When to plant Chicory in Temperate Australia

Temperate zone — applies to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Cool · Subtropical · Tropical · Arid.

Sow Chicory direct where it is to grow across a wide window from May to November, dropping seed at 5 mm into a well-worked bed. It germinates quickly in 7–14 days, and plants are thinned to stand 20–30 cm apart with 30–40 cm between rows. Depending on type, you will be harvesting leaves or roots in around 85–100 days. Chicory is hardy and thrives through the cool of a temperate season in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, where the chill actually sweetens the leaves and tames some of their natural bitterness.

Sowing calendar — temperate zone

Green months are your sowing window: May to November.

Growing notes

Chicory is a tough, hardy perennial usually grown as an annual, and it copes with frost, poor soil and dry spells better than most salad greens. It wants full sun to part shade and a deep, free-draining soil that lets its long taproot run. The May–November window spans autumn and spring, avoiding the worst summer heat that drives bolting.

The main challenge is bitterness. Grown fast and cool, chicory is pleasantly sharp; grown hot, dry or stressed, it turns harshly bitter and can bolt to seed. Keep the water up, especially in a dry Perth or Adelaide spring, and harvest before the weather turns hot. For heading types like radicchio, cool autumn weather is essential for the hearts to firm up and colour, so an autumn sowing often gives the best result.

Many gardeners blanch leaf chicory to soften the flavour, covering the crown with a pot or tying the outer leaves over the heart for a week or two before cutting to exclude light. Witloof types are lifted in autumn, the tops trimmed, and the roots forced in the dark to produce pale, tender chicons. Keep the bed weeded while seedlings are small, thin them promptly so roots have room, and feed lightly, as too much nitrogen produces lush leaf at the expense of flavour.

Chicory at a glance

Common questions

Why is my chicory so bitter?

Bitterness comes from heat and stress. Chicory grown fast in cool, well-watered conditions is far milder, so keep the soil moist and harvest before summer. Blanching the heart by excluding light for a week or two before cutting also softens the flavour.

When should I sow chicory in Melbourne?

Anytime from May to November suits Melbourne, with autumn sowings especially good for heading types like radicchio, which need cool weather to firm up. Spring sowings give leafy crops before summer heat sets in.

What is the difference between leaf chicory and witloof?

Leaf chicory is grown for its salad leaves and heading types like radicchio, while witloof is grown for its root, which is lifted and forced in the dark to produce pale, tender chicons. Both start from similar seed sown 5 mm deep.

Does chicory need full sun?

It does best in full sun to part shade. In hot inland gardens some afternoon shade helps prevent stress bitterness and bolting, while in cooler spots full sun gives the strongest, fastest growth.

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