Vegetable · Basellaceae
Malabar Spinach
Basella alba
A summer vine that turns a sunny fence or trellis into a living green screen and a standing salad supply.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
59–95°F · 15–35°C
50–70 days
Overview
When the season turns hot and the cool-weather greens fade from the garden, Malabar spinach arrives to take their place. Despite the shared name it keeps no company with true spinach. It is a twining vine in the family Basellaceae, a tropical import that settles happily into the warmest, brightest corner of a summer plot.
Give it a trellis against a sunny wall or along a fence line and it becomes a green screen, climbing 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m) in a single warm season. That vertical habit earns its keep twice over, softening a hard boundary while keeping a steady supply of thick, glossy leaves within arm's reach of the kitchen door, ready for a salad or a quick stir-fry.
Fitted into a daily routine it asks for very little. A place in the sun, water that stays even, and something to climb are the whole of it, with an occasional pinch of the tips to keep leaves flowing. The single ongoing ritual is removing the flower spikes, since a vine allowed to set seed trades its generous leaves for smaller, tougher ones.
Care
The short version: a sunny, warm spot with a sturdy trellis to climb. Keep the soil evenly moist, feed through the season for leafy growth, and pinch the tips to keep the vine in leaf rather than in flower.
Light
The vine belongs in full sun, where it grows fullest, though it accepts a little afternoon shade in the hottest gardens. A brighter position simply means more leaves at a faster pace, which is the point of giving it a place at all.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist, roughly every 2 to 4 days and more through a heat wave. A vine left to dry rushes into flower, and with that the leaves you grew it for turn smaller and tougher, so a steady hand at the hose keeps the screen lush.
Soil
Set it in rich, well-drained loam generous with organic matter. A pH of 6.0 to 6.8, just on the acidic side, suits it and keeps the foliage tender enough for the table.
Temperature
Warmth defines this plant. It grows best between 59°F and 95°F (15°C to 35°C) and holds back in the cold, so there is no coaxing it into the garden before the soil has come up to temperature.
Humidity
Where most greens flag in humid air, this one leans into it, thriving at 60% to 90% relative humidity. That taste for moisture is what lets it dress a wall through the muggy summers that leave true spinach spent.
Feeding
Feed monthly through the growing season with a balanced, nitrogen-forward fertilizer. The extra nitrogen carries the leafy growth that makes the vine a screen rather than a bare stem.
Pruning
Pinch the tips often to encourage bushy branching and keep tender leaves within reach. Just as much a habit, remove the flower spikes as soon as they rise, since flowering turns the leaves small and tough.
Repotting
Grown as an annual, it seldom needs repotting, though a container plant should be potted up once its roots fill the pot. The cues are roots circling the container, quick wilting between waterings, and new growth that has stalled.
Size & spacing
On a trellis the vine climbs 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m) tall and spreads 12 to 35 inches (30 to 90 cm) wide. Give it firm vertical support and enough room for air to pass through the greenery.
When to plant
This is a plant that keeps to the rhythm of the warm season and refuses to be hurried into cold ground. Sow seed indoors in late winter, wait to set the plants out until frost has gone and the soil has warmed, and from there the harvest carries on through summer as an easy part of the daily round.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6-8 weeks before the last expected spring frost
- Plant: after all danger of frost has passed and soil is warm (above ~18°C / 65°F), trained onto a trellis or other vertical support
- Harvest: harvest leaves continually once vines are established through the warm season
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–12
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Most of what goes wrong with this vine reads on the leaves or in a lull in fresh growth. Notice it early and the green screen stays full and productive for months. Match what you see below, then step in while a small correction still does the work.
Stunted, wilting plants with knotty galls on the roots
Knobby swellings below the soil point to root-knot nematodes, small pests that keep the roots from taking up water and food. A badly infested plant will not recover, so lift and destroy it, then move the planting to a spot with a crop the nematodes cannot feed on. Steady additions of organic matter help the soil recover its balance over time.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy heavily infested plants
- Rotate to non-host crops
- Amend soil with organic matter to support beneficial organisms
Flower spikes appear and the leaves turn small and tough
When spikes of small flowers and dark berries rise from the vine, it has turned to seed production, and the leaves that made the screen shrink and toughen. Shorter days, heat, and dry spells all lead it there. Remove the flower spikes as soon as they show, keep the soil evenly moist, and harvest the tips often to bring the vine back into leaf.
