Beware! 5 Common Weeds That Can Be Mistaken for Potato Plants

Potatoes are a delicious and versatile vegetable to grow in your garden. But keeping potato plants properly identified can be tricky when weeds invade. Several common weeds share similar characteristics with potato plants, making it easy to mix the two up. Being able to spot the differences between potatoes and weedy look-alikes will help ensure your crop thrives.

5 Garden Weeds Often Confused With Potato Plants

These five annoying weeds are very good at hiding in garden beds. Here’s how to tell them apart so you don’t pull the wrong ones.

1. Hairy Nightshade

With white flowers and egg-shaped leaves, hairy nightshade bears a strong resemblance to potato foliage Identify nightshade by the fine hairs covering its stems and leaves Be aware that nightshade berries are toxic.

2. Bittersweet Nightshade

Bittersweet nightshade has oval leaves with smooth edges and is closely related to hairy nightshade. It is different from potato plants because it has purple and yellow flowers that grow on climbing vines. All parts of bittersweet nightshade are poisonous.

3. Jimsonweed

Also called devil’s trumpet, jimsonweed has spear-shaped leaves similar in size and shape to potato leaves Look for its large, upright white or purple trumpet-shaped flowers to correctly identify this toxic plant

4. Jerusalem Cherry

Jerusalem cherry is easy to confuse with young potato plants. What makes it stand out are its smaller, oval leaves and bright red berries that appear in late summer. While not poisonous, Jerusalem cherry fruit is not edible.

5. Black Nightshade

This nightshade variety has lush green leaves, white flowers, and black berries. Leaves are smooth-edged and something tapered compared to the rounded potato leaf. Black nightshade berries are edible when fully ripe.

Key Differences Between Potatoes and Weed Look-Alikes

There are a lot of fakes out there, so use these traits to tell the real potato plants from the fakes:

• Flowers – Potato plants have clusters of white, purple, pink, or lavender delicate flowers. Nightshades have 5-pointed solitary flowers.

• Berries – Potatoes do not produce berries. Finding red or black berries means nightshade.

• Leaves – Potato leaves are oval-shaped with uneven, blunt-toothed edges. Nightshade leaves tend to be more spear or triangle-shaped.

• Stems – Potato stems are thick, rigid, and winged or ridged. Nightshade stems are smooth, thin, and climbing.

• Smell – Crush a potato leaf or stem and it will have an earthy, pungent odor. Nightshades and look-alikes do not smell when crushed.

Tips for Weed Control Among Potato Plants

Preventing weeds from invading potato growing space is key. Here are some tips for keeping imposters at bay:

• At planting, thoroughly prepare soil to remove weed roots and seeds. Dig down 8-12 inches removing all debris.

• Use black plastic mulch at planting to block light and suppress weeds. Cut holes for potato hills.

• Plant potatoes through holes in a 5-6 inch thick layer of straw. The straw blocks light to prevent weed germination.

• In new plantings, carefully hand pull weeds, ensuring you remove the entire root.

• Weed early and often to stop weeds from spreading seeds.

• Hill soil over potato roots as plants grow. This blocks light from reaching emerging weeds.

• Mulch around mature plants with grass clippings or straw. Mulch reduces weed growth.

• Avoid tilling or hoeing deeply mid-season as this brings more weed seeds to the surface. Carefully hand pull weeds instead.

• Rotate potato crop locations annually to prevent weeds from accumulating.

What to Do if You’ve Picked Weeds by Mistake

Oops! If some weedy imposters got harvested along with your potatoes, take these steps:

• Safely discard any questionable plants, berries or foliage. When in doubt, throw it out.

• Do not compost discarded weeds as this can spread seeds. Place in sealed garbage bags.

• Wash all potatoes thoroughly after harvest to remove dirt and weeds.

• Inspect potatoes carefully before cooking or eating. Discard any suspicious pieces.

• When in doubt, do not eat potatoes from a weedy area. Carefully inspect and clean your harvest.

It’s easy to mistake sneaky weeds like nightshade for your potato plants. But learning what makes potatoes unique will help train your eye. Focus on flowers, smell, stems and leaf shape to pick out the pretenders. And implement weed control early and consistently for the healthiest potato crop. With some diligence, you can keep imposters from invading your precious potato patch.