How to Grow Sprouting Broccoli UK
On this page
- Sprouting Broccoli (Brassica oleracea Italica Group)
- When to Plant Sprouting Broccoli in the UK
- Quick Facts
- At a Glance
- Soil & Growing Conditions
- Growth Stages
- Harvest & Storage
- Diseases
- Pests
- Sprouting Broccoli, Plant to Spear
- Plan your Sprouting Broccoli planting
- Growing Sprouting Broccoli in another region
- References
- Frequently Asked Questions
In the UK, sprouting broccoli goes in the ground early February to late July.
Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing early February, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.
The short answer
- Plant
- Early February to late July
- Biggest risk
- White blister
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Sprouting Broccoli (Brassica oleracea Italica Group)
3 sources cited · Verified
When to Plant Sprouting Broccoli in the UK
When to plant sprouting broccoli in the UK: in Southern England, sow early February to late July. Find your area in the table below.
| Region | Sow |
|---|---|
| Southern England | early February to late July |
| Midlands | early February to late July |
| Northern England | early February to late July |
| Scotland | early February to late July |
Southern England - detail & sources
RHS gives a single UK-wide sowing window (indoors February-June, outdoors April-July) with no region-specific dates, so this window is applied across all four sub-regions rather than inventing a north/south gradient the source does not support.
Midlands - detail & sources
RHS gives a single UK-wide sowing window (indoors February-June, outdoors April-July) with no region-specific dates, so this window is applied across all four sub-regions rather than inventing a north/south gradient the source does not support.
Northern England - detail & sources
RHS gives a single UK-wide sowing window (indoors February-June, outdoors April-July) with no region-specific dates, so this window is applied across all four sub-regions rather than inventing a north/south gradient the source does not support.
Scotland - detail & sources
RHS gives a single UK-wide sowing window (indoors February-June, outdoors April-July) with no region-specific dates, so this window is applied across all four sub-regions rather than inventing a north/south gradient the source does not support.
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil texture | fertile, chalk/clay/loam/sand (RHS) |
| Drainage | well-drained |
| Lifecycle | biennial grown as an annual, or true biennial for overwintering purple sprouting types |
| Edible parts | flower buds, young stems |
At a Glance
Soil & Growing Conditions
Water: moist but well-drained; avoid waterlogging especially for overwintering varieties (RHS)
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing | 0 | Sow indoors February-June or outdoors April-July; successive sowings extend the harvest window (RHS). |
| Transplanting | 3 | Plant out mid-spring to late summer once seedlings are 4-6in tall; space 24-31in apart depending on variety to improve air circulation (RHS). |
| Establishment / overwintering | 3 | Winter/spring varieties take 8+ months to mature into large plants up to 3ft tall, very hardy through severe winters (RHS). |
| Spear harvest | 8 | Cut shoots while heads are tightly in bud; repeated picking over up to two months as further side-shoots form, June through March with succession planting (RHS). |
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Harvest when heads are well formed but still tightly in bud, before flowers begin to open; cut the entire 4-inch shoot with stem and leaves. Picking regularly over up to two months encourages further side-shoots (RHS).
Diseases
Pests
Sprouting Broccoli, Plant to Spear
Plan your Sprouting Broccoli planting
When to sow and plant Sprouting Broccoli depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Sprouting Broccoli: February, March, April, July. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Sprouting Broccoli in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
References
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Purple sprouting broccoli 'Cardinal', RHS Award of Garden Merit. Hardiness H5 (hardy in most UK locations, even severe winters). Full sun; south or west-facing aspect; sheltered exposure. Soil: chalk, clay, loam or sand; moist but well-drained; alkaline or neutral pH. Height 0.5-1m, spread 0.1-0.5m. Time to maturity 1 year. Harvest when heads are well formed and tight, before flowers open; spears ready from spring into early summer. Grow in fertile, well-drained soil; avoid replanting brassicas in the same soil year after year. Propagate by seed. PESTS: may be susceptible to cabbage root fly, caterpillars, cabbage whitefly, mealy cabbage aphid. DISEASES: potential issues include club root, brassica downy mildew, brassica white blister, powdery mildews.
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Sprouting broccoli produces small clusters of usually purple buds on the tips of long, leafy stems, distinct from calabrese's single large central green head (which is what supermarkets often mislabel simply as "broccoli"). Sow indoors February-June or outdoors April-July; plant out mid-spring to late summer once seedlings are 4-6in tall; successive sowings extend the harvest. Space 24-31in apart depending on variety, with similar row spacing, to improve air circulation and encourage side-shoots. Fertile, well-drained soil, pH 6-7 (lime if very acidic); incorporate two bucketfuls of well-rotted manure or compost per square metre; avoid waterlogging, especially for overwintering varieties. Time to crop 4-10 months depending on variety; harvest window up to two months of regular pickings, June through March with succession plantings. Ready when heads are well formed but still tightly in bud; cut the entire 4-inch shoot with stem and leaves. Winter varieties are very hardy, giving especially valuable harvests through to spring, taking 8+ months to mature into large plants up to 3ft tall. PESTS: club root (start indoors to reduce impact), cabbage caterpillars, cabbage root fly, cabbage whitefly, flea beetles, mealy cabbage aphid, pigeons, slugs and snails. DISEASES: white blister disease. Most successful in cooler summers; hot weather causes premature bolting, so bolt-resistant varieties are recommended for warmer regions.
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Transplant vigorous young plants in early spring; for autumn crops start seedlings in midsummer and transplant in late summer, counting back from first frost and adding 10 days to the days-to-harvest figure. Sow seed 1/4 to 1/2in deep. Space transplants 18-24in apart in rows 36in apart, or 1ft apart each way in beds. Use a starter fertiliser at transplanting and side-dress with nitrogen at half mature size. Provide ample soil moisture, especially as the heads develop. HARVEST: cut the central head with 5-6in of stem once fully developed but BEFORE it loosens, separates and the individual flowers start to open and show bright yellow; central heads reach 4-6in across, and side shoots develop after the main head is removed. Pests: aphids colonising leaf undersides, and three cabbage worms -- imported cabbage worm, cabbage looper and diamondback moth.
3 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 sprouting broccoli in the UK?
In Southern England, from early February. In Scotland, wait until early February. 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 sprouting broccoli?
Sow early February to late July.
What problems affect sprouting broccoli?
Our data links 3 diseases and 3 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
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
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.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-09-02
Plan Sprouting Broccolis by month
The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:
- What to plant in February
- What to plant in March
- What to plant in April
- What to plant in May
- What to plant in June
- What to plant in July
More from the same group (brassicas & mustards):
Growing advice for your part of the UK
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.