french sorrel, buckler's sorrel, rumex scutatus

[redadmiral]

i was just wondering if anyone has successfully grown this herb from seed, or has a plant in their garden? i recently gathered some seeds and now have a few seedlings (though it may be late in the year - though i've heard they overwinter well). is it true that it can be invasive and should i keep it in a pot?
anyway, i love the lemony flavour in salads so i'm hoping it grows well. has anyone ever tried making sorrel soup?
also i have some left over seeds from this plant that i'd be willing to send or swap if anyone else wants to try growing it.

[veg4681]

I've grown this from seeds successfully. Once you've got it, they're unstoppable and somewhat invasive. Every year, I'm pulling away excess Sorrel so that they're not all over the place but I've never been able to bring myself to destroy them once and for all...thinking maybe one day I'll be brave and try this herb in cooking. Sorry I don't know how it taste!

[redadmiral]

ah, thank you for confirming it is invasive, i will now make sure to keep it in a pot to keep it under control! my seedlings are coming along nicely now.
but don't destroy the plant completely it has a great taste! have you tried the leaves raw? they are like lemon in flavour and are nice added to salad (in moderation!). also if you have more than you know what to do with, why not try making sorrel soup. then you can tell me what it's like! hehe

[moggssue]

I used to have sorrel in my old garden and lovely as it is, it did become a bit of a pain and I was constantly pulling it up from where I didn't really want it! So yes, keep it in a pot and enjoy it! Actually, I'd rather forgotten about it since I don't have a plant in my present garden but now you mention it its something else for me to search out haha!!

[redadmiral]

i could send you a few seeds, moggssue if you want to try growing it again, in a pot this time! haha.

[Flummery]

I grew it and found sorrel soup nasty. One of nature's plebs, me!

[moggssue]

Ohh, that'd be great redadmiral if you don't mind. I'll have a look if I have anything to swop and will pm you my address.

[Daddy Pig]

I have a 2 year old buckler-leaf sorrel plant on my allotment, which I bought as a small (3" pot) plant from the garden centre. It's now enormous (3' across). If it weren't for the fact that lots of other things have struggled this year, and therefore I'm grateful for every bit of (non-weed) green leaf I can see, I'd have given it a ruthless cut-back by now. As it is it has stay of execution for a few weeks. It's not a very exciting plant, but the leaves are very tasty and give an unexpected pzizz (is that a word?) in a green salad. Haven't used it for soup, but I do use 'plain leaved' sorrel from the garden in soups.

[JazzDuke]

Sorrel has the most amazing citrus flavour (actually from oxalic acid, same as rhubarb, in theory you could poison yourself with a lorryload of the stuff). A few leaves in a mixed salad give it a great zing. Turns a nasty khaki colour when cooked but is supposed to be a good sauce for salmon. I'd recommend it as a great flavour you can't find in the shops.

[Paulottie]

Yes you can cook it a bit like spinach with a few sweated shallots, butter, and cream at the end and serve under fish. It's a lovely accompaniment but soup would probably be too much for me. One day we will try it tho.

I have one plant and don't find it too invasive, but if you grow it in a pot don't the seeds get about anyway. It is better if you pick old leaves and flowers off so you use new growth.

[MissGreen]

It sounds interesting! Everything that is happy to just grow away on its own is fine by me But i can't find it in my seed catalouges, is Rumex sanguineus or Rumex acetosa anything like it? I'm planning on a "wild" bed with wild garlic etc. for plants that wants to spread.