Chicory Plant: How to Grow Chicory, Radicchio and Puntarelle

To grow chicory, sow it in summer about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep, keep the soil cool and moist until it sprouts, set plants about 8 inches apart, and cut heads in fall and early winter as soon as they reach full size. Those cool months are when radicchio and its relatives color up and lose some bite. Utah State plants fall radicchio 75 to 85 days before it should mature, so that heads are ready about 3 to 4 weeks past the first fall frost; in the North that means a July or very early August sowing.

To keep a summer sowing cool until it sprouts, you can start it in trays in the shade; see the best seed starting trays.

If you're shopping for a gardener who grows chicories, the soil knife in the best gifts for vegetable gardeners digs, weeds and cuts roots.

The chicory plant covers more vegetables than the name suggests. Radicchio, sugarloaf, Belgian endive (witloof) and the tall catalogna chicories that give puntarelle are all Cichorium intybus; curly endive and escarole belong to a second species, Cichorium endivia. This guide works from Utah State and NC State Extension, Penn State's PlantVillage, Johnny's Selected Seeds' chicory growing notes and an Italian seed importer's guide, and it converts their timing into calendar dates at four airports with NOAA climate records.

When to plant chicory

Chicory can go in twice a year, as kale can, but the sources lean toward fall. For spring, Utah State direct sows radicchio 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost and sets transplants out around that date; Seeds from Italy says 4 to 6 week old transplants can usually go out about four weeks before the last frost in the North. Spring heads race the heat, though, and Utah State says high summer temperatures cut quality and push the plant to seed.

For fall, Utah State's rule is to choose an early variety and count back 75 to 85 days from the day you want heads, with that day falling about 3 to 4 weeks past the first fall frost. Seeds from Italy's version is simpler: direct seed or transplant in July or very early August in the North, a bit later for endive and escarole. Below, Utah State's rule is worked out for four airports, using the median 32 F frost dates in NOAA's 1991-2020 normals.

NOAA's 1991-2020 normals give each station's median 32 F dates: in half of all years the last spring frost comes earlier and the first fall frost comes later. Fall window: the earliest sowing pairs 85 days of growth with heads 3 weeks after the frost (frost minus 64 days); the latest pairs 75 days with heads 4 weeks after it (frost minus 47 days).

The two sources do not line up exactly. Utah State's rule puts the fall sowing at Minneapolis and Chicago in mid August to early September, while Seeds from Italy sows in July or very early August in the North; the earlier date leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap. Count from your own nearest station's normals rather than a hardiness zone, which says nothing about when frost comes. Where winters are mild, Seeds from Italy says chicories can stay in the ground through winter in parts of zones 6, 7 and 8. For a cover over a winter bed, see the best small greenhouses and cold frames.

Your USDA zone

Zone 6Zone 7Zone 8

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Timing rules and notes

Spring radicchio sowing: 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

Fall radicchio sowing: 75 to 85 days before the heads are due, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first frost.

Fall heads are due about 3 to 4 weeks after the first fall frost; choose an early maturing variety. In the North, sowing in July or very early August leaves more room for a slow variety or an early cold snap.

Find your dates by ZIP, or see the planting schedule for zone 6, zone 7 or zone 8.

What you'll need for chicory and radicchio

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• 

  Seedville Radicchio di Treviso Seeds

  A suitable radicchio variety, and one of the red radicchios that are often forced.

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• 

  Seedville Catalogna Puntarelle Chicory Seeds

  A tall, open plant with white stems, mostly stem; the shoots are soaked in cold water.

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• 

  TomorrowSeeds Broadleaf Batavian Escarole Seeds

  Broad, smooth leaves, less bitter than curly endive; blanching may reduce the bitterness.

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• 

  Bootstrap Farmer 32 Cell Tray

  A seed-starting tray lets you start the summer sowing in the shade, where the seed stays cool enough to sprout.

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Chicory types: which is which

NC State draws the line between the two species: curly endive (Cichorium endivia var. crispum) and escarole (var. latifolium) make loose rosettes, endive with finely curled, fringed leaves and escarole with broad, smooth, less bitter ones, while radicchio and Belgian endive belong to another species in the genus. Seeds from Italy adds that chicories usually head up and endives usually stay loose, though there are exceptions, and that the names get swapped often.

• Radicchio (C. intybus). Grown for its head of leaves, loose in some varieties and tight in others (Utah State). Rossa di Treviso and Rossa di Verona are two of the varieties Utah State lists; Seeds from Italy names Treviso, Palla Rossa and Rossa di Verona among the red and white radicchios that are often forced.
• Sugarloaf (C. intybus). Johnny's groups radicchio and sugarloaf types together in one tech sheet for the species.
• Belgian endive or witloof (C. intybus). Grown for the root, which is brought indoors in winter and forced into a tight, pale head called a chicon (Utah State).
• Catalogna and puntarelle (C. intybus). Johnny's sells catalogna types as Italian dandelion, picked at any stage; puntarelle names the young inner shoots of catalogna chicory, crisp and pale, according to Specialty Produce.
• Endive and escarole (C. endivia). Johnny's treats them as hardy, cool-weather crops for planting as early as the ground allows.

