Salad Burnet Seeds (Sanguisorba minor)

A hardy perennial with finely divided leaves and unique crimson flower heads that add quiet character to wildflower meadows, grasslands, and herbal borders. Loved for its long flowering period and subtle flavour, it’s as useful as it is beautiful.

Key Features:

• Finely cut foliage with a soft, cucumber-like scent and taste
• Valuable nectar source for a range of pollinators
• Drought-tolerant perennial returning year after year
• Approx. 300 seeds per 1g

Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is an understated but quietly charming wildflower, forming neat, ferny rosettes of soft green leaves that stay attractive throughout the growing season. Above the foliage rise slender stems topped with rounded, deep pink to crimson flower heads, which seem to hover lightly over the sward from late spring into early autumn.

This is a resilient and adaptable plant, typically growing to around 20–50 cm tall. The leaves have a fresh, slightly nutty flavour with a gentle cucumber note, making them a traditional addition to salads, herb mixes, and garnishes. But even where not harvested, the foliage forms a valuable ground layer in wildflower plantings, suppressing weeds and helping to stabilise light soils.

The flowers themselves are modest in size but full of detail, and they offer a steady supply of nectar to bees, hoverflies, and other pollinating insects over many weeks. Unlike many other meadow plants, Salad Burnet keeps its structure and interest well into late summer, and its tidy growth makes it easy to weave into more managed or ornamental schemes.

It thrives in open, sunny spots and is particularly at home in dry, chalky or free-draining soils, though it will tolerate heavier ground if it’s not prone to waterlogging. Once established, it is extremely low maintenance and will return reliably year after year.

Salad Burnet can be sown in autumn (August–October) or spring (March–May). Autumn sowing often brings earlier flowering and stronger root development, while spring sowings may be slower to establish but still flower in the first year if conditions are good.

To sow, prepare a weed-free, finely raked seedbed, scatter the seed thinly and cover lightly, a thin dusting of soil or compost is enough. Gently firm the surface to ensure good contact between the seed and soil.

Germination is usually steady, and seedlings emerge with distinct, toothed leaves. The plant forms a low-growing rosette in its first stage, and in most cases will begin flowering in the same season. From the second year onward, it becomes more robust and flowers more freely.

For garden applications direct sow at 1g/m2. For overseeding existing meadow planting or for new sowings on larger areas sow at a maximum of 2g/m2.

Salad Burnet is ideal for wildflower meadows, species-rich lawns, chalk banks, herbal walkways, and edible gardens. Its nectar-rich flowers attract bees and hoverflies throughout the summer months, and its evergreen rosettes help provide year-round interest and structure. It also plays a quiet but useful role in improving soil structure and supporting biodiversity at ground level.

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Garden lawn seed, wildflower seeds, and wildflower seed mixtures are typically dispatched within 1 to 3 working days.

Products from our agricultural, landscaping, and equine ranges may be shipped separately as they are mixed to order.

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Q1: Is Salad Burnet edible?

A: Yes, the young leaves have a mild cucumber flavour and are traditionally used in salads, herb butters and cold drinks. Best harvested before flowering for the freshest taste.

Q2: Will it flower in the first year?

A: Often, yes. Spring-sown plants can flower by midsummer in good conditions. Autumn sowings usually flower early the following year.

Q3: Can it cope with dry soil?

A: Very well, Salad Burnet is naturally adapted to dry, chalky and poor soils. Once established, it is drought-tolerant and thrives in low-input areas.

Q4: How tall does it get?

A: The foliage stays low to the ground (around 10–20 cm), with flowering stems reaching up to 50 cm depending on site and soil.