- Endive in profile
- When are endives planted?
- Where are endives planted?
- The most important key data for endive cultivation
- What care do endives need?
- When are endives harvested?
Endives are a delicious late summer salad that can be harvested well into fall. Below you will learn the most important things about endive, where and when to grow it and when to harvest it.

Endive in profile
- Botanical name: Cichorium endivia
- Genus: chicory
- Annual or biennial: usually biennial, but usually grown as an annual in salads
- Origin: Mediterranean
- Frost hardiness: depending on the variety up to around -6°C
- Leaves: toothed, slightly to heavily curled
- Flowers: bluish ray florets
- Worth knowing: Vegetable of the Year 2005 in Germany
When are endives planted?
If endives are sown too early, you run the risk that the lettuce will bloom quickly and hardly develop any leaves. Therefore, the right sowing time is crucial. A good guideline here is mid-June to mid-July. Plants that you have grown on the windowsill can also be planted out in June/July. The ideal sowing date varies slightly depending on the endive variety. Here we have put together an overview of the most important endive varieties and their sowing dates for you.
Where are endives planted?
Endive likes it bright and nutritious. It makes sense to enrich the soil with compost some time before sowing. In addition, endives may only be grown in the same place every three years.
The most important key data for endive cultivation
- Location: as sunny as possible
- Sowing depth: 1cm
- Planting distance: 30 to 40cm
What care do endives need?
The endives must be watered as often as possible, especially immediately after sowing. Young plants are extremely sensitive to drought. The endive salad needs little fertilizer after sowing, provided you have enriched the soil with compost before cultivation. However, you can pamper it with some mulch (€239.00) or blue manure.
Since endives can also be harvested late in autumn, the question of frost hardiness arises. A few degrees below zero normally do not bother the plants. Nevertheless, you would do well to protect them from excessive frost, especially at night, with foil or some brushwood.
When are endives harvested?
Endive can usually be harvested three months after sowing. Harvest time is usually between August and November. You can find out the exact time of harvest depending on the variety here.