Madder Seeds

Ancient perennial dye plant used to produce rich red pigments from its roots.

A beautiful dye plant, rubia tinctorum has been used for thousands of years, most famously responsible for the deep red of the British Redcoat uniforms. Its long, fleshy roots are packed with alizarin, the compound behind its distinctive colour.

Madder is a hardy perennial that grows to around 1m tall, with slender jointed stems and whorls of short, prickly leaves. In summer it produces small green-yellow, bell-shaped flowers, followed in late autumn by glossy black seeds that look remarkably like tiny peppercorns. It can be propagated from seed, or simply by dividing roots and shoots once established.

Harvesting and dye use:
The roots take around 3–4 years to reach harvestable size for dyeing. For the best depth of red, madder prefers an alkaline soil.

(Approximate seed count – 40)