Red Veined Sorrel Green is a compact, frost-hardy sorrel grown for its striking foliage and bright, tangy character. This open-pollinated cultivar reaches harvest in just 50 days from seed, making it remarkably quick for salad greens. Hardy across zones 3-10, it thrives in moderate moisture and slightly acidic to neutral soil, offering gardeners a flashy addition to cool-season beds and containers that performs as both annual and perennial.
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Moderate
3-10
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High
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The red veins running through deep green leaves give this sorrel its distinctive visual appeal, catching light on the plate and in the garden. At just 50 days to maturity, it delivers harvestable leaves faster than most leafy greens, rewarding impatient gardeners with quick results. Its compact growth habit suits containers and small spaces without sacrificing yield, while frost-hardiness means you can push the growing season well into autumn and sometimes through mild winters.
Red Veined Sorrel Green shines as a salad green, where its sharp, lemony tang cuts through creamy dressings and rich proteins. The striking red veins make it visually captivating in mixed leaf salads and as a garnish. Young leaves can be harvested young for tender eating or left to mature for a more pronounced sour punch in cooked applications.
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Start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your last spring frost using cell-type containers. Sow 2-3 seeds per cell and cover lightly with 1/4 inch of soil. Keep soil temperature between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination. Thin to the strongest seedling per cell once seedlings develop true leaves.
Harden off seedlings over 7-10 days before transplanting outdoors once soil temperatures reach at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit and frost danger has passed. Space plants according to their compact growth habit, typically 6-8 inches apart. Plant at the same depth they were growing in containers.
For direct sowing, plant seeds outdoors once soil is workable in spring or 8-10 weeks before your first fall frost. Scatter seeds and cover lightly with 1/4 inch of soil, keeping the seedbed consistently moist until germination.
Begin harvesting leaves once plants are firmly established, typically around 50 days from seed. Pick outer leaves first, working from the base of the plant, taking only what you need and leaving the crown to regenerate. Younger leaves (2-4 inches long) offer the most tender texture and brightest flavor; larger, more mature leaves develop a more assertive tang. Regular harvesting extends the harvest window and prevents the plant from investing energy into flowering.
Sorrel is best managed through regular harvesting rather than pruning. Remove outer leaves as they reach usable size, which encourages bushy, compact growth and prevents flowering that can toughen leaves.
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