How to Grow Land Cresses UK

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Land Cress (Barbarea verna)
  2. When to Plant Land Cresses in the UK
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Growth Stages
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Pests
  8. Land Cress, a Hardy Watercress Substitute
  9. Plan your Land Cresses planting
  10. What the research guides add
  11. Growing Land Cress in another region
  12. References
  13. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, land cress goes in the ground early March to late September.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing early March, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Land Cress (Barbarea verna)

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

5 sources cited · Verified

When to Plant Land Cresses in the UK

When to plant land cresses in the UK: in Southern England, sow early March to late September. Find your area in the table below.

Land cress plants growing in their natural habitat — “Barbarea verna kz05” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna kz05” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Region Sow
Southern England early March to late September
Midlands early March to late September
Northern England early March to late September
Scotland early March to late September
Southern England - detail & sources

PlotMyGarden: sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and staggered sowing through the season is recommended regardless of region.

Midlands - detail & sources

PlotMyGarden: sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and staggered sowing through the season is recommended regardless of region.

Northern England - detail & sources

PlotMyGarden: sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and staggered sowing through the season is recommended regardless of region.

Scotland - detail & sources

PlotMyGarden: sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and staggered sowing through the season is recommended regardless of region.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your land cress — and the rest of the plot

This page covers land cress. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Drainage Moist but well-drained
Lifecycle biennial
Edible parts leaves

At a Glance

A cluster of small yellow land cress flowers — “Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9594” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9594” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Barbarea verna Land Cress Flea beetles PESTS

Growth Stages

A single land cress flowering stem — “Barbarea verna kz08” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna kz08” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing and germination 0 Sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn, thinly in drills about 0.5cm deep, rows 15cm apart; germinates in 7-10 days at 10-20°C (PlotMyGarden).
Rosette establishment 1 Rosette of deeply-lobed, dark green leaves develops in full sun to partial shade; partial shade preferred in summer to avoid bolting (RHS, PlotMyGarden).
Cut-and-come-again harvest 3 Leaves are cropped nearly year-round with staggered sowings; avoid overhead watering to reduce fungal disease risk (PlotMyGarden).
Second-year flowering 6 In spring or summer of its second year, upright stems bear clusters of small yellow four-petalled flowers (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: RHS: "cropped virtually all year by staggering sowing dates"; plant outdoors "when large enough to handle (around 10in/25cm in height)". UMD: sow in March or September, "harvest at a few inches tall".

Storage

Best used fresh

Pests

A tall flowering land cress stem — “Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9592” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9592” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Flea beetles

Chrysomelidae: Alticini (various spp.)

Plan your Land Cresses planting

When to sow and plant Land Cresses depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

What the research guides add

Land cress (American cress) in flower
Land cress (American cress) in flower. Photo by DouglasGoldman, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Land cress is also sold as American cress, and the RHS notes it can be cropped almost all year.

  • Grow in moist soil in full sun or semi-shade. It can be cropped virtually all year by staggering sowing dates. (RHS)
  • Sow seed thinly in seed trays or small pots, and plant outdoors when large enough to handle (around 10 inches or 25 cm in height) in rows 12 inches (30 cm) apart. (RHS)
  • It may be susceptible to flea beetle, and is otherwise generally disease-free. Other names include American cress, winter cress and early winter cress. (RHS)

Sources for this section

Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.

Growing Land Cress in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  2. Sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn, thinly in drills 0.5cm deep, rows 15cm apart; germinates in 7-10 days at 10-20°C. Can be cropped virtually all year with staggered sowing dates. Prefers partial shade, especially in summer, since hot sun and dry conditions cause rapid bolting and bitter, tough leaves. Avoid overhead watering to reduce fungal disease risk.

5 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I sow land cress in the UK?

In Southern England, from early March. In Scotland, wait until early March. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.

When do I sow land cress?

Sow early March to late September.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides UK

Crops With the Same Problems

Last verified 2026-10-25

Plan Land Cresses by month

The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:

More from the same group (brassicas & mustards):

Relevant next steps

Where To Go From Here

Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.

UK garden plannerTurn this crop guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and a harvest record. All growing guidesBrowse every crop we cover for your region, A to Z. Planting CalendarSee how this crop fits alongside everything else you are growing.

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