Burnet, Salad (seeds)

Salad Burnet seed packet

  • botanical name: Poterium sanguisorba
  • perennial zones 3-8
  • height 8-12″
  • spacing 8-12″ apart, in rows 18″ apart
  • full sun tolerant
  • sandy, well-drained, slightly alkaline soil
  • uses in garden: as a border, drought tolerant
  • use in salads, sauces, and flavored vinegars

Herb seed packet

Salad Burnet, with its round, oddly serrated leaves, like many-pointed stars, and its pink-white flowers, adds a delicate texture to the garden. It has a mild flavor with a hint of cucumber that is good for salads (hence the name), sauces, and flavored vinegars. Try using Salad Burnet in place of parsley for a garnish as an interesting change. It blends well with tarragon and rosemary.

‘Sanguisorba’ means ‘to absorb blood’, which gives insight into burnet’s medicinal properties. It has been used as an astringent, to stop internal and external bleeding.

Salad Burnet plants are also available. Purchase them here.

Sowing Instructions:

Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before setting out. 5-10 days germination. Sow thinly 3-4 seeds per cell, just barely covering the seeds. Keep the soil moist for germination. Thin to one plant per cell. Transplant outside in spring and space plants 8-12″ apart, in rows 18″ apart.

Outdoors – sow seeds in spring 1 seed per inch, as soon as the soil can be worked. Barely cover the seeds, as light aids germination. Can be divided in the spring or fall to produce more plants. Harvest 70 days. The leaves are best when harvested young. Leaves are most tender before and after flowering.