Plant Database / Herbs / Garden Sorrel
Herbs

Garden Sorrel

Rumex acetosa
Polygonaceae (Knotweed)

Tart lemony leaves for soups and sauces, cut fresh from a perennial clump much of the year.

EdiblePerennialCut-and-come-again
Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun to part shade
Water
Moderate
Soil
Rich, moist
pH
5.5–6.8
Hardiness
Hardy perennial
Height
12–18 in
Spacing
12 in
Days to harvest
Cut as needed

What it is

Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is in the Polygonaceae (Knotweed) family. Tart lemony leaves for soups and sauces, cut fresh from a perennial clump much of the year.

How to grow it

It wants full sun to part shade, water it moderate, and give it rich, moist soil. Target a soil pH around 5.5–6.8. Space plants about 12 in apart. Expect roughly Cut as needed. Hardy perennial.

How it's used

Garden Sorrel is used: soups, sauces, raw young.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Arrow-shaped bright green leaves
  • Clumping rosette
  • Tall reddish flower stalks

Edibility

PartsLeaves
UsesSoups, sauces, raw young
CautionContains oxalic acid; eat in moderation.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.