The plant grows from 3 to 5 feet high if wanted for its flowers. The bright blue cornflower or daisy-shaped blooms open up along the tall flowering spikes each day. The time varies with different localities, but my flowers open at sunrise and close at 2 p.m. every day. Chicory was one of the plants included in the floral clock planted by Linnaeus, that great botanist and zoologist, on which the hours were marked by different-plants opening and closing times. It has been noted that the leaves of chicory always align themselves towards the north, and those interested in theosophy and metaphysics attribute great life-giving forces to the plant. Do not confuse this chicory with the vegetable, endive, which is often mistakenly called “chicory”.

The seeds of chicory germinate easily, and keep their freshness for several years. The leaves are toothed, somewhat like the dandelion, which it resembles. If you are growing the plants as a vegetable, it is advisable to dig out a trench about 6 to 8 inches deep, and dig food and humus into the bottom layer of the trench; then set out the plants some 12 inches apart. As the leaves grow, and when about 6 to 12 leaves are showing, hill up the soil around each plant to about 5 or 6 inches, thus bringing the surface up to ground level once again. The plants need to be bleached in this way to remove the slightly bitter taste of the dark leaves.

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