Sarah Stierch · CC BY 4.0
Salsify
Plant·Tragopogon porrifolius
Full sun
Sun
Medium
Water
Well-drained soil
Drainage
Zones 5–9
Hardiness
Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has moderate water needs.
Through the year
DormantLeafing outFloweringFruitingDying back
Works well with
from wiki dataNo companions recorded.
WHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs moderate water
Needs well-drained soil
Prefers soil pH 6.5–7.5
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Prefers loam, sandy loam soil
Struggles in compacted soil
Draws up potassium, calcium from deep in the soil
Adds a moderate amount of organic matter to the soil
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives mulch biomass (moderate)
Provides potassium
Provides calcium
Attracts pollinators
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Herbaceous
Height60–120 cm
Spacing15 cm (min 10 cm)
Root depthTaproot
Width15–30 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by seed
Difficulty
Establishes in about 1 yr
Self-seeds readily on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
Photograph Sarah Stierch · CC BY 4.0