Whether you garden in the ground, in raised beds, on the windowsill, or anywhere else, bok choy is a great addition or re-addition to your plant family. Read on for simple, straightforward specifics about growing bok choy, also known as pak choi.
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Family | Container Size | Good Companions | Bad Companions | Soil Conditions | Germination | Sun | Water | Temperature Range | Height | Lifespan | Reproduction | Yield Per Plant | Ingestibility | Further Reading
What Family Does Bok Choy Belong To?
Bok choy (Brassica rapa, subsp. chinensis) belongs to the Brassicaceae family, also known as the cabbage family.
Some of its relatives include kale, broccoli, and radishes.
What Size Container Should I Use for Growing Bok Choy?
The minimum container depth recommended for bok choy is 8 inches. However, dwarf varieties may be able to grow in 6- or 7-inch pots.
Learn more in our Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden article here.
What Are Good Companion Plants for Bok Choy?
Some of bok choy's best companions are as follows:
- Beans such as green beans, which balance bok choy's high nitrogen needs
- Peas, which balance bok choy's high nitrogen needs
- Onion, leek, and other alliums, which repel common Brassica pests
- Beet
- Chard
- Spinach
- Orach
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Marigold
- Mints such as peppermint and spearmint
- Nasturtium
- Sage
- Lettuce
- Endive
- Lovage
What Are Bad Companion Plants for Bok Choy?
Bok choy is not compatible with every plant. Some things to avoid planting with bok choy are as follows:
- Tomato
- Peppers such as bell pepper and jalapeño
- Eggplant
- Corn
- Broccoli, cauliflower, and other fellow Brassicas since they attract the same pests. Some gardeners have not had issues planting it near leafy Brassicas such as kale and mizuna. But it is best to avoid planting bok choy with any fellow Brassicas if possible.
What Soil Conditions Does Bok Choy Need?
Bok choy prefers fertile soil that is moist but not waterlogged with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.
How Long Does Bok Choy Take to Germinate?
Bok choy takes 7-10 days to germinate at a temperature of 50-75°F.
It may germinate at temperatures down to 40°F, but germination is likely to take longer than 10 days if the temperature is consistently below 50°F.
How Much Sun Does Bok Choy Need?
Bok choy can grow in full sun to part shade.
In other words, in most regions, it grows fastest in full sun. It will still grow in dappled shade or part shade, just at a slower rate.
However, if grown in a hot region or season, bok choy may actually prefer part shade or dappled shade instead of full sun.
Sun recommendations can vary by region.
How Much Water Does Bok Choy Need?
Bok choy needs 1 inch of water per week.
What Is the Ideal Temperature Range for Growing Bok Choy?
Bok choy grows fastest in temperatures of 60-70°F.
This is its ideal temperature range. Although it will grow in temperatures both cooler and warmer than this range, the growth could be slower or even stunted.
Most bok choy varieties can survive in temperatures of 30-95°F. Again, the growth may be much slower outside of the ideal range of 60-70°, especially when getting toward the extreme ends of the larger hardiness range.
Minimum and maximum temperatures will vary by variety. Some bok choy varieties are bred for later harvests and others for warmer climates.
How Tall Does Bok Choy Get?
The average height of bok choy is 1-2 feet.
Is Bok Choy Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Bok choy is a biennial vegetable, meaning that meaning that its life cycle spans 2 years, and it flowers, produces seed, and dies in its second year.
But it tends to be bitter in its second year, and many regions have winters that drop below its 30°F hardiness temperature. For those reasons, it is usually grown as an annual, meaning that it starts and ends its life in the same year.
How Does Bok Choy Reproduce?
Bok choy reproduces by seed.
How Much Bok Choy is Produced Per Plant?
For bok choy, how much is produced per plant (also called the yield) largely depends on the type and, at times, the variety.
Bok choy produces 1 large head per plant. This head is usually composed of 10-15 leaves to start.
The leaves have a cut-and-come-again growing style. So if you harvest the outer leaves, the plant will continue to produce more, growing from the inside out.
This means that the head may start with 10-15 leaves, but depending on how often you harvest, it may end up producing many, many more than that throughout the growing season. Harvesting more often encourages the plant to produce new leaves more quickly.
Can Bok Choy Be Ingested?
Bok choy leaves are edible.
Bok choy leaves do not have any known uses in herbal preparations.
There are no known safety concerns associated with ingesting bok choy leaves.
Further Reading
This article is intended as a quick-reference guide for gardeners. Consult your seed packet or seed catalog for variety-specific information.
When you have a bumper crop of bok choy rolling in, you may not have enough time for long, complicated recipes or many-step preservation procedures. Check out my article on quick, simple uses for bok choy here!
Bok Choy is featured in these Plant to Plate articles:
- Simple Uses for Bok Choy (Pak Choi)
- Gardening in Full Sun
- Gardening in Dappled Shade
- Gardening in Part Shade