Choose your country
Vegetables

Black salsify (scorzonera)

Scorzonera hispanica / Tragopogon porrifolius

Black salsify (scorzonera)
Photo: Rasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A long root with black skin and white flesh and a mild flavour; a very French and Belgian winter vegetable.

Light
Full sun (6 h or more)
Height
60 cm
Watering
Moderate: 2–3 times a week in summer
Soil
loose and well-drained
Edible?
Yes: the root
How to plant
Sow direct undefined cm deep; leave 10 cm between plants.
Care
Needs loose, deep, stone-free soil. Lift carefully: it snaps easily and bleeds latex.

Calendar by climate

Warm coast
Mild Mediterranean
Southern interior
Continental interior
Cold interior and uplands
Atlantic
Canary Islands (subtropical)
SowPlantHarvestPruneFeedTreat

Dates are for growing outdoors, based on the local climate. In a greenhouse or tunnel everything comes earlier.

Feeding and doses

Mild Mediterranean

Not needed.

Pest prevention and doses

Mild Mediterranean

Not needed.

How easy to grow by climate

  • Warm coastDifficultToo warm a climate
  • Mild MediterraneanNeeds regular careHot, dry summers
  • Southern interiorDifficultExtreme summer heat
  • Continental interiorEasy
  • Cold interior and uplandsEasy
  • AtlanticEasy
  • Canary Islands (subtropical)DifficultNo winter chill

Plants in the same category

Your own calendar, with only your plants

Open My garden

Add Hortario to your home screen

What you get

How to do it

  1. Tap Share . In Safari it's at the bottom (on iOS 26, tap “•••” first); in Chrome, in the address bar.
  2. Scroll and choose “Add to Home Screen” (if it isn't there, tap “View More”).
  3. Tap “Add”. If you see “Open as Web App”, leave it on.
  4. Done: open Hortario from the new icon.

On iPhone the icon app keeps its own data: you may need to pick your area and plants again.