Hairy bitter-cress

Cardamine hirsuta

In other languages: Kleine veldkers (Nederlands) · Cardamine hérissée (Français)

Grows wild in Belgium.

Hairy bitter-cress is a small annual member of the cabbage family that turns up almost everywhere: in vegetable plots, borders, flowerpots, between paving and on walls. In the wild it grows on open, disturbed or sandy ground, on walls and rocky places, and in Belgium it is very common. It is one of the first plants to flower each year, often as early as February, with tiny white flowers above a flat rosette of pinnate leaves. You can recognise it by the upright pods that stick up above the flowers and that burst open at a touch, flinging out the seeds. It is mainly a weed to keep in check, but the young leaves make a fine, peppery salad herb, and for small insects it is an early flower.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Sun or partial shade
preferably some sun
Moisture
Normal
no wet feet
Hardiness
Fully hardy
down to -20 °C
Size
0.2 m
tall, 0.15 m wide
Flowering
February–June

Key facts
Height	0.2 m
Native to Belgium	Yes
Flowering	February–June

Identify

How to recognise it

Habit: Small annual of 5–30 cm, with a flat rosette of leaves at the base and one or more upright, almost hairless flower stems.
Leaf: Pinnate, with 2–7 pairs of small, round to kidney-shaped leaflets and a larger, round end leaflet. Scattered short hairs grow on the upper surface and the leaf stalk. Few leaves on the stem.
Flower: Tiny white flowers of 3–4 mm with four petals and usually four stamens, in a small cluster; mainly from February to June, but also later in the year.
Fruit/Seed: Narrow, upright pods of 1.5–2.5 cm that stand above the flowers. When ripe they burst open at the slightest touch and fling the seeds up to almost a metre away.
Roots: A short, thin taproot: easy to pull up while the plant is small.
Look-alikes: Wavy bitter-cress has a hairy stem that zigzags, more stem leaves and usually six stamens; it grows in damp, shady places. Shepherd’s-purse has triangular, heart-shaped fruits instead of narrow pods.

Flowering: February–June

In your garden

Why grow it?

One of the first plants to flower each year, sometimes in February. It mostly pollinates itself, but small bees and flies do visit the flowers.
The young leaves are edible and taste mildly of garden cress: good in a salad or on a sandwich.
The rosettes stay green all winter: fresh greens from the garden when there is almost nothing else to pick.
A fascinating little plant to show children: touch a ripe pod and the seeds shoot away.
It covers bare soil quickly, a reminder that open ground rarely stays bare for long in nature.

Hairy bitter-cress: where does it grow best?

In the wild on open, disturbed or sandy ground, on walls, rocky places and along paths.
In gardens in vegetable beds, borders, flowerpots, between paving and in gravel: wherever the soil is open and a little moist.
Sun to partial shade; in full summer sun it dries out quickly and dies.
Any soil, preferably loose and slightly moist, like fresh potting compost.

Goes well with

Lamb’s lettuce: Another winter salad, sown in September and picked until March.
Common chickweed: Another edible, winter-green little weed for a mixed wild salad.
Ground-ivy: Early-flowering, creeping ground cover for bees in the same corners.
Daisy: Flowers just as early, in the lawn or along the path next to it.

Maintenance

Hairy bitter-cress: when and how to plant it?

Usually you do not need to sow anything: hairy bitter-cress arrives by itself, often with potting compost or bought pot plants.
If you want it as an edible herb, let a few plants set seed in a corner of the vegetable plot or in a tub, and it will self-seed every year.
If you like, sow in September or in February–March on open, moist soil; just press the fine seed in.
Leave 5–10 cm between the plants, so that the rosettes grow large and tender.
Pick the leaves of the rosette before flowering, from autumn into spring.
Never dig up plants in the wild; for this common little plant there is no need anyway.

Care

Water: Not needed, except for a harvest tub in a dry spring.
Feeding: Not needed.
Spreading: Weed or hoe the rosettes before they flower: once the pods are ripe, it is too late. Hoeing on a dry day works best.
Pot plants: Check new pot plants and pull out the seedlings before planting. A layer of gravel on the pot stops new seedlings.
Mulching: A layer of wood chips or leaf mould on the border keeps out the light and holds back germination.
Harvesting: Snip the leaves with scissors and use them fresh, as they wilt quickly.

Tip: Hoe hairy bitter-cress on a dry, sunny day in March, before the first pods are ripe: you prevent the next generation and the plants shrivel straight away.

Pruning and mowing

When: Not needed: it is an annual. To limit its spread, pull it up before it sets seed.

How:

Pull or hoe the plants as soon as you see the first flowers.
Pull up plants that have finished flowering carefully, with a bag underneath, because ripe pods burst open at a touch.
In an edible corner, leave a few plants so they can self-seed.

Caution: Do not pull up ripe plants over the border or the compost heap: the seeds shoot away and come up everywhere.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: It spreads only by seed: the pods fling the seeds away. The seed germinates mainly in autumn and early spring, often soon after it has fallen.
With compost and pot plants: Seeds and seedlings travel with pot plants from a nursery; that is how it reaches new gardens.

Hairy bitter-cress: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −20 °C.

Seedlings from autumn overwinter as a green rosette, which stays green even under snow.
Hardy to about −20 °C; in mild weather it sometimes flowers as early as January or February.
Winter is the best time to pick the tender little rosettes or to weed them out, before they flower.

Diseases and pests

Rapid spread: One plant produces hundreds of seeds and in a good year several generations follow one another. Weed before flowering and mulch the soil.
In pots: It grows in almost every pot. Pull it out before it flowers and cover the compost with gravel.
Between paving: Scrape or brush out the joints early in spring; on small patches boiling water also works.
Hot or tough leaves: Older, flowering plants taste sharper. Pick the rosettes before flowering.

Through the year

January: Pick rosettes for salad, or weed them out.
February: First tiny flowers in mild weather.
March: Flowering. Weed before the pods are ripe.
April: Full flower; ripe pods burst open. Pull up plants with a bag underneath.
May: Last spring flowers. Mulch the soil against new seedlings.
June: Last flowers and seed set; in dry weather the plants die off.
September: New seedlings after the first rain. Sow for a harvest tub.
October: The rosettes grow. Weed them or leave them to pick.
November: Pick rosettes.
December: Green rosettes overwinter.

You and this species

Did you know?

A ripe pod coils up in a fraction of a second and flings out the seeds. Scientists use hairy bitter-cress as a model plant to understand how this works.
Hirsuta means hairy, although the plant has only a few hairs, mostly on the leaves.
It is a relative of thale cress, the best-known laboratory plant in plant science.

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