Cichorium intybus 'Roseum'

Pink Chicory Asteraceae

Who said chicory had to be blue? Cichorium intybus ‘Roseum’ throws the rulebook into the compost with elegant rose-pink, daisy-like flowers held on wiry stems above a substantial basal rosette. The flowers open in sunshine and, rather charmingly, close again as the day progresses. A cultivated form of the edible Common Chicory, its young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, although they have the species’ characteristic bitter flavour; the substantial root can also be roasted as a traditional coffee substitute.

 Grow in full sun and well-drained soil, where its drought tolerance and long flowering season make it particularly useful in naturalistic or gravel planting.

Height: 1–1.2m.

Spread: 30–50cm.

Flowers: June–September.

Hardiness: H5, (–15 to –10°C)