# Wild Chicory: Identify, Plant and Care for It

> Wild chicory (Cichorium intybus) grows 0.3 to 1.2 m tall and flowers light blue in July and August. How to identify, plant and care for this full-sun plant.

Canonical: https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/wild-chicory
Last updated: 2026-09-28

*Cichorium intybus*

![One clump of wild chicory alone in a bed of dark soil in front of a wooden fence, in July: a rosette of cut leaves with stiff, branching stems full of light blue flowers](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/wilde-cichorei-0f60c6fe.webp)

Published: 2026-09-28

Wild chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a perennial with light blue flowers. Its
stiff, branching stems grow 30 centimetres to 1.2 metres tall. In July and
August the plant carries flower heads about 2 to 4 centimetres across. It
wants full sun and soil where water drains away freely.

## Wild Chicory at a Glance

| Feature | Wild Chicory |
| --- | --- |
| Height | 0.3 to 1.2 m |
| Spread | 0.5 to 1 m |
| Full grown after | 1 to 2 years |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil | Free-draining, preferably chalky |
| Water | Little: a long taproot |
| Maintenance | Low: no pruning needed |
| Flowers | July and August, light blue |
| For bees | Yes: nectar and pollen, July to September |
| Hay fever | Not or weakly allergenic |
| Leaves | Drop in autumn |
| Hardy | Yes |
| Native | Yes |
| Poisonous | No, as far as known |
| Pricks or stings | No |
| Price, young | About €1.90 to €4.61 each, 5 to 10 cm, in a small pot |
| Price, grown | About €6.50 to €7.99 each, in a larger pot |

- **Leaf**: April to October
- **Flower**: July to August
- **Fruit**: no noticeable fruit

![Young, roughly hairy stem of wild chicory in spring, leaves only: coarsely toothed, lance-shaped leaves that clasp the stem at their base](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/wilde-cichorei-leaf-fe36b529.webp)
*Leaf*

![Two open flower heads of wild chicory on a stiff stem: flat rings of narrow, light blue petals with a toothed tip, with closed buds beside them](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/wilde-cichorei-bloom-c0ecf595.webp)
*Flower*

## How Do You Recognise Wild Chicory?

Start at the base of the plant. There sits a rosette of long, deeply cut
leaves, a little like a dandelion's. Higher up the stem carries few leaves.
Those stem leaves are smaller and less cut, and their base clasps the stem.

The stems are stiff, grooved and dull green, and usually roughly hairy.
Because they branch so much, the plant looks like a small broom. A milky sap
runs inside the stems.

Flower heads sit spread along the branches and at the forks. Each head is
made only of narrow, flat petals with a toothed tip. Almost all of them are
light blue, very rarely pink or white.

Cornflower also carries blue heads. Its flowers sit alone on a stem, not in a
row along the branches. Around the edge sit about eight wide trumpets, much
longer than the florets in the middle.

> **Did you know?**
>
> Belgian chicory is the same species as wild chicory. The pale heads sold in
> shops grow from cultivated chicory roots forced to sprout in the dark.

## Where Does Wild Chicory Grow Best?

Give wild chicory a spot in full sun. Such a spot gets more than six hours of
direct sunlight a day around midsummer. The soil may be sand, loam or chalk.
Compacted ground is no problem: in the wild the plant grows on verges, along
dykes and next to walls. The species originally comes from the region around
the Mediterranean. It arrived in the Netherlands before 1500, so it has grown
here for centuries.

Two spots go wrong:

- **In a pot.** Even in its first year the plant makes a taproot as much as
  75 centimetres long. A pot is too small for a root like that.
- **Where water stands after rain.** The roots need soil that lets water
  drain away well.

In autumn everything above ground dies back, but the root lives on. If you
cut the dead stems back, only bare soil and short stubs are left by January.

![A border in front of a wooden fence in two halves: on the left in July a wide clump of wild chicory full of light blue flowers, on the right the same spot in January with only bare soil and short cut stems, with a green box ball at each end](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/wilde-cichorei-1-2a7078e9.webp)
*The same border in July and in January. This is a generated image, not a photo.*

A clump grows half a metre to a metre wide. Whether a group of them fits
beside your terrace is something you check on a map of your own plot. The
app draws that to scale, with the houses around it.

## Planting and Care

A plant from a pot can go into the ground all year round, as long as the
soil is not frozen or waterlogged. March to early May and late September to
October work best, because the soil is moist then. Sowing works too, straight
into the spot where the plant should stand.

Space the plants 50 centimetres to a metre apart. On planting day that looks
like a lot of room, because a young plant is only 5 to 10 centimetres. Water
well after planting. Keep the soil moist through the first year, even though
the plant can later cope with dry spells.

Pruning is not needed. Only the dead stems come off:

| When | What you do |
| --- | --- |
| Autumn | Cut off dead stems, or leave them standing until March |
| From March | Cut back what still stands upright, just above the ground |

The breeding season runs for many birds from March to the end of July. Some
breed more than once and continue into August. If you cut back during that
time, check for nests first.

## What Can Go Wrong?

**The leaves are covered in a white powder.** That is powdery mildew, a
fungus. Cut off affected stems straight away. Water regularly in dry spells,
because that helps against the mildew.

