Rumex patientia
Patience dock
Common names: Herb patience, Monk's rhubarb
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Spacing
- 40 cm, rows 50 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Mar, Apr, Aug, Sep
- Harvest
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
Patience dock (Rumex patientia) is a hardy perennial dock that produces mild, spinach‑like leaves early in spring, well before true spinach ripens. The plant forms robust clumps, reliably regrows each year, and survives harsh winters without protection. Compared to common sorrel, its leaves are noticeably milder and less sour, making them suitable for raw salads or steamed like spinach. Once established, it requires little care and yields reliably for many years.
Care instructions
Plant patience dock in a sunny to partially shaded spot with fertile, moist soil for best growth. Keep the root zone consistently moist, especially during dry early spring weeks, to keep leaves tender and prevent premature bitterness. Regularly cut back outer leaves to encourage new growth and delay flowering. Remove flower stems early if you wish to maintain leaf quality for as long as possible. Divide clumps every few years in spring to keep the plant vigorous. A mulch layer in autumn protects roots through winter.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Apr, Aug–Sep
HarvestMar–Jun, Sep–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 5 °C, ideally 15 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, loamy
Patience dock likes moist, humus-rich soil that holds water well. On lean, dry sites it bolts quickly and the leaves become tough. A loamy, nutrient-rich garden soil with even moisture produces the most tender leaves.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar, Apr, Jun
In spring, patience dock enjoys a dose of mature compost, which you work shallowly into the top layer of soil. After the first big cut in early summer, add compost or well-rotted manure once more so that the plant stays strong for the regrowth of new leaves. A mulch layer of grass clippings or leaves keeps the soil moist and supplies nutrients on the side.
Overwintering
Patience dock is hardy and dies back above ground in autumn. A mulch layer of leaves or straw additionally protects the rootstock from severe frost. In spring, the plant reliably shoots again from the root as soon as the soil warms up.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
The easiest way is to sow patience dock directly into the bed, from March to May or in late summer for an autumn harvest. The seeds germinate reliably in mild soil conditions and need only a thin layer of soil as a covering. Older clumps can be divided in early spring or autumn: carefully dig up the rootstock and separate it with a sharp spade into strong pieces. This way you quickly get new, strong plants that keep growing immediately.
For your garden
Grow Patience dock yourself
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