Gynura bicolor
Growing Okinawa Spinach in Central Texas
Okinawa spinach is a wonderful, low-maintenance edible perennial that stays beautiful and vibrant for a long time. The undersides of the leaves are a gorgeous purple color. And like New Zealand spinach, it has very few pest issues and it thrives in the heat of the summer. It's another great plant friend to act as a living mulch under fruit trees as part of a fruit tree guild.
While Okinawa spinach is very hardy and can tolerant a wide range of growing conditions, give it rich, moist soil and it'll thrive. Snip ends off the plant as needed to keep it big and bushy.
Cooking with Okinawa Spinach
The leaves can be blanched, tossed into stir fries and stews, or cooked any way you'd work with spinach.
