Garnet Stem Dandelion is an Italian heirloom chicory cultivar prized for its tall, leafy greens and deep crimson stems that give it its distinctive name. Unlike the common dandelion, this is a refined vegetable bred for the kitchen, delivering young leaves with a pleasantly bitter edge that cuts through salads and a robust mature plant suited to braising. Expect to harvest in just 55 days, and you'll find it thrives across zones 3 to 10, making it accessible to gardeners nearly everywhere. The plant reaches a compact 8 inches tall and 3 inches wide, fitting neatly into beds or containers with just 4 inches of spacing between plants.
Full Sun
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3-10
8in H x 3in W
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Moderate
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The garnet stems are strikingly beautiful, a deep red that catches the eye in the garden and on the plate. Young leaves deliver a tender bite perfect for raw salads, while mature plants transform into something altogether different when braised whole or chopped into mixed greens. The bitterness that develops, especially in warmer weather, brings a complexity and tonic quality often missing from everyday salad greens. Hudson Valley Seed's 2016 Member Trials program identified this as a standout, and it's the kind of heirloom that rewards the gardener who wants greens that taste like something.
Young leaves are harvested tender and added to salads, where their bitter snap contrasts beautifully with milder greens and sweet vinaigrettes. Mature plants are chopped and braised as part of mixed greens or prepared on their own, their robust flavor becoming almost medicinal when slow-cooked. The garnet stems are entirely edible and add visual appeal to any presentation, making this a vegetable that works as hard visually as it does on the palate.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Direct sow seeds anytime beginning as soon as soil can be worked in spring, and continue through summer for successive harvests. Seeds prefer soil temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit for reliable germination.
Begin harvesting young leaves as soon as the plant reaches harvestable size, approximately 55 days from sowing. Young leaves can be harvested individually by cutting or pinching from the outside of the plant, encouraging continued production. For mature plant harvest, cut the entire head at soil level when stems are deeply colored and leaves are fully developed. The garnet coloring intensifies with maturity, so use stem color as your visual cue that the plant is ready.
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“Garnet Stem Dandelion is an Italian heirloom chicory, part of the broader Cichorium intybus family that spans centuries of European cultivation. Unlike the wild dandelion that colonizes lawns, this variety was deliberately bred and selected for superior leaf production and ornamental garnet-colored stems. The fact that it emerged from Hudson Valley Seed's 2016 Member Trials program suggests a moment of community rediscovery, when gardeners tested and celebrated this traditional variety for contemporary growing.”