Curly endive

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Curly endive (frisee) is a fast, leafy salad crop that grows well in containers, window boxes and balcony troughs – the grower does not class it as a decorative houseplant, but its quick, shallow-rooted rosettes are ideal for pots and can even be grown on a bright, sunny windowsill as a cut-and-come-again salad.

Quick Details

• Container Size: Shallow and wide – a 5-10 L pot or trough about 15-20 cm deep for a 5-20 cm plant
• Indoor Suitability: Not a decorative houseplant, but a bright, sunny sill grows the leaves
• Best Spot: Full sun to half shade, in cool conditions – it prefers cooler seasons
• Soil & Drainage: Rich, weed-free, moisture-retentive mix that still drains; mulch keeps it cool
• Watering in Pots: Average to generous – keep evenly moist so leaves stay tender; drought brings bitterness

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Not a decorative houseplant: The grower marks it unsuitable as an ornamental indoor plant – it is a salad crop that needs strong light.
• Sunny sill: On a bright, cool, sunny sill you can grow it for young leaves, cutting little and often as a cut-and-come-again crop.
• Blanching: Covering the centre of a mature plant for a week or two blanches the heart pale and mild, a trick that also works in a pot.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Cool-season salad: Grow it in the cooler parts of the year on a bright balcony; heat makes it bolt and turn bitter.
• Watering: Shallow pots dry fast in sun and wind – check daily in warm weather and keep the mix moist.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A wide pot or trough with strong drainage holes; skip a standing water saucer so roots never sit wet.
• Potting mix: A rich, well-aerated but moisture-retentive mix – potting compost with a little extra organic matter.
• Feeding: A steady, balanced feed keeps leaves lush; potted nutrients leach with watering, so feed little and often.
• Growing on: Grown as a fast annual crop – resow every few weeks for a steady supply rather than repotting.

Bloom & Edible Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: Spring and summer
• Time to First Bloom: In its first flowering season, once heat and long days trigger bolting
• Flower Appearance: Small blue, daisy-like flowers about 1-3 cm across, carried along the flowering stems
• Edibility: Edible – the blue flowers are used in salads

Detailed Blooming Overview

Curly endive, or frisee, is grown for its frilly leaf rosettes, but a plant left to run will bolt and send up branching stems dotted with small sky-blue, daisy-like flowers through spring and summer. Each bloom is about 1-3 cm across, opens with the morning sun and draws bees, and the flowers are edible, bringing a touch of blue to a salad.

Flower Characteristics

• Small blue, daisy-like flower heads about 1-3 cm across
• Carried on tall, branching flower stems (inflorescences)
• Open with the sun and close later in the day; attractive to bees

Bloom Care & Thinning

• Using the flowers: scatter freshly opened blooms over salads for colour
• If growing for leaves: bolting to flower ends the leaf crop, so remove flower stems early unless you want blooms or seed
• Pollination: worked by bees