Summer sowing for fall and winter heads

The difficulty with a summer sowing is the seed, not the plant. Johnny's warns that radicchio and endive seed can go into thermal dormancy above 77 F and sprouts most reliably in soil at 60 to 68 F; Utah State gives 65 to 70 F as the ideal for chicory and that temperatures above 80 F reduce germination. In July that means keeping the seedbed cool:

• Start in flats in the shade. Johnny's sows in flats or 3/4 inch plug trays, barely covers the seed with fine vermiculite, and shades the flats on sunny, warm days to hold the surface below 75 F until the seed sprouts. Plants are ready to go out 3 to 4 weeks after sowing.
• Or direct sow and water. Johnny's sows radicchio about 1 inch apart, covered roughly 1/8 inch, in rows 12 to 18 inches apart, and waters dry soil to keep it cool and moist. Utah State and PlantVillage go a little deeper, 1/4 inch.
• Set transplants high. Johnny's sets radicchio transplants a little high, base just above the soil line, so bottom rot is less likely.

How far apart to plant chicory

Spacing depends on the type. Utah State sets radicchio 8 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, and Johnny's thins and transplants it to 8 inches in rows 18 inches apart. Endive and escarole go 8 to 10 inches apart in Johnny's notes, close enough to help self-blanching varieties close up. Seeds from Italy gives more room, 12 to 16 inches in rows 16 inches apart.

What you'll need is this guide's shopping list.

Watering and feeding chicory

Once the plants are growing, water and nitrogen are the levers. Utah State wants 1 to 2 inches of water weekly and soil kept evenly moist, warns that drought stress brings slow growth and bitter flavors, and says to stop adding nitrogen once heads begin to form. Mulch keeps the soil cool through late summer. To get that water to the bed, see the best garden hoses.

Cold is rarely the problem. Johnny's says hardened-off transplants come through 20 F, Utah State says young radicchio takes 20 F without serious harm, and Seeds from Italy says chicories survive temperatures in the low 20s.

Forcing and blanching

Forcing and blanching both keep light off the leaves, which turns them pale, tender and milder. They are different jobs.

Forcing Belgian endive (witloof)

1. Grow the roots. Johnny's sows witloof 3/4 to 1 inch apart, covered 1/4 to 1/2 inch, then thins to 2 to 3 inches; Utah State spaces it 9 inches apart in rows 20 inches apart.
2. Dig and store. Johnny's digs the roots in mid to late fall, after a few light frosts, and stores them like carrots at 32 F; Utah State cuts the leaves 1 inch above the crown, trims the roots and stores them at 32 to 34 F for 3 to 7 weeks.
3. Force in the dark. Utah State stands the roots upright in moist sand in a bucket with a little water and dilute fertilizer, leaves the crowns exposed, covers the bucket and keeps it in complete darkness at 50 to 60 F. Johnny's forces at 55 to 70 F in complete darkness after 6 to 10 weeks of cold storage.
4. Harvest. Chicons are ready in 3 to 5 weeks according to Utah State, or in about 21 to 29 days according to Johnny's. Light makes them green and bitter, Utah State warns.

Forcing Treviso-type radicchio

Seeds from Italy describes the home method for forcing red radicchio such as Treviso: in fall, dig the plant, cut off the head, trim the root to 10 to 12 inches, replant it in a pot, usually of peat moss, and shut out the light with a pail or black plastic over it, and keep it at 50 to 60 F (a basement works). New growth with white ribs and red leaves appears in about two weeks. Utah State notes a lighter version for heading radicchio: let the plants sit in the bed through the first frost, since some varieties need cool temperatures to form a head.

Blanching endive and escarole

For the C. endivia crops, blanching is done in the garden. Seeds from Italy withholds light 7 to 14 days before harvest by covering each plant with a pail, pot or bag or by tying up the leaves, and only when the leaves are dry; untie them if they get wet. NC State gives the same two methods and says blanching slows chlorophyll production and may reduce the natural bitterness. Self-blanching varieties close up on their own, helped by Johnny's 8 to 10 inch spacing.

Bitterness and heat

All chicories are meant to be a little bitter, but the sources point to four things that push it too far:

• Heat. Utah State says radicchio grows best while temperatures stay under 75 F; Johnny's puts radicchio and endive at their happiest at 60 to 65 F and says summer crops can succeed where nights fall below 60 F.
• Drought. Uneven water brings bitter flavors (Utah State), and PlantVillage says keeping plants moist prevents bitter leaves.
• Late harvest. Delaying the cut makes radicchio bitter and tough, according to Utah State and PlantVillage. Cut the head just below the leaves with a knife as soon as it reaches full size.
• Storage next to fruit. Utah State keeps radicchio for 2 to 3 weeks in cold, humid storage (32 F, 95 percent), and warns that storing it with apples or pears makes it bitter.

Cool fall weather is the reverse of all four, which is why late-summer sowing is the standard. Seeds from Italy notes that, as with lettuce, the color deepens as it gets cooler.

