How to Grow Tatsois USA
On this page
Tatsoi is an exceptionally cold-hardy Asian green, tolerating temperatures down to 15°F (-10°C) — a light frost once the rosette is mature is even said to improve its flavor, though cold snaps while seedlings are still young can trigger premature bolting. It's typically sown in spring and again in late summer for a fall harvest.
The short answer
- Site
- soil pH 5.5–6.8
- Biggest risk
- White blister
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Tatsoi (Brassica rapa var. rosularis)
3 sources cited · Verified
Quick Facts
| Factor | Value |
|---|---|
| Soil pH | 5.5 - 6.8 |
| Soil texture | chalk, clay, loam or sand, deep and fertile but firm (RHS) |
| Drainage | well-drained |
| Lifecycle | annual or biennial grown as an annual |
| Edible parts | leaves |
| Documented problems | 3 diseases, 4 pests |
At a Glance
Diseases
Pests
Soil & Growing Conditions
Water: regular watering during summer months essential (RHS)
Soil pH range
Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.
Growth Stages
| Stage | BBCH | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing | 0 | Sow outdoors, seeds 2in apart barely covered with soil, or start in modules; germinates in 4-8 days at 50-80°F. Sow in spring and again in late summer for a fall harvest (GrowVeg). |
| Thinning/transplanting | 3 | Thin gradually to 8in apart, or transplant module-raised seedlings once they have 5-6 leaves (RHS, GrowVeg). |
| Rosette formation | 4 | Flat, tight rosette of spoon-shaped, glossy dark green leaves develops; regular watering essential in summer (RHS). |
| Harvest | 8 | Harvestable in 45-50 days; cool weather and a light frost once mature improve flavour, while cold exposure when young risks early bolting (GrowVeg). |
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Reaches harvestable size in 45-50 days (GrowVeg). Whole rosette can be cut, or individual outer leaves picked while the plant regrows. A light frost once mature is said to improve flavour.
Tatsoi, Rosette to Market
Plan your Tatsois planting
When to sow and plant Tatsois depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Tatsoi in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 3 sources behind this guide (GrowVeg, Royal Horticultural Society, Useful Temperate Plants) is in the references of our UK guide to tatsoi; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What soil pH does tatsoi need?
A pH of about 5.5–6.8. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect tatsoi?
Our data links 3 diseases and 4 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.
Get the USA Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for US 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 USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. 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 2026-08-29
Related guides
More from the same group (brassicas & mustards):
Growing advice for your part of the USA
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.