🥬 Witloof Flash Chicory

What it looks like

Why this variety

Flash is the late-season answer in the classic witloof pairing: where Zoom covers early to midwinter forcing, Flash is the variety recommended for forcing through March, holding its roots in storage and producing chicons after early types are finished. Growing both is how forcing gardens stretch one root crop into a whole winter of salads.

Late forcing matters because stored roots lose vigor over time — a variety bred to hold and force late keeps its quality when an early type would give thin, loose heads. If you have only one forcing batch a year, Flash is the one that lets you wait until you actually want the harvest.

How to grow

Sow in fall in Florida, thinning to 8–12 inches apart, and grow roots through winter. Store lifted roots cool and dark until you are ready to force, and force the latest roots last.

In Florida, witloof is a winter project, not a summer crop: sow in fall, grow the roots through the cool months, lift them in late winter, and force the chicons indoors in a dark, cool spot. Witloof needs 110–130 cool days to make forcing-size roots, and it bolts if planted in warm weather — so the Florida window is fall-sown roots, winter forcing, and no summer attempts. If you cannot give the forcing roots a dark place at about 50–60°F, a cool garage or a spare fridge shelf for the forcing stage is the honest workaround.

Water & feeding

In the garden, witloof wants steady, moderate water while roots size up — about an inch a week, at the base, with mulch to hold it. Do not overfeed: rich, heavily fertilized soil makes forked, hairy roots that force poorly. In the forcing stage, keep the growing medium moist but not soggy, and keep it dark — light is the enemy of a pale, mild chicon.

Common problems

• Premature bolting — warm weather or a late planting sends plants to seed before roots size up. Sow in fall for winter roots, and do not sow witloof for summer harvest.
• Green, bitter chicons — light leaking into the forcing area. Check for light leaks, cover containers completely, and harvest promptly; even brief light exposure greens the heads and sharpens the bitterness.
• Rot in forcing — soggy medium or warm forcing temperatures. Keep the medium moist, not wet, and hold forcing at about 50–60°F with airflow.
• Small roots, small chicons — crowded plants or poor soil. Thin properly, give roots a full season, and lift only roots 1–2 inches thick at the crown.
• Aphids and slugs in the garden stage — blast aphids with water, use beer traps for slugs, and keep the bed weeded so roots grow straight.

Harvest

Force late roots in the last part of the season, allowing 3–6 weeks in darkness, and cut chicons at 5–6 inches when firm. Because Flash holds well, you can time the last batch for when the garden has little else fresh.

Saving seeds

Flash is the late-season answer in the classic witloof pairing: where Zoom covers early to midwinter forcing, Flash is the variety recommended for forcing through March, holding its roots in storage and producing chicons after early types are finished. Growing both is how forcing gardens stretch one root crop into a whole winter of salads. Late forcing matters because stored roots lose vigor over time — a variety bred to hold and force late keeps its quality when an early type would give thin, loose heads. If you have only one forcing batch a year, Flash is the one that lets you wait until you actually want the harvest. Flash is a hybrid — Maroto’s witloof variety survey lists it among the hybrid varieties, alongside Zoom — so seed saved from it will not come true to Flash: buy a fresh packet each year. The full method is in the Saving seeds section of the Witloof Chicory guide.