Purple Orach (Minnesota Naturalized)

Atriplex hortensis

Origin: Duluth, Minnesota

Improvement status: Cultivated material

Seeds per pack: ~100

Germination tested 10/2024: 76%

Life cycle: Annual

Orach is a salad or cooking green related to Lamb's Quarters, from the Amaranthaceae family and Chenopodioideae subfamily. It can be used as a spinach or sorrel substitute and is great in salads or cooked.

Orach is an annual plant. This variety comes from the garden of our friend Lorna Koestner, of Duluth, Minnesota, where it has become a 'naturalized' fixture in her backyard, as it re-seeds itself each year and comes back on its own. If you stop into the Duluth Grill, right off I-35 as you are entering into Duluth, Lorna manages the beautiful gardens right behind the restaurant!

As you can see in the photo from Dusty's mom's garden, there are some green genetics in this mostly purple population.

**A great plant for edible landscapers given its ability to naturalize and compete with other weedy plants.**

GROWING TIPS: Direct seed after danger of last frost. Plants grow upright, they can get 4 feet tall or more, and they can be grown relatively close to each other (3-6 inches between plants is good). If all goes well they may need just one weeding or maybe none at all, as they can pop out of the soil, out-compete weeds, create a canopy, and dominate an area.