Chicory

How to recognise it

Growth habit

Stiff, much-branched plant of 30–120 cm with a basal leaf rosette.

Leaves

Rosette leaves 10–25 cm, deeply cut like a dandelion’s and roughly hairy; stem leaves small, lance-shaped and clasping.

Flowers

Sky-blue heads of 3–4 cm made up only of strap-shaped florets, each with five small teeth at the tip. They sit in small groups against the stem, open in the morning and close around midday.

Stem

Green, grooved and tough, with white milky sap when broken.

Roots

A long, thick taproot reaching deep into the soil.

Look-alikes

Cornflower has funnel-shaped blue outer florets and is an annual. Dandelion has a similar rosette, but yellow flowers on hollow, unbranched stalks.

Flowering: July–September · Pruning: March and October

Why grow it?

• A magnet for bees, bumblebees and hoverflies, especially in the morning when the flowers are open.
• A long flowering season from July to September, in an unusually clear blue.
• Seed-eating birds such as the goldfinch pick the seeds from the heads in autumn.
• The deep taproot makes it very drought-tolerant: ideal for a poor, sunny bank or gravel garden.
• A plant with Belgian history: Belgian endive and the roasted chicory root for coffee both come from this species.

Chicory: where does it grow best?

• In the wild: roadside verges, dykes, field edges, railway land and waste ground.
• Full sun is a must; in shade it hardly flowers.
• Dry to moderately moist, free-draining soil: loam, chalky or stony ground, moderately fertile.
• Lovely on a sunny bank, in a wildflower meadow, a gravel garden or at the back of a wild border.

Goes well with

• Wild carrot: White umbels next to the blue flowers, on the same sunny, dry soil.
• Viper’s-bugloss: Even more blue, and a top plant for bees.
• Bird’s-foot trefoil: Small yellow flowers low down among the chicory; food plant of the common blue butterfly.
• Common knapweed: Purple heads at the same time; popular with butterflies.

Chicory: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy seed or young plants of native origin from a native plant nursery. Never dig up plants from the wild.
2. Sow in April–May or September where it is to grow, about 1 cm deep: because of its taproot it transplants badly.
3. Thin out or plant 30–40 cm apart.
4. Plant young plants in spring, keeping the root ball intact.
5. Water until the plants are well rooted; after that, not at all.
6. In the first year it often forms only a rosette; it usually flowers from the second year.

Care

Watering

Not needed after the first few months; the taproot reaches deep water.

Feeding

Do not feed: on rich soil it gets floppy and falls over.

Mowing

Mow a flower-rich verge or meadow in October, after flowering, and remove the cuttings.

Support

At the back of a border, neighbouring plants keep the long stems upright.

Self-seeding

Leave the heads standing; it self-seeds gently on open soil.

Tip: Look at it in the morning: by the afternoon most flowers have closed and the plant looks almost bare.

Pruning and mowing

Pruning months: March and October.

When: Cut dry stems in borders in March; mow verges and meadows in October.

How:

• In a border, leave the faded stems over winter for seed-eating birds and overwintering insects.
• Cut them back in March to just above the new rosette.
• On a verge or in a meadow: mow in October and remove the cuttings, so the soil stays poor.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow where it is to grow in April–May or September; it germinates within a few weeks.

Seedlings

Leave self-sown seedlings where they come up, or move them while very young with a good root ball.

Chicory: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• The stems die back; the plant survives the winter on its taproot and regrows in spring with a new rosette.
• Fully hardy to about −25 °C.
• The dry stems with seed heads provide food for birds.

Diseases and pests

• Flopping: On rich soil or in shade the stems sprawl. Poor soil and full sun help.
• Slugs: They eat the young rosettes in spring.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in dry late summers; usually not a problem.
• Failed transplanting: The taproot breaks easily; sow in place or move only very young plants.

Through the year

• March: Cut back dry stems.
• April: Sow in place; new rosettes.
• May: Sow; thin out seedlings.
• June: The flower stems grow.
• July: First blue flowers, mainly in the morning.
• August: Full flower; bees and hoverflies.
• September: Last flowers. Sow for next year.
• October: Mow verge or meadow. Leave seed heads standing in the border.
• November: Birds pick seeds from the heads.
• December: Dormant.

Did you know?

• Belgian endive is a cultivated form of chicory: the roots are made to sprout again in the dark. This method was developed in the 19th century in the Brussels area.
• The roasted root was long drunk as a coffee substitute and is still often added to coffee.
• Linnaeus included chicory in his flower clock, because its flowers open and close at a fairly fixed time each day.