Caucasian Mountain Spinach
$4.00
(Hablitzia tamnoides)
A most interesting perennial green, because it combines a pleasant flavour and shade tolerance. Hablitzia (we always refer to it by its Latin genus name) is a vine, which sends out many shoots in the spring. You can eat some of the shoots or allow them to grow and pick individual leaves for eating. The taste is like mild spinach, and it can be eaten raw or cooked. Hablitzia is a forest understory plant in its native habitat, the Caucasus Mountains which divide Europe and Asia; so it does not need full sun (and may resent it, if the soil is dry). We have our plants against east- and west-facing walls so that they are shaded for half the day, and that seems to keep them happy. Once established, the vines will easily grow 8’/2.6 m high, so it needs a trellis. Unlike any other vine we have seen, it hangs onto its trellis by bending its petioles around the support, so it needs thin supports; we use string.
30 seeds/packet.
Out of stock
Perennial. Seeds must be stratified to sprout. Scatter seed on surface of starting mix and just barely cover; keep soil moist, and put in a fridge or cold cellar until the seedlings emerge (putting the pot in a plastic bag helps to keep the humidity higher). They should sprout in approximately a month; if they still haven’t made an appearance after that time, take them out anyway and they should emerge. When they emerge, take them to a cool place where they can get gentle, indirect light outdoors or in an unheated room. Keep them watered, and transplant when the seedlings have grown a bit larger. Plants will be small the first year and much larger in subsequent years; plant them 12-16” apart, and make sure that they have space to climb with a trellis at least 8’ tall.