This sunflower relative (Asteraceae) is native from northeastern India to Nepal, Myanmar, southern China, Taiwan and Japan. It is cultivated throughout eastern Asia including China, Taiwan, Japan and Okinawa.

There are two forms of this species available. The more ornamental type with leaves with a dark green upper surface and dark purple to red lower surface, or a type with leaves that are a light green on both surfaces.

This is one of the easier perennial green leafy vegetables. Many plants grown for salads are a pick-once and plant some more type of situation. Longevity spinach will thrive most anywhere you plant it and provide you with plenty of leaves year-round.

Longevity spinach will grow in pretty much any soil type – from clay to silt to sandy soils. It is not too particular to pH either, doing equally well in very alkaline soils and acidic soils.

It grows best in full sun or partial shade. It doesn’t like full shade, though, even in the heat of summer. It is also quite heat tolerant and doesn’t require a lot of water but is not overly drought tolerant. It may not die in dry situations, but it will stop producing new growth or the leaves may weaken and fall off. It won’t tolerate constantly saturated soils, though. Use a thick layer of mulch to keep soil moisture relatively constant.

Longevity spinach is not a heavy feeder. Use good compost in the initial planting and add a layer of compost once a year, especially in sandy soils. The compost will add all the nutrients the plants need and will also regulate soil moisture.

Because it is low-growing, it can be used as an edible ground cover or on the edges of larger vegetable beds. Or grow it under taller plants like eggplant, kale, or collards.

Longevity spinach is very adaptable to container gardening, and even does just fine in a windowsill that receives plenty of bright or even direct sunlight. Apartment dwellers can have fresh salad fixings pretty much every day from a plant or two in the window.

The leaves and new shoots are harvested. It is best to cut back the stems pull the leaves off those cut stems rather than just pulling the leaves off the plant. Well, you can pull the leaves off the plant, no problem, but the more you prune, the more side shoots you’ll get and the less likelihood of flowering. So trim and shape the plant as you harvest to keep a fresh supply of new growth.

Younger leaves taste better than older leaves, though both are perfectly edible. Use the young leaves raw in salads, mixed with other greens. The purple-leaved type adds nice color to a salad.

Okinawa spinach also fits nicely into the recent green drinks. It can be juiced with other greens or mixed into a smoothie.

Cannot be sent to Western Australia or Tasmania