PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Brassicaceae FAMILY

Crambe kotschyana

Crambe kotschyana

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

An easily grown plant, succeeding in a good loam and an open sunny position[1]. Prefers a slightly alkaline soil in a position sheltered from strong winds[2]. Tolerates poor soil and some shade[2]. Dislikes acid soils[1]. Prefers a rather dry soil[3]. Plants are hardy to about -20°c[3]. A deep-rooted plant[4], it dislikes root disturbance[5]. Plants can be grown in the summer meadow if the grass is not cut too low (since this would damage the growing point)[2]. A good bee plant[6]. Very closely related to C. cordifolia[2] and considered by some botanists to be no more than a variety of that species, differing mainly in its larger flowers[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a seedbed outdoors and either thin the plants out or move them to their permanent positions when about 10cm tall[7]. The young plants are very attractive to slugs so some protection will often be needed. Germination can be slow so it is best to sow the seed in pots in a cold frame[5]. Germination usually takes place in 3 - 26 weeks at 15°c[5]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out into their permanent positions when they are at least 10cm tall. Division in spring or autumn[1, 7]. Dig up the root clump and cut off as many sections as you require, making sure they all have at least one growing point. The larger of these divisions can be planted out straight into their permanent positions, though small ones are best potted up and grown on in a cold frame until they are established. Root cuttings, 3 - 10 cm long, in spring[8]. These can be planted straight into the open ground or you can pot them up in the greenhouse and plant them out once they are growing strongly. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Crambe+kotschyana>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  4. [4]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  5. [5]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  6. [6]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [7]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  8. [8]The Garden. Volume 111. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including an article on Crambe maritima and another on several species thought to be tender that are succeeding in a S. Devon garden.
  9. [9]Flowers of the Himalayas. — Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. · Oxford Universtiy Press · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.
  10. [10]Forest Flora of Srinagar. — Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
  11. [11]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  12. [12]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.