PARENTAGE
The parents of Amour are not known.
APPEARANCE, TASTE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AMOUR
The tubers are white skinned with attractive red markings. The flesh is slightly waxy making Amour a reasonably good potato for most cooking purposes.
ALTERNATIVES TO AMOUR POTATOES
Amour potatoes are primarily grown for exhibition purposes so an alternative would be the Winston potato variety. Both varieties look good and have regular shape but don’t really stand out as far as taste or cooking is concerned. Another variety that might suit is Harmony. We haven’t tested it but by all accounts it looks great for the show bench although it is poor as far as eating goes.
For other potato varieties which we have fully reviewed, click the drop down box below, select a variety and then click the More Information Button.
BUYING AMOUR SEED POTATOES IN THE UK
Currently there are only a few suppliers of Amour potatoes in the UK but they all come from JBA Seed Potatoes. On that basis it's not surprising that JBA are the cheapest at £3.99 per 2kg pack. Thompson and Morgan also sell them (sourced from JBA) at a very pricey £4.99 for about only 1kg.
the second and last weeks of July 2017WHEN TO CHIT / SPROUT AMOUR POTATOES
We recommend that you start chitting / sprouting Amour potatoes in. the third week of February This will give them four to five weeks to develop healthy sprouts just at the time when they are ready to be planted out. Keep the potatoes in cool but light conditions to ensure they grow short, green sprouts. Click here for our page dedicated to chitting / sprouting potatoes in the UK and Ireland.
WHEN TO PLANT AMOUR POTATOES
Amour potatoes are second earlies potatoes and they are ready for harvest, if conditions are correct, 15 to 17 weeks after the seed potatoes are planted. The key factor governing the time for planting all potatoes is the date of the last frost in your area. Even a touch of frost can damage potato plants if their foliage is above ground, an unexpected severe frost can kill them completely.
The date for planting Amour potato seed can be calculated on the basis that seed potatoes will take four weeks before they appear above ground. Given also that you want them to appear above ground only when the danger of frost has passed (the last week of April is the UK average ) the last week of March is about right time to plant them.
WHEN TO HARVEST AMOUR POTATOES
The harvest date for all potatoes is not only dependent on when you plant your seed potatoes, it also depends on the weather conditions throughout the growing season. But on average you can expect your potatoes to be ready for harvest some time between the second and last weeks of July 2017 in your area of the UK.
How to Grow Potatoes
Recommended Varieties
How to Chit / Sprout
Planting Seed Potatoes
Caring for Potatoes
Harvesting and Storing
Potatoes in Containers
Pest and Disease
AMOUR POTATO
The Amour potato variety was previously grown for many years but was slowly withdrawn from sale due to lack of demand.
In 2012 JBA Seed Potatoes re-introduced them using what they call "mini-tuber" technology. They are an average maincrop potato as far as cooking and eating is concerned but they do have the redeeming feature of very attractive skins and unusually uniform tuber sizes. This makes them a good choice if you plan to exhibit any of your potatoes.