Mizuna

Sun

Full sun in cool weather; light afternoon shade in warmer conditions.

Water

Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged; drought makes leaves tougher and encourages flowering.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil, ideally with a pH of 6.0-7.5.

Height

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m) in leaf; taller when flowering

Spread

1-1.5 ft (0.3-0.45 m)

Foliage

Loose rosettes of deeply divided, narrow-lobed green leaves with slender pale stems; some varieties have purple foliage.

Growth

Fast; baby leaves are often ready within 3-4 weeks of sowing.

Care needed

Low

• Low allergen
• Edible

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

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

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

1. Planting day

   0.5 ft (0.15 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.2 ft (0.38 m)

   full size

Full size in one season.

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

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Fast

• Water at soil level whenever the surface begins to dry, especially in containers.
• Work mature compost into the bed before sowing.
• Thin plants to 8-12 in (0.2-0.3 m) apart for full-sized rosettes; grow more closely for baby leaves.
• Apply a light mulch around established plants to conserve moisture, keeping it clear of their crowns.
• If repeated harvesting slows growth, apply a balanced liquid vegetable feed at the label rate.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed beyond harvesting. Remove emerging flower stems to briefly prolong leaf production, but replace plants once they persistently bolt.

Pick baby leaves when they are about 3-6 in (0.08-0.15 m) long, usually 3-4 weeks after sowing; larger rosettes commonly take 5-7 weeks. Take outer leaves while leaving the centre intact, or cut the plant above its growing point for regrowth, choosing tender leaves before flowering.

Early spring

Prepare the soil with compost and sow under cover or outdoors once the ground is workable.

Spring

Thin seedlings, keep them moist and sow small batches every 2-3 weeks.

Late spring

Harvest regularly and cover crops with fine insect mesh before flea beetles become troublesome.

Summer

Provide afternoon shade and steady moisture in mild climates; pause sowing during sustained heat.

Late summer

Sow the main autumn crop as temperatures begin to ease.

Autumn

Continue picking and use fleece or a cold frame to extend the harvest through light frosts.

Winter

Harvest protected plants in mild areas; remove spent crops where hard freezes end growth.

• Edge vegetable beds with finely divided foliage that contrasts with broad-leaved lettuces.
• Plant in containers near the kitchen for frequent small harvests.
• Use repeated rows in a potager to create soft, textured bands between other crops.
• Fill short-lived gaps in edible borders during spring and autumn.

Garden styles it suits: Potager (kitchen garden), Edible landscape, Small-space, Modern courtyard, Cottage garden and Homestead.

Plant it with: Lettuce, Spring onions, Carrots, Coriander, Calendula and Sweet alyssum.

Wildlife: If allowed to flower, its small yellow flowers provide food for bees and other insects. Leaves also feed caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies.

• Flea beetles make small holes in leaves: cover seedlings immediately with fine insect mesh and keep the soil moist.
• Slugs and snails eat seedlings and tender leaves: remove hiding places, inspect after dark and use labelled iron-phosphate bait where needed.
• Caterpillars chew leaves: check leaf undersides, remove eggs and larvae, and use insect mesh with its edges secured.
• Bolting produces flower stems and coarser leaves: sow in cool weather, avoid drought and replace flowering plants with a fresh sowing.

The leaves and tender stems are edible for people. Mizuna is not known to be toxic to cats or dogs in small food amounts, although eating much may cause digestive upset. It is not suitable as a major feed for horses: large quantities of brassicas can cause digestive and metabolic problems.

• Mibuna (Brassica rapa)

  Mibuna forms similar leafy clumps but has long, narrow leaves with mostly smooth edges rather than mizuna's deeply cut lobes.

• Salad rocket (Eruca vesicaria)

  Rocket usually has broader, less finely divided leaf lobes and a stronger peppery flavour; its flowers are pale with dark veins, unlike mizuna's yellow flowers.

Mizuna comes from Japanese and means 'water greens', referring to its association with moist growing conditions.

Propagation. Grow from seed, sown about 0.25 in (0.006 m) deep directly into prepared soil or modules. Make successive sowings in cool weather; plants left to flower may self-seed.

Accepted botanical name

Brassica rapa Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica is an older name for Brassica rapa.

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Hawaii and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria and Libya.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 8. Average height 80 cm.

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