Curly Chicory Laury plants - Cichorium endivia crispum

The Laury Frisée Chicory is an early variety, ideal for spring, summer, and early autumn harvest. This salad has a wide, tightly packed, and abundant yellow heart, as well as finely curled leaves. Highly resistant to bolting, it is also easy to blanch.

Frisée Chicory is a vegetable plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. Its Latin name is Cichorium endivia crispum, and it is also known as Curly Endive,  without being a common endive in the usual sense. It originates from wild chicory that is naturally found in meadows and along roadsides.

Frisée Chicories have a rosette habit and green, finely cut, and curly leaves. Some varieties need to be temporarily deprived of light to remove any potential bitterness, while others naturally blanch. The Laury variety needs to be protected from light by placing a blanching bell on the chicory 10 to 15 days before harvesting.

They are quite hardy but are slightly more susceptible to winter harshness than wild chicories. Therefore, it is advisable to provide some protection, such as forcing cloches or tunnels, in particularly cold regions.

In the garden, they thrive in moderately rich soil that is rather moist but well-drained.

Frisée Chicory leaves are mainly consumed raw in salads, but they can also be cooked in juices, gratins, with cream, braised, or in béchamel sauce.

Chicories all have tonic, purifying, and slightly laxative properties.

Harvest: Chicories are harvested as needed and as they grow.

Storage: They can be stored for a few days in a cool place after harvesting.

Gardening tip: Regular hoeing and weeding are recommended, and mulching is advised in case of drought.

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them in sheltered areas (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before being planted outdoors once the risk of frost is definitively eliminated.