Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Bittercress seeds
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• 10 ft.
2
(1 m
2
) of well-developed, well-overwintered plants
POLLINATION NOTES
Bittercress is a strict outcrosser and is pollinated by insects.
GROWING FOR SEED
Bittercress is relatively easy to grow. Sow this biennial in mid to late summer in
fertile, moist soil. Plants can handle some shade. Their dark green leaves develop in a rosette and can
be harvested from late fall until flowering in late spring. Plants can be overwintered outdoors down to
zone 4. Flowers are a brilliant lemon yellow.
HARVEST
Bittercress fruits are seedpods. Harvest as for
Brassica oleracea
.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
There are no bittercress varieties per se. Potential selection criteria:
• leaf size
• rapid leaf regrowth
DISEASES AND PESTS
We have yet to observe diseases affecting bittercress. For flower pests, see
Brassica oleracea
.
CULTIVATION HISTORY
The wild form of bittercress is found in Europe and western Asia. The first
European settlers of North America brought bittercress with them and grew it there as a leaf vegetable.
Cultivation ceased sometime in the 18th century. Bittercress was once grown as a medicinal (blood
cleansing, diuretic, appetite stimulant), and one form of the plant with double flowers as an ornament-
al.
