How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba Minor​)
Cool as a cucumber, salad burnet is a tasty, perennial herb with cucumber-flavored leaves and bright red, summer-blooming flowers that appeal to the eye and pollinators. These multi-purpose plants are right at home in flower beds, veggie and herb gardens, and containers, and they’re so easy to grow that even “brown thumbs” can keep them happy. If you’re looking for an old-timey herb with excellent flavor and aesthetic charm, here’s why salad burnet is worth keeping and simple care tips so you can grow your own!
About Salad Burnet Plants
Salad burnet is native to the sunny fields and meadows of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, but it has become naturalized in many parts of North America since it was introduced by European settlers in the 17th or 18th century. In the past, burnet was commonly grown in kitchen gardens and harvested for edible and medicinal use. But while these heirloom herbs aren’t as well-known today as plants like basil, they are experiencing a resurgence in popularity thanks to their intriguing cucumber-flavored leaves, which can be used in salads, cocktails, and tea sandwiches!
Like apples and roses, salad burnet belongs to the Rosaceae family, though you wouldn’t guess it by looks alone! These tender-stemmed herbs have rounded, fern-like leaves with serrated margins that add texture to garden beds and spherical clusters of red-tinged flowers that attract bees during bloom and birds when they go to seed. Not to mention, salad burnet stays small and grows in compact mounds that rarely stretch over 24 inches high.
Suitable for vegetable, flower, and herb beds, containers, and garden bed borders, salad burnet is remarkably resilient and adaptable. It grows in sun or light shade, tolerates mild drought and poor soil, and can even bounce back after moderate deer damage. Perhaps most impressively, salad burnet is winter hardy in zones 4 through 8, and it can live up to 20 years with proper care!
Growing
Salad burnet is typically grown in herb gardens or pots, but it can be interplanted with vegetables to attract pollinators and beneficial insects or grown in ornamental gardens. You can even grow salad burnet as a microgreen and harvest the tender sprouts just 10 to 15 days after planting, However, if you want burnet to thrive, keep these growing tips in mind!
Light
Full sun or lightly shaded locations are suitable for salad burnet as long as your plants receive at least 6 hours of light per day.
Water
While salad burnet is relatively drought tolerant, these plants grow best if they receive about 1-inch of water per week. Avoid watering these plants if the soil still feels damp, and make sure to keep them in well-draining locations. They can develop root rot in water-logged soil!
Fertilizer
Salad burnet can grow in poor soil, and it doesn’t need much fertilizer. If you want to keep your plants as productive as possible, side dress them with compost in spring and apply an organic liquid fertilizer or fish emulsion diluted to half strength every 6 weeks from spring through late summer.
Temperature and Humidity
Burnet plants are tolerant of light frost and heat, and they aren’t fussy about humidity either. Just make sure your plants are spaced well apart to boost airflow and reduce the risk of fungal issues.
Seasonal Care
In zones 7 through 8, salad burnet stays evergreen in winter and can be harvested year-round. However, in colder locations, burnet typically dies back to the soil line when cold weather strikes. But it’s one of the first plants to regrow in spring!
Salad burnet plants grown in the garden need minimal winter care; however, potted plants, may need to be sunk into the soil or insulated with old blankets to ensure the pots don’t break and the roots don’t freeze.
Removing flower buds and pinching back or harvesting salad burnet stems regularly throughout the growing season keeps plants productive and promotes bushier growth. But if you want your plants to attract pollinators and self-sow, leave the flowers in place.
Propagation
Salad burnet plants self-sow readily if you don’t remove their dried flowers in fall. You can even shake those dried flowers over a paper bag and collect your own burnet seeds for planting.
Although seed propagation is the easiest way to propagate salad burnet, you can also propagate burnet via root division using these simple steps:
- Divide established burnet plants in spring or fall.
- Don’t divide plants more than once every 3 to 5 years. They don’t like having their roots disturbed!
- Carefully dig a circle around the plant’s root ball and lift the plant from the soil. Keep the roots as in tact as possible.
- Use garden pruners or a spade to cut the plant into smaller sections. Each section should have at least a few healthy stems and a sturdy nest of roots.
- Replant the divided plants as soon as possible and bury the plant’s roots to the same depth they were growing before you dug them up.
- Water the plants in and add mulch!
Harvesting
You can start harvesting salad burnet when the plants are at least 4-inches tall and 70 to 100 days old. When harvesting, start with the outer stems first and cut the stems with a clean cut either at the base of the stem or at a leaf node. Feel free to harvest burnet plants as needed throughout the season, but never take more than 1/3 of your plant’s leaves at once.
After harvesting, strip the burnet leaves from the stems and compost the stems. Keep in mind that young burnet leaves have the best flavor, while older leaves can become bitter and tough. Harvesting often encourages plants to produce more tender, new leaves!
Using Salad Burnet
Salad burnet can be used fresh in any dish that calls for more cucumber flavor, or it can be steeped in oil or vinegar, rolled into herb butter, or frozen for long-term storage. This herb pairs especially well with salads, creamy dishes, eggs, and potatoes, and it can even be brewed into lemonade. Salad burnet flowers are also edible and great for garnishing and bouquets; however, this plant isn’t recommended for drying.
Lauren Landers
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