When to plant Burnet in Cool Australia
Cool zone — applies to Hobart, Canberra, Ballarat, Orange, Armidale and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Temperate · Subtropical · Tropical · Arid.
Sow salad burnet direct from September to December in spring or January to April into autumn, setting seed about 8 mm deep in a sunny, well-drained spot. Germination is leisurely at 14–28 days, so keep the bed damp and don't give up on it too soon. This hardy perennial herb forms neat rosettes of cucumber-flavoured leaves and is ready to pick in around 60–90 days. Thin or space plants 30 cm apart each way. Once established it comes back year after year, offering fresh leaves for salads through much of the season, even into the colder months.
Sowing calendar — cool zone
Green months are your sowing window: September to April.
Growing notes
Salad burnet is one of the toughest herbs you can grow in a cool zone, staying green and pickable through frosts that flatten more tender greens, which makes it a genuinely useful winter crop in Hobart, Canberra and Armidale. It prefers full sun and free-draining, even slightly alkaline soil, and dislikes sitting wet over winter.
The main failure mode is letting plants get old and woody. As burnet matures it throws up wiry flower stems, and the older leaves turn tough and lose their fresh cucumber taste. Cut the flower stalks off as they appear and shear the whole plant back hard once or twice a season to force a flush of tender new leaves, which are the ones worth eating.
A few practical points:
- Always pick from the centre of the rosette, where the youngest, mildest leaves sit.
- Divide congested clumps every couple of years in spring to keep them vigorous.
- It self-seeds freely, so remove spent flower heads if you don't want volunteers spreading through the bed.
Give it a light compost feed in spring and it will need almost nothing else. Drought only makes the leaves bitter, so water in dry spells.
Burnet at a glance
| Sowing depth | 8 mm |
|---|---|
| Plant spacing | 30 cm |
| Row spacing | 30 cm |
| Germination | 14-28 days |
| Days to maturity | 60-90 days |
| Frost tolerance | Hardy |
| Method | Raise Seedlings,Sow Direct |
Common questions
- does salad burnet come back every year
- Yes, Sanguisorba minor is a hardy perennial that returns each year and stays evergreen through cold winters in most cool-climate gardens. Cut it back hard once or twice a season to keep fresh leaves coming. Divide congested clumps every couple of years to keep them vigorous.
- what does salad burnet taste like
- The young leaves have a mild, fresh cucumber flavour that is lovely in salads, cold drinks and dressings. Pick from the centre of the rosette for the youngest, mildest leaves. Older leaves turn tough and lose the flavour, so keep the plant trimmed.
- why has my salad burnet gone tough and woody
- As burnet ages it sends up flower stems and the older leaves become tough and bitter. Cut off the flower stalks as they appear and shear the whole plant back to trigger a flush of tender new growth. Watering in dry spells also keeps the leaves mild.
- can you grow salad burnet through winter in Canberra
- Yes, salad burnet is one of the most reliable winter herbs in Canberra because it stays green and pickable through frost. Grow it in a sunny, well-drained spot so it doesn't sit wet and rot over the cold months. A light compost feed in spring keeps it going.
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