Watercress
Nasturtium officinale. BRASSICACEAE (CRUCIFERAE).
Planting and Growing Watercress
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow watercress in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of watercress
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for watercress
- Season of bloom and planting time for watercress
- When, how deep, and where to plant watercress
- How to plant watercress
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of watercress
- Landscape and container uses of watercress
- Comments about watercress and its features
Growing Watercress
Several cultivars of edible, branching, creeping, trailing, evergreen perennial herbs, 8–30 in. (20–75 cm) long or wide. Shiny, bright green, round, divided leaves, 6 in. (15 cm) wide, with 3–11 fleshy leaflets, to 1 in. (25 mm) wide.
See also Garden nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, an unrelated, annual plant with different care needs.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many tiny, white, 4-petaled flowers, 1/4–1/2‑in. (6–12‑mm) wide, in clusters to 1 in. (25 mm) long, in spring–autumn.
Best Climates
Hardy. Zones 3–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Wet to moist humus or, in water features, shallow-depth marginal sites. Fertility: Average. 7.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Early spring in full to filtered sun, 6 in. (15 cm) apart, or submerged to depth of crown.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Sensitive to water pollution. Fertilize monthly until flower buds form; use organic fertilizers and avoid herbicides and pesticides if grown for food. Propagate by cuttings, division, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, containers, edgings, ground covers in bog, natural, shade, woodland, vegetable gardens or water feature margins. Edible salad leafy green, with sharp, peppery flavor. Invasive. Pest and disease resistant.