Cutting puntarelle shoots

Puntarelle comes from catalogna chicory, a loose-leafed kind sold under several catalogna variety names. Seeds from Italy describes its Catalogna Puntarelle as a tall, open plant with white stems and thin green leaves, mostly stem with very little leaf. Specialty Produce says the heads hold up to twenty fleshy shoots joined at a single base, and that the plants are harvested from as early as late fall through mid-spring, depending on climate, with a peak season in Italy from February to April.

Grow it like other catalogna chicories: Johnny's sows Italian dandelion seed about 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart, covers it about 1/8 inch, and thins to 6 to 8 inches. A summer sowing sized up through fall is the natural fit for a late fall to spring harvest.

To use the shoots, cut the head at the base, pull off the outer leaves and separate the pale inner shoots. Seeds from Italy soaks them in cold water first, which curls the stems and makes them milder; Specialty Produce adds that some varieties curl when sliced and dropped in ice water while others do not, depending on the shape of the shoot. Plants left uncut eventually send up a flower stalk with the blue chicory flowers, Johnny's notes.

Chicory seeds and supplies

For a first fall bed, sow a red radicchio such as Rossa di Treviso, a catalogna for puntarelle shoots, and an escarole for blanching. A row of arugula beside them gives another cool-season green with a bite. A seed-starting tray lets you start the summer sowing in the shade, where the seed stays cool enough to sprout.

Sources we used

Facts on this page are drawn from the sources listed here. Each figure matches a saved copy of its source, and differing figures are shown side by side.

• "Utah State University Extension: How to Grow Chicory in Your Garden" (April 2020)
• "NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: escarole and endive"
• "Penn State PlantVillage: chicory"
• Johnny's Selected Seeds key growing information: "Radicchio", "Endive and Escarole", "Belgian Endive" and "Italian Dandelion"
• "Seeds from Italy: How to grow radicchio, chicory, endive, escarole" and its "Catalogna Puntarelle" description
• "Specialty Produce: Puntarelle"
• "NOAA NCEI: U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020": the four stations' first and last 32 F dates

Related guides

• How to grow lettuce, a close relative Minnesota groups with chicory, endive and radicchio.
• Arugula, another bitter-edged salad green for cool weather.
• Growing kale for the same fall and winter bed.
• Radishes, including winter radishes sown in late summer.
• Swiss chard, more leaves to pick through fall.
• Chicories, the family page from radicchio to escarole.
• Cilantro, a cool-season herb for the same fall bed.
• Companion planting chart, the pairings extension services name for the crops around your chicory (none of the pages we read names one for chicory itself).

Frequently asked questions

How do you grow radicchio?

Sow radicchio in summer, 1/4 inch deep by Utah State's figure, and hold the seedbed cool and moist until it sprouts. Space plants 8 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, water them 1 to 2 inches weekly, and stop adding nitrogen once the heads begin to form.

When should I plant radicchio?

Sow radicchio in summer for a fall crop. Utah State counts back 75 to 85 days from the day heads should be ready, about 3 to 4 weeks past the first fall frost, while Seeds from Italy sows in July or very early August in the North. A spring crop goes in 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost.

When do you harvest radicchio?

Cut radicchio as soon as the head reaches full size, usually in fall or early winter after a summer sowing. Utah State warns that a delayed harvest makes heads bitter and tough, and cuts the stem just below the leaves. In cold storage (32 F, 95 percent relative humidity) heads last 2 to 3 weeks, away from apples and pears.

How do you grow endive?

Sow endive and escarole in cool weather and space the plants 8 to 10 inches apart. Johnny's plants them as soon as spring soil can be dug and gives 60 to 65 F as their ideal range, and Seeds from Italy sets them out a little later than its other fall chicories. NC State blanches the heads to reduce bitterness.

Why won't my chicory seeds germinate?

The soil is probably too hot. Johnny's says radicchio and endive seed can go into thermal dormancy above 77 F and sprouts most reliably at 60 to 68 F, and Utah State says germination drops above 80 F. In summer, start seed in shaded flats or water the seedbed so it stays cool and moist.

How do you force Belgian endive?

Dig the roots after a few light frosts, store them cold, then stand them upright in moist sand in complete darkness at about 50 to 60 F. Utah State says the pale heads, called chicons, are ready in 3 to 5 weeks, and that any light reaching them turns them green and bitter.

What is puntarelle?

Puntarelle is the pale inner shoots of catalogna chicory, a Cichorium intybus type picked young. Specialty Produce says one head can hold as many as twenty shoots and is harvested from late fall through mid-spring. Seeds from Italy soaks the shoots in cold water, which curls them and makes them milder to eat.

How cold can radicchio survive?

Young radicchio takes about 20 F without serious damage, according to Utah State Extension. Johnny's says properly hardened transplants survive 20 F, and per Seeds from Italy chicories live through temperatures in the low 20s. Heat is the bigger limit: Utah State says high summer temperatures reduce growth and quality and push radicchio to seed.