Common sowthistle.

Auf einen Blick

Pflegestufe

Einfach

Pflanzenart

Annual herb

Licht

Full sun to partial shade

Licht im Innenraum

Direkte Sonne

Gießen

Alle 3 bis 7 Tage

Endgröße

3 to 4 feet

Wachstum

Schnell

Winterhärte

USDA 6 bis 10

Blütezeit

Spring to autumn

Pflege

This plant is quite resilient and typically manages itself in most outdoor environments. Watch for aphids or powdery mildew if you are growing it in a container. It thrives best when it has plenty of space and consistent access to sunlight.

Gießen

Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged for best growth.

Düngen

A balanced liquid fertilizer can be applied occasionally if the soil is poor.

Schneiden

Deadhead spent flowers to prevent unwanted seed spread throughout your garden.

Umtopfen

Since it is an annual, you will generally be replanting it from seed each season.

Boden

Well-draining, fertile soil

Boden-pH

6.0 to 7.5

Temperatur

-5 bis 35°C

Luftfeuchtigkeit

30 bis 80%

Trockenheitstoleranz

Mittel

Lebensdauer

Annual, typically 6 to 9 months.

Wildverbiss-Resistenz

Mittel

Sicherheit

Menschen

It is generally considered non toxic to humans.

Kinder

There are no specific safety concerns for children, though the milky sap can be messy.

Kontaktallergene

The milky sap can cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals.

Allergene in der Luft

Pollen may cause mild allergic reactions in susceptible people.

Essbarkeit

While young leaves are edible, older leaves become bitter and may contain high levels of nitrates if grown in nitrogen rich soil.

So erkennst du die Pflanze

• Yellow dandelion like flower heads
• Leaves with prickly, toothed margins
• Hollow, brittle stems with milky sap
• Basal rosette of lobed leaves

Höhe

0,3 bis 1m

Breite

0,2 bis 0,5m

Blätter

green, blue-green, deciduous

Blüten

yellow, 1,5 bis 2,5cm

Früchte

brown, Summer to autumn

Häufige Probleme

• Aphids — Small insects that cluster on new growth and flower buds.
• Powdery mildew — A fungal infection causing white dusty patches on leaves.

Standort und Pflege

Vermehrung

seed

Pflanzzeit

spring, autumn

Überwinterung

It usually dies back after the first hard frost, so no special care is needed.

Im Kübel

It grows easily in pots, but is rarely cultivated intentionally due to its weedy nature.

Keep it away from your primary vegetable beds to prevent it from becoming a nuisance.

Gute Pflanzpartner

• Lettuce — They share similar growing requirements.

Ähnliche Arten

• Löwenzahn — Both have yellow flowers and similar rosette growth habits.
• spiny sowthistle — It looks very similar but has sharper, pricklier leaf edges.

Botanisches

Familie

Asteraceae

Gattung

Sonchus

Ordnung

Asterales

Klasse

Magnoliopsida

Ursprüngliche Heimat

Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia.

Artenschutz

It is a widespread weed and is not of conservation concern.

It thrives in disturbed habitats like roadsides and gardens where it quickly outcompetes other plants for light.

Nutzen für Wildtiere

nectar source, larval host plant

Bestäuber

Bienen, Schmetterlinge, Käfer

Verwendung

edible greens, poultry feed, medicinal tea

Taxonomie abgeglichen mit GBIF.

Häufige Fragen

Is Sonchus oleraceus a weed?

Yes, it is widely considered an agricultural and garden weed due to its rapid growth.

Can I eat it?

Yes, young leaves are often eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach.

Woher der Name kommt

The genus name Sonchus comes from the Greek word for hollow, referring to the stems, while oleraceus means vegetable or garden herb.

Gut zu wissen

• Commonly known as sow thistle because it was traditionally fed to nursing sows.
• The leaves are often compared to dandelion greens in flavor.
• It is a highly successful colonizer of disturbed soils worldwide.
• The plant contains a milky latex sap that flows when stems are broken.