Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant sorrel
Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 1 – Apr 26; Spokane Apr 1 – May 27; Boise Mar 20 – May 15; Bend Apr 28 – Jun 23.
Your dates in
Sorrel is a hardy leafy green in the buckwheat family whose sour, lemony taste comes from oxalic acid. It's cooked into soups and sauces, especially with fish and eggs, or used young and raw in salads. French (buckler-leaf) and garden sorrel are the usual kinds for eating.
Puts sorrel on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Spacing
- Thin to 12 inches apart
- Planting depth
- ½ inch deep
- Frost
- Hardy perennial; often the first green of spring
- First harvest
- About 60 days after planting
A perennial green with a sharp, lemony taste, and one of the first leaves to pick each spring. Cut the flower stalks off to keep new leaves coming.
Sorrel planting dates
| Towns | Plant in the garden |
|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
| Astoria, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR | Mar 5 – Apr 30 |
| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Cottage Grove, OR | Mar 13 – May 8 |
| McMinnville and Newberg, OR | Mar 4 – Apr 29 |
| Ashland and Talent, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|
| Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
|---|---|
| Burns, OR | Apr 30 – Jun 25 |
| Lakeview, OR | Apr 23 – Jun 18 |
| Madras, OR, Prineville, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
| Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
|---|---|
| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| La Grande, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Olympia, WA | Mar 18 – May 13 |
| Shelton, WA | Mar 16 – May 11 |
| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|
| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Sequim, WA | Mar 10 – May 5 |
| Centralia and Chehalis, WA | Mar 11 – May 6 |
|---|---|
| Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Winthrop and Twisp, WA | Apr 3 – May 29 |
| Ellensburg, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Goldendale, WA | Apr 7 – Jun 2 |
| Yakima, WA | Mar 27 – May 22 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|
| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|
| Lewiston, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Moscow, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| McCall, ID | May 11 – Jul 6 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Salmon, ID | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
Sorrel year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | Mar | Apr | ||||||||||
| Harvest | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Sep | Oct | Nov |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates. Harvest months are for an established plant.
How to grow sorrel
- Prepare the bed: loosen the soil and mix in an inch or two of compost.
- Plant seeds on your city's dates, ½ inch deep, Thin to 12 inches apart.
- Keep the soil evenly moist until sprouts appear, which can take one to three weeks in cool soil.
- Harvest: Pick young leaves from early spring on; they're the most tender and least sour. Cut the plant back hard in midsummer for a fresh flush of leaves in fall.
Growing sorrel in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Sorrel greens up very early in spring and keeps going into fall. Cut off flower stalks so it keeps making leaves.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Sorrel likes afternoon shade and steady water in hot summers.
High desert and mountain towns
Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon
Sorrel is very hardy and one of the first greens of spring.
More sorrel varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
French sorrel
Small, shield-shaped leaves with a bright lemon flavor, milder than garden sorrel. A low, spreading clump.
Both sides
Garden sorrel
Larger, arrow-shaped leaves with a sharp, sour taste, often sold as Large de Belleville. Very productive for soups and sauces.
Both sides
Red-veined sorrel
Green leaves with striking red veins. Mostly grown for looks; pick young leaves for salads.
Both sides
How much to grow
How many to plant
Two or three plants for most households.
What to expect
A handful of leaves a week from each plant in spring.
Storing the harvest
Keeps a few days in the fridge. Cook into sauce or soup and freeze.
Key numbers
Top care tip: Cut off flower stalks as soon as they appear so the plant keeps making tender leaves.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
A lemony perennial green
Garden sorrel and French sorrel are hardy perennials grown for their sharp, lemony leaves. They're among the first greens to grow each spring, often weeks before anything you sowed is ready, and they come back for years.
The sour taste comes from oxalic acid, the same compound in spinach and rhubarb. It's fine in normal kitchen amounts, but people prone to kidney stones may want to go easy.
Planting and care
Sow seeds in early spring ½ inch deep, or plant young plants, about a foot apart. Sorrel takes sun or part shade and isn't fussy about soil. A small clump of three or four plants is plenty for most kitchens.
Cut off flower stalks as soon as they appear in late spring; once plants flower, leaves turn tough and more sour. Divide crowded clumps every few years in spring or fall.
Harvest through the season
Pick young leaves, 3 to 6 inches long, which are the most tender. In midsummer heat the leaves get tough; cut the whole plant back to a couple of inches, water it, and a fresh flush grows for fall.
French sorrel has smaller, shield-shaped leaves and a milder, more lemony taste. Red-veined sorrel is mostly ornamental, with young leaves that are good in salads.
Good neighbors
Good neighbors
- Chives and other perennial herbs. Share a permanent bed.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with sorrel in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Flower stalks
Signs: Tall stalks make leaves tough.
What to do: Cut them off at the base.
Slugs and aphids
Signs: Holes and clusters on leaves.
What to do: Slug bait, and hose off aphids.
A health note
Signs: Sorrel is high in oxalic acid, like spinach.
What to do: Fine in normal amounts; people prone to kidney stones may want to go easy.
Common questions about growing sorrel
When should I plant sorrel in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in the garden: Mar 1 – Apr 26 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 1 – May 27 in Spokane, Mar 20 – May 15 in Boise and Apr 28 – Jun 23 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Does sorrel come back every year?
Yes. Garden and French sorrel are hardy perennials that die back in hard winters and regrow in early spring.
Why are my sorrel leaves bitter or tough?
The plant is flowering, the leaves are old, or it's midsummer. Cut off flower stalks, pick young leaves, and cut the plant back in summer for fresh growth.
How do you use sorrel?
Raw in salads for a lemony bite, or cooked into soups and sauces, especially with fish and eggs. It turns olive green when cooked, which is normal.
See what else to plant in March or April.
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Artichokes
Horseradish