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Vegetables

Caper

Capparis spinosa

Caper
Photo: C T Johansson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A Mediterranean shrub of walls and rocks; the flower buds are pickled in vinegar or salt.

Light
Full sun (6 h or more)
Height
0.3–1 m
Watering
Low: every 7–15 days, drought-tolerant
Soil
poor and dry; loose and well-drained; tolerates chalky soil
Edible?
Yes: the flower head and shoots
How to plant
Plant the young plant with its crown at soil level, 1.5 m apart.
Care
Pick the closed buds every 10 days. It hates excess water and rots in heavy soil.

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. You can start seedlings earlier indoors or in a greenhouse, but plant them out only once the frosts are over.

Feeding and doses

Mild Mediterranean

Not needed.

Pest prevention and doses

Mild Mediterranean

Not needed.

How easy to grow by climate

  • Warm coastEasy
  • Mild MediterraneanEasy
  • Southern interiorEasy
  • Continental interiorNeeds regular careFrost and a short season
  • Cold interior and uplandsNot recommended outdoorsHard, long frosts
  • AtlanticDifficultRain and humidity: fungal disease
  • Canary Islands (subtropical)Easy

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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.