Bloody Dock

Bloody Dock, Rumex sanguineus, 4in Potted Plant, Polygonaceae, Organic Plants, Heirloom, GMO Free

4in Potted Plant

Name: Bloody Dock
Scientific Name: Rumex sanguineus
Family: Polygonaceae

Often used for it’s great foliage in borders or other ornamental gardens. Bloody docks tight foliage is medium green set against dark red to purple veins which run throughout the leaves. Stays evergreen in mild climates, but will die back during harsh winters often returning from its taproot. The root has also been used medicinally as an astringent, being harvested in the spring and dried for later use.
When being eaten as a vegetable, only the tender young leaves are edible raw, as older leaves become too tough and bitter, and even become inedible with time. It has a flavor along the lines of spinach or chard, with a hint of lemony tartness, and may be cooked the same way you would spinach or chard. Plants can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, perfectly safe in small quantities, the leaves should still not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-up other nutrients in food. Cooking reduces oxalic acid content.

Origination: Europe into southwest Asia and northern Africa
Recommended Uses: Ornamental, edible, medicinal
Height: 1 Ft. (grows 2-3 feet tall when going to flower.)
Hardiness: zones: USDA 6-8
Flower Color: Pale green to a reddish brown
Other Names: bloody sorrel, bloodwort, red-veined dock and wood dock

Growing Instructions: Prefers full sun and moist soil, but will grow in partial shade. Can be grown as a marginal plant where the soil is waterlogged throughout the year. Keep constantly moist to stay safe from under watering. Direct sowing does best as they do not like being transplanted. If you transplant do it while the plants are still young, but after they have their second or third set of true leaves. Plant 2-3 seeds per cell several weeks before the last frost, or every foot to foot and a half in the garden bed after the threat of frost has passed, lightly covering the seeds with soil and watering thoroughly.
Usually low maintenance a part from snails, it requires little care other than cutting back the flower spikes (if desired) and removing the old foliage in early spring before new growth begins and leaves begin to emerge.