I dug up the horseradish

Gardening with Rabbits · Oct 30, 2014

I am not sure I did this the right way. I bought a horseradish root in the spring. I planted it and it has been growing and has big leaves and is in 1 spot, like 1 plant. I dug it with a shovel and I could hear the root crack, so I dug down and got the rest of it, but there are little pieces in the dirt and the kind of feeler, crawly root things that broke off and are in the dirt. At the top it looked like 2 plants sort of. I cut it in half, both had green on top and some root. I planted 1 back where this came from and the other one in another spot. Does it matter how deep I plant it? Will the little pieces make new plants? I washed, peeled, chopped and put vinegar in it and have a pint jar of horseradish.

seedcorn · Oct 30, 2014

yes pieces of root will grow.

Hal · Oct 30, 2014

Gardening with Rabbits said:
I am not sure I did this the right way. I bought a horseradish root in the spring. I planted it and it has been growing and has big leaves and is in 1 spot, like 1 plant. I dug it with a shovel and I could hear the root crack, so I dug down and got the rest of it, but there are little pieces in the dirt and the kind of feeler, crawly root things that broke off and are in the dirt. At the top it looked like 2 plants sort of. I cut it in half, both had green on top and some root. I planted 1 back where this came from and the other one in another spot. Does it matter how deep I plant it? Will the little pieces make new plants? I washed, peeled, chopped and put vinegar in it and have a pint jar of horseradish.

I'd suggest caution as Horseradish can be very invasive under the right conditions and I would recommend you keep an eye on it as it does grow from root cuttings.

journey11 · Oct 30, 2014

Oh goodness, yes. They will grow. You could not kill them if you tried. I've found tiny root pieces no bigger than a centimeter that have sprouted leaves. As Hal mentioned, it is invasive. I've got mine against the back of the garage so it has no where else to go. Even better, plant it in a container with small drainage holes only in the bottom and bury the container into the ground with some of the rim above ground. That should contain it.

britesea · Oct 30, 2014

journey11 said:
Oh goodness, yes. They will grow. You could not kill them if you tried. I've found tiny root pieces no bigger than a centimeter that have sprouted leaves. As Hal mentioned, it is invasive. I've got mine against the back of the garage so it has no where else to go. Even better, plant it in a container with small drainage holes only in the bottom and bury the container into the ground with some of the rim above ground. That should contain it.

NO! NO! Do NOT allow horseradish to even have that drainage hole to grow through! Mine sent roots down through the hole and grew under a nearby raised bed (don't know why it didn't pop up in there, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth) and came up a good 10 feet away from the original plant.

In my new garden, a state away, my horseradish is in a large container that sits atop a concrete paver so that I will see the roots before they reach the soil.

journey11 · Oct 30, 2014

Britesea, do you have to bring it in for winter or will it not freeze above ground? I wonder if you could line the big planter with landscape fabric to keep it in there. I would expect it would rot, planted in the ground, without drainage of some sort.

Gardening with Rabbits · Oct 30, 2014

Will the little pieces be big enough to harvest next fall? I have some friends that want some, but I was not sure the little pieces would be worth giving to them if it took 2 years to harvest. The long root things will produce too???? I watched a video and a lady was showing she did not hurt her plant because she kept all those roots and I was worried I may have hurt this, but now I see another problem. I think I am going to go dig it up and look for the pieces. :th

seedcorn · Oct 30, 2014

Can't hurt horseradish, only make it mad!

Yes, harvest first year. no reason to not. when it gets older, it can get pithy.

lesa · Oct 30, 2014

I wouldn't spend too much time looking for those little pieces....you will never get them all! My husband spent hours digging ours this summer, trying to kill it. It is the healthiest looking plant we have!!

journey11 · Oct 30, 2014

seedcorn said:
Can't hurt horseradish, only make it mad!

Mine has been really well behaved so far, but I think this hard red clay I have must slow it down. I think I've had it going on 3 years now and it has stayed mostly in one round clump. Maybe plant it in a far corner or the back-40 where it can do its thing. You can give your friends the little pieces; I'm sure they'll grow. Just may take a year or two to get sizable enough to harvest.

I dug up the horseradish

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