Palla Rosa Radicchio, Heirloom Seeds

Palla Rosa Radicchio, Heirloom Seeds — The Italian Bitter Green With Dense Round Heads and Jewel-Toned Color

Palla Rosa Radicchio (Cichorium intybus) is the classic Italian bitter green — a beautiful, dense, round-headed variety with deep red-purple leaves and white ribs that is as ornamental as it is delicious. The pleasantly bitter flavor mellows significantly after cooking, making radicchio exceptional grilled, roasted, braised, or added to risotto and pasta. Raw, the crisp, slightly bitter leaves add color and complexity to salads and antipasto. A cool-season crop that develops its best color and flavor in cool weather — frost sweetens and deepens the characteristic bitterness into something genuinely complex and satisfying.

Why Grow Palla Rosa Radicchio?

• Dense, round heads — beautiful deep red-purple with white ribs
• Pleasantly bitter flavor — mellows beautifully when grilled, roasted, or braised
• Frost sweetens and deepens flavor — best after cool weather
• Versatile in the kitchen — raw in salads, grilled, roasted, braised, or in risotto
• Ornamental and edible — stunning color in the garden and on the plate
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

Direct sow outdoors in late summer for fall harvest, or start indoors 4–6 weeks before last frost for spring planting. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep, 2–3 inches apart. Thin to 8–10 inches. Full sun to part shade. Keep soil consistently moist. Heads develop best color and flavor in cool weather — plant for fall harvest for best results.

Days to maturity: 70–80 days
Type: Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Annual
Spacing: 8–10 inches
Sun: Full sun to part shade
USDA Zones: 3–12