French Sorrel

French Sorrel Care

Rumex Scutatus

What is the plant

As a culinary herb, it is used mainly in salads. The flavour of French sorrel is slightly bitter or tangy, spiced with a hint of lemon; the sharp flavour is due to oxalic acid.French sorrel is hardy in most regions, tolerating frost, full sun and short dry spells.It grows quickly to a clump up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter, with long leaves up to 10 centimetres (4 in) in width. It is sometimes preferred for culinary uses to Rumex acetosa, garden sorrel.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Full Sun

Hardiness zone

5 - 7

Difficulty

Easy

Hibernation

Cold Period

How to Care for the Plant

Water
Give your sorrel plants regular water; at least 1 inch per week. Mulching will help conserve moisture and keep the leaves clean.
Fertilizer
Sorrel is happiest when started in a rich soil, but you should amend the soil each year with more organic matter and possibly side-dress with compost or granular fertilizer applied mid-season.
Sunlight
Plants will grow best in full sun, although a little partial shade will keep them going longer into summer.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
Choose a spot with good drainage. Sorrel likes a slightly acidic soil pH; somewhere in the range of 5.5 to 6.8. Since sorrel is grown for its leaves, a soil rich in organic matter will give you lots of leafy, green growth.
Temperature
Sorrel plants are reliably perennial in USDA hardiness zones 5 and higher, but they are commonly grown as annuals in zones 3 through 7, starting with new plants each spring. Older plants can become tough and less flavorful. Established plants can handle a light frost.
Container
Sorrel is an excellent choice for container growing. You should use at least a 6-inch pot, but 8 to 12 inches is ideal. One advantage of growing in pots is that you often keep the sorrel growing longer than plants in the ground because you can move the containers out of the sun on warm days.

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Additional
While sorrel leaves are safe for humans to eat, the plant contains soluble oxalates that are toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Ingestion of small amounts of sorrel typically causes gastrointestinal upset, but eating large amounts and/or frequent ingestion can cause twitching (muscle fasciculation), weakness, seizures, and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).
Popularity
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