GrowingHQ
Herbperennial herbStraightforward

Sorrel

Rumex acetosa

A sharp lemony perennial leaf that comes up early, tolerates shade, and is one of the very first things worth picking each spring. It wants damp ground rather than the dry sun most herbs prefer, which is why it fails in a Mediterranean herb bed.

Position
Partial shade or Full sun or Dappled shade
Water
moderate demand
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Grows to
45–60 cm × 30 cm
Hardiness
H6
Harvest
March to October
Difficulty
Straightforward

August

Nothing to do

No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.

Coming next month: harvest.

Sorrel’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
Sow outdoorsApril. May.
HarvestMarch. April. May. June. September. October.
DivideMarch. April.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

What kind of herb this is

Herbs are a kitchen grouping rather than a botanical one, and the plants in it want opposite things. This is the one distinction that decides how to treat it.

Moisture-loving perennial herb

Growing regime
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Wants damp ground and tolerates shade, which is the opposite of the Mediterranean set. Most will spread if allowed to, so the question is usually containment rather than establishment.

Treated the same way: chives, fennel, garlic chives, lemon balm, lovage, mint. The herb bed, split by regime

Indoors
Not worth growing indoors
Where the indoor assessment comes from
IndoorsSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — growing indoors

Checked 2026-08-13

Almost any herb will sit on a windowsill in July. This is about whether it is still there in March, which is the part a pot on a supermarket shelf does not tell you.

What happens when it flowers

On a herb this is rarely a problem and rarely nothing. It is the point at which the plant stops being what you grew it for — by a lot, a little, or not at all.

Leaves coarsen
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

Remove the flower spikes as they appear. Sorrel leaves turn tough and increasingly sharp once the plant runs up, and cutting it to the ground produces a fresh crop of tender leaves.

source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Conditions it needs

Light
Partial shade, Full sun, Dappled shade
Frost
Very hardy
Hardiness rating
H6 (RHS)
Grows best at
10–22 °C
Germinates at
10–25 °C
Soil
Loam, Clay
Soil pH
5.5–7
Drainage
Moisture-retentive
Water needs
moderate
Drought
poor tolerance
Waterlogging
good tolerance
Heat
moderate tolerance
Wind and exposure
good tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

Germinates atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Seed germination temperatures

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Rumex acetosa — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayPrefers this soilHeavy clay suits Sorrel as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. It tolerates ground that stays wet, which most crops do not. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SandyWorks, with one conditionSorrel will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkalineStruggles hereSorrel struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.
LoamPrefers this soilLoam suits Sorrel as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SiltyGrows well hereSorrel grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acidPrefers this soilPeaty and acid suits Sorrel as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. It tolerates ground that stays wet, which most crops do not. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Shallow over rockWorks, with one conditionSorrel will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soilGrows well hereSorrel grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
45–60 cm
Mature spread
30 cm
Rooting depth
30 cm
Spacing
30–38 cm apart
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — spacing

Checked 2026-08-13

How far apart to plant sorrelThree sorrel plants drawn in a row at their recorded spacing of 30–38 cm between plants. The spacing is drawn to scale against a one metre rule; the plants themselves are symbols rather than scale drawings, so the distance between them is the part to read.30–38 cmone metre
Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume
7 litres or more
Minimum depth
25 cm
Where the container figures come from
Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Works in a pot provided it is kept genuinely moist — sorrel is the herb that wants damp ground, and a container that dries repeatedly gives small, tough, harshly acidic leaves. Cut it back hard when it flowers and it will produce a fresh flush.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Open groundWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Traditional dug bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Raised bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

ContainerWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

GreenhouseWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection

Checked 2026-08-13

PolytunnelWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection

Checked 2026-08-13

HydroponicsWorkable
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Grows easily and wants a winter dormancy it will not get indoors; the clump weakens over a couple of years rather than failing outright.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

WindowsillWorkable
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing herbs and salads indoors

Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

  • PruningCut the flower stems out as they appear. The leaves coarsen and turn bitter once the plant runs to seed, and removing the stems keeps it producing usable leaves for another month or two.
  • HarvestingPick young leaves and use them quickly — they collapse to almost nothing when cooked and lose their sharpness within a day of picking.
  • PropagationDivide established clumps in spring or autumn, keeping roots and a growing point on each piece. Sorrel is short-lived and the leaves coarsen as the plant ages, so dividing every three years is how the picking stays worth doing rather than a way of getting more plants.
  • WateringSorrel is the herb that wants damp ground, and watering is what keeps it worth eating. A dry plant bolts to a tall flowering spike and the leaves turn small, tough and harshly acidic. Keep the soil moist through summer, site it in shade rather than full sun if the ground is light, and mulch around the crowns.
  • FeedingA mulch of garden compost around the crowns each spring is all it wants, and it is a genuine benefit — sorrel is cut hard and repeatedly and rebuilds from the crown each time. A liquid feed after a heavy cut brings the next flush on faster in a container. Avoid pushing it with high-nitrogen feed, which makes large soft leaves with less of the sharpness the plant is grown for.
  • SowingSow direct in April or May, about 1 cm deep, thinning to 30 cm — it germinates easily and a couple of plants supply a household. Remove flower stems as they appear from the first year onwards; a plant allowed to flower stops making leaves and seeds itself widely, and buckler-leaved sorrel in particular can become a weed.
Where this guidance comes from
PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — care

