Planting guide

When to plant radicchio

Red-and-white Italian chicory that turns sweeter and tighter in cool weather. In Melbourne it goes in Dec–Mar.

Start as: Seed, sown in place or Seedling
Ready in: 10–16 wks
Spacing: 25 cm
Depth: 0.5 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Regular
Effort: Some care
Frost-tender: No

When it goes in

● means radicchio can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Melbourne	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Brisbane	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Perth	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Adelaide	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Gold Coast	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Newcastle	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Sunshine Coast	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Canberra	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Central Coast	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Geelong	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Wollongong	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Hobart	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Townsville	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cairns	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Toowoomba	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Darwin	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Ballarat	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Mandurah	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Bendigo	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Launceston	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Mackay	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Rockhampton	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Coffs Harbour	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Blue Mountains	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Bunbury	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Bundaberg	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Alice Springs	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Mildura	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Port Macquarie	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Wellington	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Christchurch	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
London	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Chicago	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Toronto	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Johannesburg	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Singapore	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Mumbai	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Paris	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant radicchio

Sow seed 5 mm deep in late summer or autumn.
Thin to 25 cm apart.
Water evenly; heads redden as it cools.
Cut when firm; a trimmed stump may regrow.

Radicchio varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Red Ball Classicheirloom · 11–14 wksRound red heads like a classic
Palla Rossa Classiccolourful · 11–14 wksRound red-white heads
Treviso Adventurouscolourful · cold-hardy · 13–17 wksElongated, upright heads
Castelfranco Adventurouscolourful · mild · heirloom · 11–16 wksCream-and-speckled red; mild and buttery
Rosa Di Verona Adventurouscolourful · 11–16 wksItalian winter radicchio

Where to buy seeds

Search on Seeds of Plenty Search on Happy Valley Seeds Search on The Diggers Club Search on Amazon

Shop links may earn us a commission. It never changes what we recommend.

Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Lettuce, Carrot, Onion

Radicchio by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Lettuce · Spinach · Silverbeet · Kale · Rocket · Bok Choy

Not sure radicchio is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now