How to Grow Winter Cresses | Planting & Establishment

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: moist conditions preferred; needs more water than Land Cress to stay leafy (NC State Extension, Gardenista)

Growth Stages

Quick Facts

At a Glance

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Harvest young leaves, peppery like watercress, before the plant is allowed to bloom -- kept cut back, it produces leaves through the year (Gardenista). Leaves and flowering habit are hardy through winter, giving the plant its common name (NC State Extension).

Diseases

Pests

Winter Cress, a Different Species from Land Cress

A different species from Land Cress

Winter Cress (Barbarea vulgaris) shares its genus with the already-published Land Cress (Barbarea verna) but is a genuinely different species -- more aggressive, taller-growing, with fewer, broader leaf lobes.

Named for staying green through winter

NC State Extension: also called Yellow Rocket Cress, named for Saint Barbara, patron saint of winter's hardships -- its hardy green leaves often persist even under snow.

Kept cut back, it stays leafy year-round

Winter Cress needs more water than Land Cress, and only produces leaves through the year if kept cut back and not allowed to bloom.

Golden-yellow, four-petaled flowers

NC State Extension: mildly fragrant, four-petaled blooms under an inch across, in racemes, flowering for about a month from mid-spring to early summer.

A peppery watercress substitute

Edible young leaves, shiny dark green with dentate margins, are peppery like watercress -- eaten fresh or cooked, before the plant is allowed to bloom.

References

1. Gardenista -- Tier 2, used only for the species-vs-species distinction from Land Cress (Barbarea verna) that NC State's single-species page does not draw, not contradicted by it - Wintercresses: Edible Weeds That Are In Season in Springtime

   Barbarea vulgaris is distinct from the already-published Land Cress (Barbarea verna): B. vulgaris requires more water and, if kept cut back and not allowed to bloom, produces leaves through the year, growing as a short-lived perennial; B. verna (Land Cress) is tidier, often shorter, less aggressive, with more numerous leaf lobes, and remains robust with less water. Both are edible substitutes for watercress, with a peppery flavour, eaten fresh or cooked.

2. NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (North Carolina State University) - Barbarea vulgaris (Yellow Rocket Cress / Winter Cress)

   A perennial or biennial herb native to Europe and Japan in the mustard family, growing naturally in moist places, roadsides, stream banks and hedges. USDA zones 5a-9b. Full sun (6+ hrs) or partial shade (2-6 hrs). Soil: clay, loam or sandy; pH acidic to neutral; good drainage or moist conditions; prefers fertile loam or clay-loam, less vigorous in poor dry sites. Erect herbaceous habit, forms a basal rosette in year one, flowers mid-spring to early summer in year two. Golden-yellow, mildly fragrant, four-petaled flowers under 1 inch across, in racemes, blooming about a month. Edible young leaves are shiny, dark green, compound pinnate, glossy with dentate margins. Propagated by seed, readily self-seeds, occasionally forms colonies. No known diseases or insect pests documented. Contains saponins -- consuming quantities of leaves can affect kidney function; non-toxic to cats/dogs but problematic for horses.

2 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.