Platycodon grandiflorus- Balloon Flower
Anyone grow this and harvest the roots to eat?
I just put some seeds out in my garden. I’ve tried before with no luck.
It’s also nice to have some blue flowers. Ornamental and edible is cool with me.
In maybe three years…
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I’m certain I’ve eaten it as 반찬 (ban-chan, meaning “side dish”) in Korea. It was alright, and I would definitely eat it with no issues when served. I am not sure I’d find the motivation to process the roots myself though. I did try growing it and it did well enough for a few years when I had it in pots, but did not return after planting them in ground. Because hardiness wasn’t the issue in my location, I suspect that something underground may have found the roots tasty (hence why it grew fine in pots, but disappeared after a season in ground).
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I have a few. They are slow to get going from seed. Planted them for ornamental purposes, but I might try digging them next year. I do like how they taste. A bonus is that they bloom in July for me, which is a quieter time in the garden after the early summer things have faded and the asters and anemones haven’t started yet.
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I accidently spilled the rest of my bag of seed in my pocket so it will probably be going into some pots!
I got to try it as banchan and quite liked it, even if it was a bit stringy. I need the fiber!
Are you able to give an example of what the seedlings look like? I have not been able to find an example.
I don’t have any pictures of the seedlings unfortunately.