Speed Up Growing By Planting Out Sorrel Grown From Plugs Or Young Plants
Ed is a horticultural therapist, professional gardener and writer. Ed has a BSc in Occupational Therapy from Coventry University and a Diploma in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture (DipSTH) via Thive, the RHS and Pershore College. Ed runs a community kitchen garden in West Sussex, where he leads horticultural therapy sessions.
Reviewed By DAN ORI
Dan has over 27 years’ under his belt caring for plants and gardens. Working as a Horticultural Instructor and Consultant, he draws on a diverse range of experience that includes working as a Head Gardener, Tree Surgeon, Garden Centre Trouble Shooter, and writer of academic papers. Dan has a Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture and is currently a candidate for the RHS’s most prestigious award – The Master of Horticulture.
Contributions From EMILY CUPIT
Emily is a Gardening Writer, Photographer and Videographer from Derbyshire, UK. She is the Founder of Emily's Green Diary - a community of more than 75,000 people who share in her gardening journey.
IN THIS GUIDE
Sorrel is a perennial herb in the Polygonaceae family that produces edible leaves with a tangy and citrusy taste.1Introduction to the Polygonaceae. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/anthophyta/caryos/polygonaceae.html
Although it is possible to grow from seed, sorrel can take weeks to germinate and is often available and grown from plugs or young plants.
Here’s a simple process for planting:
- Source young plants via propagation, or from a local garden centre or online supplier.
- Choose a suitable growing space in your garden that ideally benefits from partial shade.
- Plant your sorrel, ensuring it retains the same depth it was previously planted at.
- Grow on and help your plant establish itself.
This process is explained in more depth below.
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Equipment Required | Trowel, compost and gloves |
| When To Plant Out | May-July |
When To Plant Sorrel
The best time to plant sorrel is in the spring after its winter dormancy has broken and new growth appears.
1) Source Your Plants
Sorrel can be grown from seed sown in early spring, but germination can be erratic and take several weeks.
In the UK, it is most commonly grown from garden-ready plants available in garden centres and online suppliers from late spring onwards.
2) Choose A Suitable Location
Sorrel can be grown directly in the ground or in containers and prefers partial shade to full sun and moist, but well-drained soil.
This is a plant that copes well in either an exposed or sheltered location and, being rated H7 by the RHS for hardiness, sorrel is fully hardy and can withstand even the worst of British winters.
Varieties of this plant are known to survive in Arctic locations so you needn’t worry about exposure or winter care.
3) Plant Out
If purchased as plug plants, pot on individually, grow on under cover and gradually harden off before planting out.
To plant out sorrel directly into the ground, prepare a hole two times as wide as the current root ball and to the same depth.
Make sure to plant the root ball as deep as it was planted in its previous pot and backfill it with your growing medium, firming it in gently as you go.
“Don’t be tempted to spoil sorrel by planting it in rich potting mixes and feeding it with fertilisers, as it will be happier in poor soil and you should find normal garden soil is fine,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“John Innes No.2 compost would be my choice when selecting a growing media for a pot.”
Afterwards, water thoroughly.
If growing sorrel in a pot or container, a layer of gravel can be added before filling with a peat-free, multi-purpose compost to aid drainage.
4) Ongoing Establishment
Sorrel requires the soil be kept moist whenever possible and frequent watering is needed, especially during the summer months.
During the summer, flowers can form which need to be swiftly removed to prevent the plant from producing seeds and using up precious energy.
Come late winter, the foliage will die back and can then be cut back to the base to make way for fresh new growth in the spring.
Sorrel plants require little maintenance and are generally easy to grow.
However, to ensure productive plants, sorrel plants can be divided every 2-3 years in the spring or autumn to either plant out or pot up and give away.
“To divide sorrel, use a sharp trowel or spade to dig out the whole root ball for the plant and divide it into the clump sizes you want by slicing through it with a knife or spade,” Dan adds.
“I advise not making the clumps any smaller than 9cm across.”