Fix:
- Pinch out flower spikes promptly
- Keep soil evenly moist
- Harvest tips frequently
Small brown spots with dark edges on the leaves
The marks are Cercospora leaf spot, a fungus that takes hold in warm, wet, humid weather. Remove the spotted leaves, open the screen by spacing the vine wider on its trellis for better airflow, and water at the soil line so the foliage stays dry.
Fix:
- Remove and dispose of affected leaves
- Improve air circulation and trellis spacing
- Water at the soil line to keep foliage dry
Vines sprawling and tangling along the ground
Malabar spinach is a twining climber that reaches for a support, and given none the stems run flat and knot into a tangle instead of dressing a wall. Set a sturdy trellis, fence, or stake in place at planting and guide the young shoots onto it, since the vine climbs past 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m).
Fix:
- Install a sturdy trellis, fence, or stake
- Gently train young shoots onto the support
Toxicity
This is a welcoming plant for any home. It is a vegetable rather than a poison, safe to grow around cats, dogs, livestock, and children, with leaves that belong on the table. The one note to carry is that they are high in oxalates, as true spinach is, a small consideration for anyone prone to kidney stones.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
No cause for worry with cats. A leaf nibbled in passing might bring a mild, brief stomach upset at most, no different from any unfamiliar green.
Dogs None
At ease around dogs. The leaves and stems hold no toxin, so a curious dog can chew the vine without any harm.
Horses Safe
No hazard to horses. This is a leafy vegetable rather than a poisonous plant, and grazing on it causes no trouble.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits take the fresh leaves without risk. As with any leafy green, work it in gradually so it stays a small part of a balanced diet.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep are safe near the vine. The foliage holds nothing toxic and is in places grown as fodder.
Birds Safe
Pet and backyard birds can sample the leaves without concern. The plant carries no compounds that would harm them.
People Safe
A kitchen vegetable through and through, eaten raw or cooked. The only caveat is the high oxalate content of the leaves, worth knowing for anyone prone to kidney stones.
Leaves are high in oxalates (as with true spinach), a dietary consideration for people prone to kidney stones, not a pet-poisoning concern.
Varieties
Only a couple of forms find their way into gardens, set apart chiefly by the color of their stems. Both grow the same way and eat much alike, so the choice comes down to the look you want against a wall.
Basella alba (green)
The plain green form reads as classic on a trellis, with green stems and thick, succulent green leaves.
Basella alba 'Rubra'
Its red-to-purple stems and leaf veins give it enough presence to stand as an ornamental screen as well as a source of greens.
How to propagate
More of this vine comes easily, whether the starting point is a packet of seed or a cutting taken from one already climbing a trellis.
SeedEasy
Start indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost or direct sow after soil warms · Germination in roughly 10-21 days; soaking or scarifying the hard seed coat speeds emergence
Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost, or sow it straight into warm soil once the cold has lifted. The seed coat is hard, so an overnight soak helps, and the seedlings clear the surface in roughly 10 to 21 days.
Stem cuttingsEasy
During the warm growing season · Roots form in about 1-3 weeks in warm, moist conditions
Cuttings taken through the warm growing season are the quickest route to a second vine for another wall. Stand a healthy stem in water or moist media and it roots in about 1 to 3 weeks, ready to climb with no fuss.
Myths
Malabar spinach is a variety of true spinach.
The two meet only at the name and on the plate. Malabar spinach is a twining vine in the family Basellaceae, no relation to true spinach (Spinacia oleracea, in the Amaranthaceae), and it takes over the role of a summer green once real spinach bolts in the heat.
A spinach taste means none of spinach's concerns.
One concern does travel with it. The leaves run high in oxalates, just like true spinach, a point worth holding onto for anyone prone to kidney stones.