Diplotaxis tenuifolia
perennial wall-rocket
Mediterranean and central and southern Europe
Overview
Diplotaxis tenuifolia is a hairless, branching perennial of dry, open ground, 12-32 inches (30-80 cm) tall, with a woody base and a pungent smell when its leaves are crushed. The grey-green leaves are deeply cut into narrow lobes, mostly gathered low on the plant. From May to October it produces loose sprays of four-petalled yellow flowers, each 0.4-0.6 inches (10-15 mm) across, over a very long season. The slender seed pods stand on short stalks and hold their seeds in two rows, a feature that gives the genus its name. It grows on walls, rubble, railway ballast, roadsides, car parks, and other dry, disturbed, often lime-rich ground, and tolerates drought, heat, and poor soil. The plant is the wild rocket of salads, its peppery leaves picked young, and it is grown commercially as a cut-and-come-again crop. It self-seeds and resprouts from the woody base, persisting for several years where the ground stays open. In mild areas it keeps some basal leaves through winter, dying back harder in cold spells. It can spread into weedy stands on neglected hard ground.
Native Range
Native to the Mediterranean region and central and southern Europe. It has spread widely as a naturalized plant across northern Europe, North America, and other temperate areas, often along railways and roadsides.Suggested Uses
Grown as the wild rocket salad leaf in kitchen gardens and containers, and used in dry wildflower, gravel, and pollinator plantings on poor soil. It suits hot, sunny, free-draining sites. Its spreading, self-seeding habit makes it unsuited to tidy borders or rich, damp ground.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height1' - 2'8"
Width/Spread1' - 1'8"
Reaches mature size in approximately 1 years
Colors
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
grey-greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Diplotaxis tenuifolia grows in full sun on light, free-draining soil of low fertility, pH about 6.0-8.0, and tolerates dry, stony, and chalky ground. It is drought-hardy once established and is intolerant of heavy, wet soils, which can rot the woody base. It is raised easily from seed sown in spring or as a salad crop through the warmer months, and it self-sows where soil is open. As a perennial it regrows from the base for several years and is hardy in mild gardens, roughly USDA zones 6-9. It needs no feeding on average soil and little watering once settled. Cutting the leaves regularly keeps salad growth tender.Pruning
No formal pruning is needed. Shearing back after a flush of flowers brings on fresh leaf growth and limits self-seeding. Old woody stems can be cut to the base in spring to renew the plant.Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing