Isatis tinctoria
Woad, Dyer's Woad
- Height × spread
- 1.2m × 0.45m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This was the provider of woad to, among others, Queen Boadicea. Neat in its youth, this has an upright habit, with slim oblong leaves arching outwards and upwards on the flowering stalk. Sprays of small, yellow, flat topped flowers appear in April and May. Visually, the plant goes to pieces after this and presents sprays of brown and black seeds that look dead rather than sophisticated in a border planting. The fermentation process, necessary to produce the dye, results in smells so foul that Queen Elizabeth I forbade such processing within five miles of any of her palaces. Woad was used as recently as the start of the 20th century to dye the police uniforms so it might become a marketable commodity again some day.
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Foliage colour
- Green, Grey
- Fruit colour
- Black
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 1.2m
- Spread
- 0.45m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.