Salad burnet

Salad burnet: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small, perennial rosette plant 30–40 cm tall and 30 cm wide, with a deep taproot.

Leaves

Odd-pinnate with 3–12 pairs of round to oval, toothed leaflets of 1–2 cm; blue-green and present almost all year.

Flower

Round, 1–2 cm wide green-red flower heads in May–July; the upper flowers have red, feathery stigmas, the lower ones yellow stamens.

Flavour

Fresh and cucumber-like, with a nutty note; best in young leaves.

Roots

Deep taproot: the plant survives dry summers and is moved best when still young.

Flowering: May–July · Harvest and fruit: March–October · Sowing: March–May · Plants: April–May and September · Pruning: May–July

Why grow it?

• Fresh, cucumber-flavoured leaves for salads, herb butter, soft cheese and sauces, even in winter.
• Evergreen and fully hardy: you can pick almost all year round.
• Drought tolerant and very undemanding: grows on poor, chalky and dry soil.
• Native and good for nature: at home in a naturalistic garden, a herb edge or a flower-rich lawn.
• Elegant, feathery foliage and red flower heads that float gracefully above the leaves.

Salad burnet: where does it grow best?

• Full sun in a warm, open spot; in half shade the plant turns floppy.
• Free-draining, poor to moderately fertile soil: sand, loam or clay, neutral to chalky.
• Dry: it tolerates drought well, but not wet soil in winter.
• Allow 25–30 cm between plants; in a pot or tub, at least 20 cm deep.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.4 m tall, 0.3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -30 °C)

Goes well with

• Chives: The same cuisine and position; the fine foliage makes a nice contrast.
• Thyme: A low plant at the foot, also drought tolerant.
• Parsley: A classic herb combination for the same soil.
• Ox-eye daisy: A native flower from the same grasslands for a natural look.

Salad burnet: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September.

1. Sow in March–May directly outdoors, or plant young plants in April–May or in September.
2. Loosen the soil and remove weeds; no extra fertiliser is needed, and in heavy clay mix in sand.
3. Sow thinly in rows 25–30 cm apart at about 1 cm deep and firm lightly; set plants at the same depth as in their pot.
4. Thin the seedlings to 25–30 cm apart; the seeds germinate after 2–3 weeks.
5. Water when planting and, in the first year, in long dry spells.

Care

Water

Hardly needed. Water only in long dry spells or if the plant is in a pot.

Feeding

Usually not needed. A little compost in spring is enough.

Harvesting

Pick young outer leaves fresh; most of the flavour is lost in cooking and drying.

Flower stems

Cut them off as soon as they appear: this gives new leaves and limits self-seeding.

Renewing

After 3–4 years the plant becomes coarse and woody: sow or plant a young plant then.

Tip: The young leaves taste fresh like cucumber and nuts, lovely in salad and herb butter. Cut off the flower stems for new leaves; it stays green in winter too.

Salad burnet: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May–July.

When: In May–July: cut off the flower stems as soon as they appear and cut the plant back if needed for new leaves.

How:

• Cut flower stems off at the base, before the flowers open.
• After a heavy harvest or in summer, cut all the leaves back to 3–5 cm above the ground; fresh, young leaves regrow.
• Remove yellowed or damaged leaves throughout the season.
• Leave the green foliage in winter: the plant stays green.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

In March–May at 1 cm deep, in place or in pots. Germinates in 2–3 weeks.

Division

In spring or in September: lift a clump, divide it into pieces with roots and replant them separately.

Salad burnet: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −30 °C.

• Fully hardy, down to about −30 °C: no protection is needed, even in hard winters.
• The leaves usually stay green, although they may turn a little brown in a cold winter.
• In a pot: stand the pot in a sheltered place and wrap it in hessian so that the roots do not freeze solid.
• Wet feet are more dangerous than cold: provide free-draining soil.

Diseases and pests

• Bolting: The plant makes flower stems and the leaves turn tough. Cut the stems off and cut the plant back.
• Powdery mildew: White powder on leaves in dry weather and in dense stands. Cut the plant back and allow space.
• Root rot: Wet feet make the plant yellow. Provide free-draining soil or a pot with drainage holes.
• Aphids: On young shoots. Rinse off with water; ladybirds usually clear them up.

Through the year

• March: Sow. Pick the first leaves.
• April: Sow or plant. Harvest.
• May: Sow or plant. Cut off flower stems.
• June: Flowering. Keep cutting off flower stems. Harvest.
• July: Cut the plant back for new leaves.
• August: Pick fresh leaves.
• September: Plant or divide. Harvest.
• November: Clear dead leaves. Leave the green foliage.

Edible and useful

Leaves (March–October)

Pick the young, toothed leaves from March to October; in winter the rosette often stays green, so you can pick a little then too. Cut off the flowering stems before they set seed to keep the leaves tender. Salad burnet tastes fresh, of cucumber with a hint of nut. Use it raw: in salads, herb butter, soft cheese, on an egg and in Frankfurt green sauce.

Storing

Fresh, 2 to 3 days in the fridge wrapped in a damp cloth. Dried, salad burnet loses almost all its flavour; it keeps better in vinegar or chopped in ice cubes.

Caution: Salad burnet is safe as a kitchen herb. Use mainly the young leaves: older ones are tough and bitter. In the wild, only pick where it is allowed, and not along roads or sprayed field edges.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Frankfurt green sauce (Dish · 4 people · 30 min)
• Salad burnet vinegar (Vinegar · ± 500 ml · 10 min + 2 weeks steeping)

Did you know?

• In 1625 the English philosopher Francis Bacon advised planting burnet, wild thyme and water mint along paths, so that the scent is released when you walk on them.
• Salad burnet is one of the seven herbs in Frankfurter Grüne Soße, a traditional German herb sauce.
• In the wild it grows on dry chalk grassland: an important plant of species-rich grasslands.