Plant Guide

Description:

A delicious selection that is grown like lettuce and harvested for salads; smooth and deeply cut leaves have a frilly texture and a mild, slightly bitter flavor that is great for mixes; sensitive to tip burn in hot weather; needs attentive care

Edible Qualities

Endive is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities. The deeply cut narrow green leaves can be harvested at any time in the season. The leaves have a bitter taste and a crisp texture.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking

Planting & Growing

Endive will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 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.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

Endive is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.