Crambe marítima

Description

Picture thanks to Jelitto seeds https://jelitto.com

This salt tolerant plant grows along the coasts of Britain and Europe. It has large waxy grey green leaves which are loosely serrated , and the leaves themselves can stand alone as an attraction in a border, but it also has clouds of small white to cream  flowers in spring which add to its attraction.

As an added benefit the stems can be eaten blanched in early spring and it was a favourite of the victorians who rated it similar to asparagus in taste.

Sowing advice

Seeds are best sown in late winter to early spring in pots or trays in a good seed raising mix  . Cover them lightly with mix and keep them at about 15 Deg C., Keep them moist but do not over water.  They germinate irregularly and may take from 3-26 weeks so do not discard them prematurely. Prick them out and put in larger pots as soon as they are large enough to handle as they have long taproots and resent disturbance so are best transplanted when small.