Good King Henry

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; light afternoon shade helps in hot summers.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist during establishment and leaf production; established plants tolerate brief dry spells but produce tougher leaves.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil; tolerates clay if it does not remain waterlogged.

Height

1.5-3 ft (0.45-0.9 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Small greenish flowers in narrow upright clusters from late spring through summer.

Foliage

Broad, triangular to arrow-shaped green leaves, often with a slightly mealy coating on young growth; dies back in winter.

Growth

Moderate once established; seedlings are often slow in their first year.

Care needed

Low

• Cold hardy
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.3 ft (0.4 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.6 ft (0.49 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.9 ft (0.59 m)

5. After 5 years

   2.2 ft (0.68 m)

   full size

About 4 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Slow

• Water young plants regularly and established clumps during prolonged dry weather.
• Apply a layer of garden compost around the crowns each spring.
• Mulch to conserve moisture, keeping the crown itself uncovered.
• Weed carefully while plants are young; established clumps compete better.
• Divide crowded clumps in spring if leaf production declines.

Pruning. Remove flower stems before seed ripens if you want to limit self-sowing or favour leaf production. Cut dead stems and foliage to ground level in late autumn or before new spring growth.

Leave plants largely unpicked in their first year, then harvest tender spring shoots when about 6-8 in (15-20 cm) tall, cutting above the crown. Pick young, fully opened leaves through spring and early summer, leaving plenty of foliage to replenish the plant. Cook shoots and leaves and discard the cooking water; older leaves become coarse and bitter.

Late winter

Cold-stratify seed for spring sowing, or check autumn-sown pots for emerging seedlings.

Spring

Plant out or divide clumps, spacing them about 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) apart.

Spring

Top-dress with compost and begin light shoot harvests from established plants.

Early summer

Pick young leaves and remove unwanted flower stems.

Summer

Water during dry spells and reduce harvesting if growth becomes coarse or stressed.

Autumn

Sow fresh seed outdoors in pots and remove unwanted seedlings around mature plants.

Late autumn

Cut down dead growth and clear debris from around the crowns.

• Plant in a permanent vegetable bed with sorrel and chives for dependable spring harvests.
• Use in a cottage-style potager, where its broad leaves contrast with finer herb foliage.
• Place along a lightly shaded edible border, keeping the plants within easy reach for picking.
• Grow at a sunny woodland-garden edge as part of a perennial food planting.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Cottage garden, Edible landscape, Homestead, Food forest and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: Sorrel, Chives, Welsh onion, Rhubarb and Lovage.

Wildlife: The small, mainly wind-pollinated flowers are not a major nectar source. Dense clumps provide shelter for small garden invertebrates.

• Slugs and snails damage emerging shoots: inspect after dark, remove hiding places and use wildlife-conscious controls where needed.
• Aphids cluster on tender growth: wash them off with water and preserve ladybirds and other predators.
• Poor seed germination: use fresh seed and provide a period of moist winter chilling; emergence can be slow and uneven.
• Crown rot in saturated soil: improve drainage or move plants to a raised bed, keeping mulch away from the crown.

Leaves and shoots contain oxalates and saponins, so eat them cooked and in moderation rather than raw or in large quantities. People with kidney disease or a history of calcium-oxalate stones should seek medical advice before eating them. Species-specific poisoning information for cats, dogs and horses is limited; do not treat it as safe pet food or livestock forage, since substantial consumption of oxalate-rich foliage can be harmful.

• Fat hen (Chenopodium album)

  Fat hen is an annual with more branched stems and usually toothed, diamond-shaped upper leaves. Good King Henry returns from a perennial crown and has broader, mostly untoothed, arrow-shaped leaves.

• Lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum)

  This poisonous plant also has arrow-shaped leaves, but they are usually glossy, sometimes dark-spotted, and emerge separately from the ground.

The Latin epithet bonus-henricus means 'good Henry', matching the English common name.

Propagation. Divide established clumps in spring, retaining roots and growing buds on each piece. Alternatively, sow fresh seed outdoors in autumn or cold-stratify spring-sown seed; germination is often slow and irregular.

Accepted botanical name

Blitum bonus-henricus

Native range

Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, Corse, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece and Hungary.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 7.5. Average height 35 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.