops back. This holds up the process of senescence, and although you will get edible potatoes, they will be more similar to "new" potatoes, and won't store as well.

It would be best to let the tops die on their own. This gradual shutdown of the plant (called senescence) produces potatoes that will store for prolonged periods of time, if followed by curing the harvested tubers.

More information on potatoes can be found here: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-62W.pdf

By the way, it is always best to purchase “seed” potatoes. If you do you can be assured that they are free of disease or insects and will produce true to type.

I hope this is helpful.