During one of my many visits to the Flower Factory late last spring, my friend pointed out some eye-catching foliage on one of the plants for sale. We checked the label, and it said Bloody Dock (Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus—-there’s a mouthful):
We asked one of the employees about it and she told us it was a foliage plant, but she offered little additional information. Feeling whimsical, we each purchased one.
When I got home I did a little research on my new plant. Bloody dock grows in zones 4-9 and is also known as wood dock, bloodwort, bloody sorrel and bloody wood dock. When the leaves are young, they are edible. What an appetizing thought. Move over carrots, I’m adding bloody dock to my salad—yum!
I noticed that quite a few people at Dave’s Garden mentioned that it can take over the world if you plant it in your garden, so I immediately decided my bloody dock (that phrase doesn’t sound right either—should I skedaddle to the hospital?) would look great in a pot on my patio instead. Then I learned that it makes good rain garden or bog garden plant because it prefers consistently moist soil. By this time I was slapping my forehead, wondering whether I’d purchased a prima donna.
I transplanted it into a 12-inch pot and covered the surface with a little bark mulch to keep in the moisture.
Thankfully, my bloody dock required little attention (don’t worry, I’m done with the jokes). I watered it every morning with the rest of the container plants, and it grew about 15 inches tall and rewarded me with thick, ruby-red-veined leaves all summer long. The plant showed no signs of pests or diseases. I was a little worried after my initial purchase, but it turns out that bloody dock makes a fantastic container plant, and was a successful impulse purchase.
I just wish the name wasn’t quite so graphic.