How to Grow Endive
Cichorium endivia
Hardy Cool Season Single Harvest
Endive is a hardy cool-season salad crop with a pleasantly bitter flavour that softens significantly with blanching. Sow from late spring to late summer in well-drained soil with full sun, and thin to 30 cm apart. The key tip is blanching — covering the plant for two to three weeks before harvest greatly reduces bitterness and produces the pale, tender heart endive is prized for.
In your Leaftide garden 
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Season
- Cool Season
- Harvest
- Single Harvest
- Spacing
- 30 cm
- Height
- 30 cm
- Sow depth
- 0.5 cm
- Min. soil temperature
- 5°C+
- Start from
- Seed
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Moderate
When to Start
Direct sow outdoors as soon as soil reaches 5°C — typically early to mid spring. Hardy enough to tolerate light frosts.
Don't know your frost date? Find it here →
Growth Stages
Sow seeds
Day 0 Germination
~10 days Harvest
~85 days Seed to harvest ~85 days
Approximate days from start
Care Essentials
- Apply a balanced general-purpose fertiliser at planting time. Endive is a fast-growing crop that benefits from a liquid feed every two to three weeks once plants are established, particularly on light soils.
- Sow endive in succession from late spring to late summer for a continuous harvest from summer to autumn. Blanching for two to three weeks before harvest reduces bitterness significantly and is highly recommended — only blanch dry plants to prevent rot.
Growing Conditions
- Min. soil temperature
- 5°C+
- Germination temperature
- 15–22°C
Don't know your frost date? Find it here
Spacing & Planting
| Plant spacing | 30 cm |
| Row spacing | 30 cm |
| Sow depth | 0.5 cm |
| Mature height | 30 cm |
| Mature spread | 30 cm |
Growing Conditions
| Min. soil temperature | 5°C |
| Germination temperature | 15–22°C |
| Base growth temperature | 5°C |
| Min. daylength to start | 10h |
| Photoperiod sensitivity | long day |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How far apart should I plant Endive?
- Plant Endive 30cm apart with 30cm between rows.
- Is Endive frost hardy?
- Endive is classified as Hardy.