**Ragged holes appear in the leaves.** Those are slugs and snails,
recognisable by their slime trails. Young plants suffer the most. Look for
them in the evening with a torch and move them elsewhere.

**No flowers appear.** A plant grown from seed makes only a rosette and a
root in its first year. The flowers come only in the second year.

**All the flowers are closed in the afternoon.** That is normal. They open
in the morning and close as the afternoon goes on.

## Which Birds and Insects Use It?

The caterpillars of the marbled clover moth (Heliothis viriplaca) eat wild
chicory. From July to October they live on the flowers and the unripe seeds.
This moth is rare and listed as vulnerable on the Red List. You see it mostly
in the dunes.

The large-headed resin bee (Heriades truncorum), a small solitary bee,
collects pollen from chicory. It is not her favourite flower, but she visits
it anyway.

In one bird garden in Oost-Groningen, wild chicory appeared on its own. The
goldfinches there are very fond of it.

## Is Wild Chicory Poisonous or Edible?

As far as is known, wild chicory is not poisonous. Root, leaves and flowers
are edible. The leaves taste bitter, especially once the plant flowers.
Dried and roasted roots give a kind of coffee with no caffeine. Around 1800,
in Napoleon's time, people often drank it instead of expensive coffee.

The photos on this page were made with AI, based on real photos and descriptions of this plant.

## Frequently asked questions

### How tall does wild chicory grow?

Usually 30 centimetres to 1.2 metres. A full-grown clump spreads half a metre to a metre wide.

### Is wild chicory a native plant?

Yes, it has grown here since before the year 1500. Wild chicory originally comes from the region around the Mediterranean.

### Is wild chicory poisonous?

No, not as far as is known. Root, leaves and flowers are edible, but the leaves taste bitter.

### Why do wild chicory flowers close in the afternoon?

That is normal. The flowers open in the morning and close as the afternoon goes on.

## Sources

- [Duistermaat, Sparrius & Denters, Standaardlijst van de Nederlandse flora 2020 (Gorteria 43)](https://natuurtijdschriften.nl/pub/1019223)
- [NDFF Verspreidingsatlas — Cichorium intybus](https://www.verspreidingsatlas.nl/0325)
- [Flora van Nederland — Wilde cichorei](https://www.floravannederland.nl/planten/wilde_cichorei)
- [Nederlandse Vereniging van Botanische Tuinen — Wilde cichorei](https://www.botanischetuinen.nl/nl/plant/355/wilde-cichorei)
- [RHS — Cichorium intybus (chicory)](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/41554/cichorium-intybus/details)
- [RHS — Shade gardening (definities zon en schaduw)](https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=934)
- [RHS — Perennials: planting](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/perennials/planting)
- [RHS — Perennials: cutting back](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/perennials/cutting-back)
- [RHS — Powdery mildews](https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/powdery-mildews)
- [RHS — Slugs and snails](https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/slugs-and-snails)
- [PFAF — Cichorium intybus](https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cichorium+intybus)
- [Imkerpedia — Drachtplanten](https://www.imkerpedia.nl/wiki/index.php/Drachtplanten)
- [Pollennieuws / Flora van Nederland — Aandachtspunten hooikoorts vriendelijke tuin](https://www.pollennieuws.nl/post/?permalink=aandachtspunten-hooikoorts-vriendelijke-tuin)
- [NDFF Verspreidingsatlas — Centaurea cyanus (korenbloem)](https://www.verspreidingsatlas.nl/0279)
- [De Vlinderstichting — Lichte daguil](https://vlinderstichting.nl/vlinders/overzicht-vlinders/details-vlinder/lichte-daguil)
- [EIS Kenniscentrum Insecten (Bestuivers.nl) — Gasten van bijenhotels, hoofdstuk 13: Tronkenbijen in nestblokken](https://www.bestuivers.nl/Portals/5/Publicaties/Bijengasten_Hoofdstukken/Bijenhotelgasten_h13.pdf)
- [Vogelbescherming — Schapen eruit, vogels erin](https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/actueel/bericht/schapen-eruit-vogels-erin)
- [Vogelbescherming — Snoeien in het broedseizoen, mag dat?](https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/actueel/bericht/snoeien-in-het-broedseizoen-mag-dat)
- [Heijnen Planten — Wilde cichorei (prijs)](https://www.heijnen-planten.nl/wilde-cichorei-cichorium-intybus-5-10-pot-p9)
- [De Cruydt-Hoeck — Wilde cichorei (prijs)](https://www.cruydthoeck.nl/wilde-cichorei-cichorium-intybus)
- [Puur van 't Veld — Wilde cichorei (prijs)](https://www.puurvantveld.eu/Wilde-cichorei-Cichorium-intybus-Bio-vaste-plant)
- [Vogelbeschermingshop — Wilde cichorei (prijs)](https://www.vogelbeschermingshop.nl/wilde-cichorei-biologisch)
- [Wikimedia Commons — Leaf: photo by AnRo0002 (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20200524Cichorium_intybus1.jpg)
- [Wikimedia Commons — Flower: photo by AnRo0002 (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20160706Cichorium_intybus1.jpg)

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