How to Grow Wild Rockets UK

When to Plant Wild Rockets in the UK

When to plant wild rockets in the UK: in Southern England, sow early April to mid August. Find your area in the table below.

Quick Facts

At a Glance

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: moist but well-drained; keep well watered (RHS)

Growth Stages

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Pick leaves over regularly, cut-and-come-again, to keep plants from bolting and provide a continuous supply; unlike salad rocket, wild rocket is a perennial and does not bolt in the same way in warm weather. Yellow flowers are also edible and can garnish salads (RHS).

Diseases

Pests

Wild Rocket, a Different Genus Entirely

A perennial, not an annual

RHS: unlike salad rocket, which is an annual, wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) is a genuine perennial and does not bolt the same way in warm weather.

A different genus from Rocket

Wild Rocket is Diplotaxis tenuifolia -- a different genus entirely from the already-published Rocket, Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa -- with smaller, more deeply lobed leaves.

Edible yellow flowers

RHS: the yellow flowers are edible and can garnish salads, alongside the peppery leaves that give wild rocket its name.

More peppery, crunchy stalks

RHS: wild rocket has a more peppery flavour than salad rocket, with smaller leaves and crunchy stalks -- reaching around 20cm in height.

At home in poor, dry ground

Native to Europe and the Mediterranean and to GB/Ireland, wild rocket readily self-seeds into cracks and poor ground -- rated H3 for hardiness by RHS.

What the research guides add

Wild rocket is the perennial, heat-tolerant cousin of ordinary arugula.

• Described as a heat-tolerant alternative to arugula, native to the Mediterranean and in the mustard family. (NC State Extension)
• It grows in full sun or dappled shade, prefers well-drained sandy soils but is not picky about soil type or pH and tolerates poor soils. (NC State Extension)
• Seeds can be sown after the last frost. Leaves are produced from spring to fall and can be harvested at any time; protection from frost or intense summer heat is helpful. (NC State Extension)
• Although perennial, it can be grown as an annual. The green leaves have a strong peppery flavour and the yellow flowers are edible too. (NC State Extension)

Sources for this section

• NC State Extension: Diplotaxis tenuifolia (Plant Toolbox)

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

References

1. Cornell University Garden-Based Learning - Arugula growing guide

   Plant as soon as spring soil is workable, since the seed germinates in cold conditions; make new sowings every 2-3 weeks for a continuous supply until about a month before the average first frost. Sow 1/4in deep and 1in apart, thinning gradually to 6in spacing and using the thinnings in salads. Emerges in 5-7 days and is often ready to cut as early as 4 weeks from sowing. HEAT TRIGGERS BOLTING -- provide shade for warm-season plantings and reduce heat and moisture stress to slow it. Flavour is tangy, peppery, mustard-like. Flea beetles are the primary pest.

2. Plants For A Future (PFAF) - Diplotaxis tenuifolia

   PFAF entry for Diplotaxis tenuifolia. Fetched and parsed directly for the USDA hardiness rating.

3. Royal Horticultural Society - Diplotaxis tenuifolia | wild rocket

   A perennial, Mediterranean leafy wild rocket to around 20cm in height, with a more peppery flavour than other varieties, smaller leaves and crunchy stalks. Yellow flowers are edible and can garnish salads. Native to Europe/Mediterranean, also native to GB/Ireland. Hardiness H3 (hardy in coastal and relatively mild UK parts, -5 to 1°C). Full sun preferred, tolerates part shade. Soil: chalk, clay, loam or sand; moist but well-drained; acid, alkaline or neutral pH. Height/spread 0.1-0.5m. Time to maturity 1 year. Propagate by seed sown densely at 5mm depth; successive sowings give a continuous leaf supply; suitable for cut-and-come-again cropping. Pests: flea beetles, slugs, snails. Diseases: generally disease-free, though some cultivars such as 'Sele' offer mildew resistance -- implying mildew susceptibility exists in some cultivars.

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.