Blue Solaise Leek
Item Details
(aka Bleu de Solaise) Beautiful 19th century French historic variety with truly blue-colored leaves that turn violet after a cold spell. Very large 15-20" stalks are sweet and flavorful. Extremely hardy, good for short-season areas and winter harvest.
- 100-120 days from transplant
- Conventional
- Blue colored leaves
- Stalks grow to 15-20 inches
- Sweet and flavorful
- Good for short seasons
- Very tolerant of cold
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
- Sautéing
- Baking
- Grilling
- Soups
Leeks are most often sliced thinly before being served. Sautéing leeks in butter and then cooking with potatoes in vegetable broth results in either potato-leek soup or vichyssoise, a chilled variant first made popular at the Ritz-Carlton in the early 20th century.
You can also substitute leeks for garlic or onions in recipes, but take care to chop them finely as their leaves possess fibers that can ball up while chewing.
Growing Instructions
Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼" deep and space 1" in all directions. Transplant as soon as soil can be worked in spring. Hill or mound soil around stems several times to blanch as leeks grow.
- Start Indoors: 4-6 weeks before last frost
- Germination: 5-7 Days
- Plant Outdoors: 6” Apart
- Rows Apart: 12-24"
Ratings & Reviews
1 review
Blue Solaise Leek
by John Burton
I've have looked for these for years, grew them in the 90's and really have missed them! These will get big, the size of your forearm kind of big; space and time depending of course. They love my coastal climate and tolerate cold down to -5C or more for short periods without damage. I often still had some in the garden when planting the next years crop.