Not all endives are created equal! If you’ve ever browsed the seed racks at your local garden center, you’ve probably noticed there are a ton of different varieties to choose from. It can be a little overwhelming to pick the right one for your backyard patch. To help you get your bearings, I’ve put together a quick guide on the most popular varieties and what makes each one special.
How to Pick the Perfect Variety
The biggest thing you need to consider when choosing a variety is when you actually want to eat your salad. You can harvest endives in the late summer or well into the early winter, which is why we categorize them into summer and winter types. Summer endives are sown earlier in the season and harvested sooner—perfect for those refreshing July and August meals. Winter endives, on the other hand, are planted a bit later and can be grown for harvest from November through December.
As you might guess, winter varieties are much hardier and can handle the chill. There’s one more big difference to keep in mind: storage. If you’re looking to stock up and eat your greens later, stick with the winter varieties. Summer endives are best enjoyed fresh from the garden, as they don’t hold up well in storage.
A Quick Guide to Popular Varieties
Here’s a breakdown of some of the top endive varieties, organized by when you should get them in the ground and when they’ll be ready for your dinner table.
- ‘Breedblad’: Sow outdoors July–August / Harvest in September
- ‘Eminence’: Sow outdoors June–August / Harvest before the first frost
- ‘Grobo’: Sow outdoors June–August / Harvest before the first frost
- ‘Diva’: Sow outdoors June–July / Harvest July–September
- ‘Bionda A Cuore Pieno’: Sow outdoors June–September / Harvest September–December
- ‘Scarola Cornetto Di Bordeaux’: Sow outdoors June–September / Harvest September–December
- ‘Yellow Full Heart’ (Sommer-Endivien gelber vollherziger): Sow outdoors June–July / Harvest before the first frost
- ‘Escariol’ (Winter variety): Sow outdoors June–August / Harvest before the first frost
A few other great varieties to look out for:
- ‘Winterendivie Escariol’
- ‘Romanesca Da Taglio’
- ‘Römische Krausblättrige’ (Roman Fringed)
- ‘Bubikopf 3 Sel. Compacta’
- ‘Eros’
- ‘Chrono’ (a fantastic Frisée type)
