Oyster plant - Mertensies
Also known as vegetable oyster, this perennial, creeping plant offers fleshy, bluish-green leaves with an incredible oyster flavor. They can be eaten raw, cooked or marinated in vinegar like glasswort.
Delicate to grow, this plant prefers to be potted, except in oceanic coastal areas where it will thrive.
Mertensia maritima seeds need to be cold-stratified for 4 to 6 weeks to lift their dormancy: place the seed sachet in the fridge during this period, before sowing. Sow in a warm place, between 15 and 20°C, in a bucket or tray filled with a substrate made up of 50% sand and 50% special potting soil. Barely cover the seeds and keep the substrate moist, but not soggy, until emergence. Transplant seedlings at the 4 or 5-leaf stage into individual cups.
In its natural habitat, mertensia is a spontaneous seaside plant found in the dunes along the French coast. It is best grown in pots, in a substrate composed of 50% sand and 50% potting soil, with regular watering to keep the substrate fresh, but above all, without excess humidity, which could cause the roots to rot.
February, March, April
June, July, August, September
in the ground, in pot
semi-shade
medium
coast
fees, light, drained
Mertensia maritima
50 seeds
Green-Gray
From 15 to 20 cm
