Rocket Wild

Description

Diplotaxis tenuifolia – wild rocket

Botanical name: Diplotaxis tenuifolia
Common names: Wild rocket, perennial wall rocket
Family: Brassicaceae (cabbage family)
Plant type: Perennial herb
Habit: Low, clump-forming, with airy flower stems
Pot size: 1 litre pot
Eventual size: Approx. 30–60cm tall in flower × 30cm spread
Foliage: Deeply cut, aromatic, peppery-scented green leaves
Flowers: Small, four-petalled bright yellow flowers over a long period in summer (June–September)
Scent: Peppery, aromatic foliage
Aspect / light: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained; poor to average; tolerates dry soil; any pH
Hardiness: RHS H5 (hardy, to about −15°C); USDA zones 5–9
Exposure: Open, sunny; drought-tolerant
Native range: Native to Europe and the Mediterranean
Toxicity / pet & child safety: Generally considered non-toxic to people and pets

Diplotaxis tenuifolia, wild rocket, is a hardy perennial herb with deeply cut, peppery-scented leaves and a long summer display of bright yellow flowers. Easy and drought-tolerant, it is loved by bees.

GardenAdvice notes

Unlike the annual salad rocket, wild rocket is a tough, long-lived perennial, forming clumps of deeply cut, aromatic, peppery-scented foliage and producing a long succession of bright yellow flowers through summer. Easy, hardy and drought-tolerant, it thrives on poor, sunny soils, self-seeds happily, and its flowers are a magnet for bees.

Growing & planting

Plant or sow in well-drained soil in full sun — it thrives on poor, dry ground and dislikes rich, wet conditions. It is easy and undemanding, and self-seeds readily. Space about 30cm apart. It grows well in containers and gravel.

Care & maintenance

Very low-maintenance. Cut it back through the season to encourage fresh leafy growth and to control its prolific self-seeding. Water only while establishing; thereafter it is drought-tolerant. It is a tough perennial that returns year after year.

Propagation

• Seed: Sow seed in spring or summer; it also self-seeds very freely.
• Division: Established clumps can be divided in spring.

Pests & diseases

Generally trouble-free, though flea beetle can pepper the leaves with small holes, especially in dry spells. Otherwise easy and robust. It self-seeds prolifically.

Uses in the garden

Useful in herb gardens, gravel, sunny borders and containers; letting it flower makes it a valuable, long-flowering plant for bees, and it self-seeds to weave through informal plantings.

Wildlife value

Wild rocket is an excellent bee plant: its long succession of yellow flowers provides nectar for bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects right through summer.

Toxicity & safety

This herb is generally regarded as non-toxic to people and pets.

GardenAdvice tip

Wild rocket is much tougher and longer-lived than the annual salad type — a hardy perennial that comes back every year and flowers for months. Let some of it flower for the bees, which adore it, but be aware it self-seeds enthusiastically, so cut it back before the seed ripens if you’d rather it didn’t spread.

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