🎨 AI-generated botanical illustration
🌱 Madder
Rubia tinctorum
dye_plants
perennial
☀️ Sun
full sun to partial shade
💧 Water
moderate
🗺️ Zones
[4,5,6,7,8,9]
🧪 Soil pH
6.0-8.0
🪴 Soil Type
well-drained, deep, sandy loam
📏 Spacing
8-12 inches
📐 Height
2-4 ft (sprawling/climbing)
⏱️ Maturity
3 years for best root harvest
🤝 Companions (4)
🤝 Comfrey
Comfrey provides nutrients for madder's long taproot
🤝 Fruit Trees
Shade-tolerant dye plant beneath orchard trees
🤝 Indigo
Red + blue = purple — the complete historical dye palette in one garden
🤝 Weld
Classic dyer's garden companion — madder (red) + weld (yellow) = orange
⚠️ Keep Apart (1)
⚠️ none — but roots spread aggressively; contain or harvest thoroughly
📝 Growing Notes
THE red dye plant of antiquity. Roots produce alizarin — the pigment that gave British Army 'redcoats' their color, dyed Turkish rugs, and colored medieval illuminated manuscripts. Harvest roots at 3 years for richest color. The dye palette ranges from coral pink to deep brick red depending on mordant and pH.
🛒 Buy Seeds & Plants
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Botanical Interests
True Leaf Market
Burpee
Territorial Seed Company
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