Dig slender, oyster-flavored white roots for winter soups and gratins about four months after planting this old-fashioned, nearly forgotten Southern root crop.
Like parsnip and carrot, salsify forms a long taproot that hates being moved, so this is sold as a young multi-seeded cell to plant out early and undisturbed; slip the plug in whole and accept that a few roots may fork, or direct sow, which is equally reliable. It needs deeply worked, stone-free soil at least a foot deep, or the roots stub off and branch. Leave it in the ground through fall and winter frosts, digging as needed, because cold sweetens the flavor and the roots keep better in the soil than in the refrigerator. Shipped in a 4" Pot, well-rooted from our Lineville, Alabama nursery.
No hardiness rating for this one. It's grown as an indoor plant, so the room it lives in matters more than the zone outside. Keep it above 50°F and out of a cold draft.
How big does it get?
24-36 in tall tops, roots 8-12 in long
How much light does it need?
Full sun
Is it safe for pets?
Non-toxic to dogs and cats
How is it shipped?
Packed to arrive healthy and shipped from our Alabama nursery to the lower 48 states.
Ships to all 48 contiguous states from our farm in Lineville, Alabama.
What it costs
Based on your order total: $12.95 under $35 · $16.95 to $75 · $21.95 to $125 · free over $125.
Ship days
Mondays and Tuesdays only — see below.
Getting it ready
1–3 business days to pot up, water back and pack.
Where we can't go
Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, P.O. boxes, and outside the United States.
A plant in a dark box is on a clock. Shipping early in the week means it reaches you before the weekend instead of sitting in a warehouse from Friday to Monday. It costs us a day or two of lead time and saves a lot of plants.
Practically: an order placed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or over the weekend goes out the following Monday. We'd rather tell you that now than let you find it in a tracking number.
Typical ground transit from Lineville, Alabama after the ship day. Estimates, not guarantees — weather and carrier backlogs happen.
Tracking is emailed the moment your box is scanned.
A little leaf drop or travel stress is normal and usually sorts itself out within a week or two of settling in. If a plant arrives genuinely damaged, email support@wadegreens.com within 48 hours of delivery with a photo of the plant and the box, and we'll make it right.
The facts that decide whether it takes root, in the order that matters.
Sunlight
Full Sun (6+ hrs)
Six or more hours of direct sun. With less it stretches toward the light and flowering thins out.
Water
Moderate
Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Evenly damp, never standing wet.
Mature Size
1-3 ft
Where it settles once established. Plan the spacing for this, not for the size it arrives at.
Foliage
Herbaceous
Soft-stemmed. It dies back to the ground and returns from the roots — the top going brown is the plan, not a failure.
Works As
Edible Garden
Traits