Plant Guide

Description:

A wonderful cool weather performer, ideal for short growing seasons; producing small, dark red cabbage like heads with white spines; slightly bitter flavor, great when added to salads, grilled or roasted; performs well in patio containers

Edible Qualities

Radicchio is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. The oval dark red leaves with pointy white spines which emerge green in spring are usually harvested from mid spring to mid fall. The leaves have a bitter taste.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking

Planting & Growing

Radicchio will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop. Because of its relatively short time to maturity, it lends itself to a series of successive plantings each staggered by a week or two; this will prolong the effective harvest period.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom plant.

Radicchio is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing the canvas against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.