Tree spinach
Tree spinach combines green leaves with striking pink young shoots. Despite the word ‘tree’, it is a tall annual leaf crop.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
- Botanical name
- Chenopodium giganteum
- Lifespan
- Annual; not a tree
- Harvested part
- Young leaves and shoot tips
- Characteristic
- Pink to magenta young growth in the selection described
This growing advice helps you choose. Your variety, growth stage, weather and conditions in your space determine the actual timing.
Sowing under cover and raising seedlings
Sow directly or start under cover according to species · Tree spinach
March–AprilSow according to product guidance and give seedlings light immediately.
- Germination and temperature
- Germination: around 18–24 °C according to the producer. Needs light to germinate: do not cover with soil.
- After emergence
- Keep the seed row identifiable, moist and weed-free. Give any tray-grown seedlings enough light after emergence.
- Pricking out and potting on
- Thin a direct sowing according to the growing aim. For raising in pots, follow the supplier’s instructions and keep the root ball intact.
- Hardening off and planting out
- Direct-sown plants stay in place. If the packet says to start in pots, acclimatise them gradually before planting out.
Tree spinach is an annual leafy vegetable. Give the tall plants enough space later. The period shown follows the named producer; check your own cultivar and growing aim.
Sources and use
Magic Garden Seeds · Boomspinazie / Magenta Spreen ↗Nederlandse producent of teeltbron; de rasinstructie blijft leidend.
Feggies · Boomspinazie veelkleurige zaden biologisch ↗Nederlandse producent of teeltbron; de rasinstructie blijft leidend.
Guideline periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, available light, soil and measured temperatures. Greenhouse heating does not guarantee enough winter light.
A different flavour, a different harvest.
Choose by more than the name. Discover how these varieties and crop types taste, what you can use them for and what growing them involves.
1 of 1 choices · 0 named varieties
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
Multicoloured
Tree spinach combines green leaves with striking pink young shoots. Despite the word ‘tree’, it is a tall annual leaf crop.
Choose this species as an edible feature behind lower crops. The colour word names no independently confirmed variety.
Flavour, kitchen and growing
How does it taste?
The source gives no precise flavour profile for this colour form. The emphasis is on its use as a leafy vegetable and its young texture.
This flavour description applies to the crop; there is no separate tasting result for this variety.In the kitchen
Use small young shoots as an accent and cook larger leaves. Your own plant lets you pick a modest portion for each meal.
A space in the garden
Allow height and width in the bed; a mature plant can shade other vegetables. Keep young plants clearly labelled.
Harvesting
Pick young leaves and tips selectively. Allow self-seeding only if you deliberately want new seedlings next year.
Also listed as: Boomspinazie veelkleurig.
Read the source notes →Choose your way to grow
From a garden bed to a suitable pot or support: give your plant a place that suits your garden and the care you can provide.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
Tall leafy plant at the back of the bed
Sow or plant in its own spacious position; keep away from lower crops; pick young pink tips selectively.
- Sow or plant in its own spacious position.
- Maintain distance from lower crops.
- Pick young pink tips selectively.
For a tall annual leafy plant that does not hide lower crops from view.
Tick off your supplies →
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
Bounded trial in a stable container
Fill a large, stable container with free-draining soil; plant one young plant; check moisture and stability as it grows.
- Fill a large, stable container with free-draining soil.
- Plant one young plant.
- Check moisture and stability as it grows.
For a limited trial with accessible tips and checks on container stability.
Tick off your supplies →Choose by flavour, shape and use
Veelkleurig: Tree spinach combines green leaves with striking pink young tips. Despite 'tree', it is a tall annual leaf plant. Use small young tips as accents and cook larger leaves. Your own plant gives modest portions per meal.
The source gives no precise flavour profile for this colour form. The emphasis is on its use as a leafy vegetable and its young texture.
A tall annual leafy plant
Tree spinach is Chenopodium giganteum, an annual despite its name. The described selection has green leaves and striking pink-magenta young growth. Expect tall foliage, not a perennial woody trunk. Young leaves are the starting point for small kitchen trials.
A position with room for height
Reserve a light position at a bed's back or use a spacious tub. Tall plants should not obscure smaller vegetables. Check the harvest route before sowing too. Height is practical only if young shoots remain reachable.
Keep seed exposed to light
The producer calls tree spinach light-germinating: press seeds onto the surface rather than burying deeply. Keep moist and follow packet temperature and timing. Label the sowing. Striking tip colour need not appear on the first seed leaves.
Root space and drainage
Use moisture-retentive, draining soil. Large tubs help only if excess water escapes below. Check holes while filling and leave watering margins. Avoid crowding first trials: separate plants make branching and young-leaf quantities easier to assess.
The harvest guides the shape
Picking young tips can encourage branching. Follow how a few plants change shape afterwards rather than removing every shoot on the same day. On tall plants, also check whether they still fit their space. A container lets you choose a compact trial by deliberately maintaining the young harvest.
Bed at the back or large container
In beds, tree spinach can become a striking garden feature. Tubs suit smaller trials with easy tip access. Both follow the same species differently. Pink colour does not mean a tub plant is a separate variety.
Keep fresh green material separate
Take young leaves and shoots for the kitchen and leave enough green growth. Compare a tip with an older leaf before harvesting a large portion. This lets you decide which texture is useful. You can place a label beside the basket in the harvest photo so the date and plant name remain linked later.
Prepare as a leafy vegetable
Leaves are used as spinach-like vegetables, with blanching mentioned. Try a small simply prepared portion. Spinach compares use: tree spinach is not Spinacia oleracea. Keep names distinct when buying again to get the desired growth type.
What you need
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More background, sources and image information
SeedSteps editorial team · updated on 11 October 2026. The AI images illustrate species and practical growing situations; they do not prove an exact cultivar, observations from your own garden or yield.
Britse gewasadviezen worden gecombineerd met Nederlandse en Vlaamse informatie waar beschikbaar. Amerikaanse Extension-bronnen ondersteunen plantprincipes en herkenning; hun kalenderdata, lokale plaagdruk, bestrijdingsmiddelen en mestdoseringen worden niet rechtstreeks op Nederland of Vlaanderen toegepast. Vorst, bodemwarmte, standplaats en expliciete rasinformatie blijven de lokale controle. Commerciële bronnen onderbouwen uitsluitend benoemde ras- en plantkenmerken; zij zijn geen affiliate-aanbeveling.
- Boomspinazie veelkleurige zaden biologischFeggies · accessed 2026-10-11
- Boomspinazie / Magenta SpreenMagic Garden Seeds · accessed 2026-10-11
Supporting evidence by chapter: Choose by flavour, shape and use: Feggies. A tall annual leafy plant: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. A position with room for height: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. Keep seed exposed to light: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. Root space and drainage: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. The harvest guides the shape: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. Bed at the back or large container: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. Keep fresh green material separate: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds. Prepare as a leafy vegetable: Feggies, Magic Garden Seeds.