PlantSowGrow
How to grow Sorrel (Broad-Leaved)
Rumex acetosa
🌿 Herb
🔁 Perennial
Sharp, lemony leaves that brighten salads, soups and sauces, from early spring. A tough, easy perennial.
At a glance: Sow early April to mid June, harvest from late May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Sow outdoors
Harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Sorrel (Broad-Leaved): what it needs
- Light
- Part shade · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Keep evenly moist; water pots daily in hot weather
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 30 cm
- Height
- 45 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- A liquid feed every two weeks for pot-grown plants
- Harvest
- About 60 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
- Early April – mid June · 2 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Outdoors
Sow thinly in shallow drills where they are to grow.
- 7–14 days after “Sow Seeds Outdoors” · Early April – mid April
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 7–14 days. Keep the compost moist. If sown outdoors, thin to 30 cm apart.
- 46–67 days after “Check Germination” · Late May – mid June
Start Harvesting
Pick young leaves; older ones get tough and very sharp.
Every year
- MarchFirst Spring Leaves
Sorrel is one of the first herbs back in spring — start picking.
- JuneRemove Flower Stems
Cut off flower stems as they appear to keep leaves coming.
- SeptemberDivide
Every 3–4 years, lift and divide the clump.
