Bitter Wintercress
Barbarea vulgaris
Also listed as Campe barbarea, Barbarea hirsuta
Also known as Yellow Rocket, Garden Yellowrocket, Common Wintercress
Climate Match for your location
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A cool-season biennial or short-lived perennial with deeply lobed leaves and small yellow four-petaled flowers. Often grown as a leafy green for spring harvests, it readily self-seeds and is considered weedy in some regions.
Why grow it
Bitter wintercress tolerates cold better than many leafy greens and produces harvestable foliage earlier in spring than spinach or kale. Its peppery flavor differs noticeably from cultivated brassicas, offering a distinct option for cool-season salad mixes. As a self-seeding species, it requires minimal annual intervention once established, making it useful in low-maintenance garden systems.
Watch out for
Young plants may bolt quickly if exposed to prolonged warm spells, even in spring, which can limit the harvest window. The leaves become increasingly bitter as plants mature and flower, so timing of harvest affects palatability. Dense volunteer seedlings can crowd out neighboring plants in subsequent seasons, requiring selective thinning if self-seeding is not desired.
Overview
- Form
- Growth Rate
- Size
- Dormancy
- Family
- Brassicaceae
Native Range
Europe and western Asia
Seasonality
Bloom Season
Harvest Season
Edible Parts
Season of Interest
Herb
Soft non-woody plants of the field layer.
Succession Role
Tolerances & Soil
Establishment & Care
- Establishment
- Maintenance
- Years to Bearing
- Propagation
A cool-season biennial or short-lived perennial with deeply lobed leaves and small yellow four-petaled flowers. Often grown as a leafy green for spring harvests, it readily self-seeds and is considered weedy in some regions.
Climate Match for your location
See how well Bitter Wintercress grows in your area.
Enter your ZIP code and we'll show you how this plant fits your local climate.
Why grow it
Bitter wintercress tolerates cold better than many leafy greens and produces harvestable foliage earlier in spring than spinach or kale. Its peppery flavor differs noticeably from cultivated brassicas, offering a distinct option for cool-season salad mixes. As a self-seeding species, it requires minimal annual intervention once established, making it useful in low-maintenance garden systems.
Watch out for
Young plants may bolt quickly if exposed to prolonged warm spells, even in spring, which can limit the harvest window. The leaves become increasingly bitter as plants mature and flower, so timing of harvest affects palatability. Dense volunteer seedlings can crowd out neighboring plants in subsequent seasons, requiring selective thinning if self-seeding is not desired.
Overview
- Form
- Growth Rate
- Size
- Dormancy
- Family
- Brassicaceae
Native Range
Europe and western Asia
Seasonality
Bloom Season
Harvest Season
Edible Parts
Season of Interest
Herb
Soft non-woody plants of the field layer.
Succession Role
Tolerances & Soil
Establishment & Care
- Establishment
- Maintenance
- Years to Bearing
- Propagation
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