Checked 2026-08-13

HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

PropagationSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

WateringSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

SowingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — sowing

Checked 2026-08-13

Where to make a pruning cutFour stems compared. The first is cut cleanly on a slope about five millimetres above an outward-facing bud, sloping away from it, and is labelled correct. The second is cut too far above the bud, leaving a long stub that dies back. The third is cut too close, into the bud itself, which loses the shoot. The fourth is cut sloping towards the bud so rain runs onto it rather than away, which rots it. In every case the bud points outwards, away from the centre of the plant.Correct5 mm, sloping awayToo highstub dies backToo closebud lostSloping inrain sits on the bud
The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.
Four ways to make more plantsFour propagation operations compared, each showing where the separation is made and what must be present on both sides of it. Division: a clump cut between crowns, with roots and at least one growing point on every piece. Stem cutting: a shoot cut just below a leaf node, because the node is where roots form, with the lower leaves removed. Runner: a plantlet already rooting where it touches the ground, severed from the parent only after its own roots have taken. Offset: a young shoot at the base of the parent, separated with its own roots attached. In each case the cut is marked and the part that must be retained is labelled.Divisioncut between crownsroots on every piececut below a nodeStem cuttingroots form at the nodestrip the lower leavesRunnerlet it root firstthen sever the linkOffseta shoot at the basetake its roots with it
The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

StructureWhat protection is worthWhat decides it
GreenhouseExtends the season
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Dormancy. Sorrel is hardy and dies back; a clump under cover gives the first sharp green leaves of the year several weeks early.
PolytunnelExtends the season
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Dormancy.

On a windowsill

Spring to autumn
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

 Productive from roughly March to October and not after. Growth stops when the light does, and a plant pushed through the dark months usually does not recover. Dormancy. Hardy and herbaceous, so it dies back and wants a cold rest; the first indoor leaves of the year are genuinely early.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Works with conditions

Succeeds when the conditions listed here are met and fails when they are not. The conditions are the answer, not a caveat.

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Grows easily and wants a winter dormancy it will not get indoors; the clump weakens over a couple of years rather than failing outright.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

The decline is gradual enough to be blamed on something else, which is why it is worth recording.

Techniques that suit it

  • Nutrient film (NFT)A shallow stream of solution runs over bare roots in a sloped channel. Cheap and productive for small fast crops; a pump failure kills a crop within hours because there is no reservoir at the roots.
  • Ebb and flowA bed of inert medium floods and drains on a timer. The medium holds moisture between floods, which makes it far more tolerant of interruption than NFT.
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space
Moderate — a taproot that a channel system constrains.
Lighting
Needs supplementary light
pH band
5.5–6.5
Where these figures come from
Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

LightingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence

Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.

  • Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH

Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

  • When it is readyPick the young leaves and leave the old ones: sorrel leaves go tough and unpleasantly acidic as they age, and a plant that has thrown up a flower spike has stopped making good ones. The first leaves in March are among the best of the whole year. Cut the flower stems out and a second flush of tender leaves follows.
  • How to pick itPick individual young leaves from the outside of the crown, or shear the whole plant to 5 cm for a clean fresh flush. Use fresh — sorrel collapses to a purée the moment it meets heat and does not store.
Where the harvest guidance comes from
When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Sorrel — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Keep picking

Regular picking keeps this plant producing. Fruit or leaves left to mature signal it to slow down or stop.

What goes wrong

ProblemHow oftenNotes
Dock beetlecommon
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Larvae skeletonise the leaf between the veins, leaving a green lace.
Slugs and snailsoccasional
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Safety and edibility

  • PreparationSorrel is high in oxalic acid, which in large or regular quantities can contribute to kidney stones and interferes with calcium absorption. The amounts used in cooking are not a concern for most people; a diet including large quantities daily is a different matter.
    source

    Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

    • Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Rumex acetosa

    Checked 2026-08-13

    Use it as a sharp flavouring rather than as a bulk leaf vegetable. People with a history of kidney stones, and anyone advised to limit oxalates, should be more cautious than that.

Sources for this page

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Plants of the World Online · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.