Growing Scorzonera: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · July 24, 2026
Scorzonera is often sold alongside salsify and grown the same way, but its root has a distinctive black skin over white flesh. Peeled and cooked, it shares salsify’s mild, faintly oyster-like flavor.
Sowing and digging
Direct-sow seed in early to mid spring, 1/2 inch deep, thinning seedlings to 2-3 inches apart. Like salsify, it’s a genuine long-season crop. Roots are dug in late fall after a full season of growth, and a light frost beforehand sweetens the flavor.
The taproot doesn’t forgive disturbance
The long taproot doesn’t tolerate transplanting, so direct-sow only and thin seedlings promptly rather than letting them crowd each other. Keep the seedbed consistently moist until germination, which can be slow. A uniform variety like Enorma helps here too: even germination and even root size mean less guesswork about which seedlings to keep when you thin.
The same deep bed as carrot and parsnip
Give scorzonera the same deep, well-drained soil as carrot, parsnip, and salsify, and plan for it to hold its bed space for most of the growing season.
Sources: Salsify and Scorzonera Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds; Enorma - Organic Scorzonera Seed, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Scorzonera (Black Salsify) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 3-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1-2 ft
Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. It doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.
When to plant scorzonera (black salsify), by zone
Every zone scorzonera (black salsify) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3a & 3b | Not usually | May 30–Jun 6 | Sep 27–Oct 4 |
| 4a & 4b | Not usually | May 15–May 22 | Sep 12–Sep 19 |
| 5a & 5b | Not usually | May 10–May 17 | Sep 7–Sep 14 |
| 6a & 6b | Not usually | Apr 25–May 2 | Aug 23–Aug 30 |
| 7a & 7b | Not usually | Apr 10–Apr 17 | Aug 8–Aug 15 |
| 8a & 8b | Not usually | Mar 25–Apr 1 | Jul 23–Jul 30 |
| 9a & 9b | Not usually | Feb 15–Feb 22 | Jun 15–Jun 22 |
Harvest dates are about 120 days after the sow or plant-out date.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Scorzonera (Black Salsify) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-2 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Enorma (Scorzonera hispanica): Straight-species scorzonera seed can produce roots of wildly different sizes in the same row. Enorma is bred for long, straight, uniform black roots (9-11 inches by about 3/4 inch), which matters a lot for a root you're digging by hand out of a foot of soil and trying not to snap. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy scorzonera seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries scorzonera seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing scorzonera (black salsify)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Scorzonera (Black Salsify): Salsify's black-skinned cousin, grown the same way and prized for the same mild, oyster-like flavor.
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