WELD SEEDS (Reseda luteola)
Dye Colour: Yellow | Produced in Ireland
Reseda luteola, commonly known as Weld, is one of the most important historic yellow dye plants, valued for its exceptional clarity and lightfastness. Tall, slender flower spikes and narrow leaves produce strong, clean yellows that form the foundation for greens and oranges when overdyed with indigo or madder. Weld is normally a biennial - flowering in its second year - however, this variety is unique in its unexpected reliable trait of flowering in its first year in the Irish climate. Weld is a cornerstone plant for dyers seeking reliable, professional-grade colour.
Dye Fastness: Good (one of the most lightfast natural yellows)
Dye Fastness: Excellent
Basic Growing Information
🌱 Sowing Period: Mid-March to mid-April indoors, direct sow mid-May
⏳ Germination Time: 8 – 14 days
🌿 Height: 100 – 150 cm (40 – 60 in)
☀️ Preferred Garden Location: Full sun; well-drained soil, tolerant of poor or dry ground
Additional Details
- Open-pollinated & organically grown in Ireland
- Germination rate: 68%
- License number: IE010713
- 75 seeds per packet
Harvesting Reseda luteola
Harvest the whole plant when half of the flowers are open on the spikes, which is when dye content is at its highest. Cut at the base and use fresh, or dry thoroughly for later use. Leaves, stems, and flower spikes are all suitable for dyeing and produce strong, clear yellows
About this Variety We discovered this variety during the Variety trials we carried out in 2024 (read about our trials here). Some of the other varieties also flowered in their first year, but none as consistently as this variety. As it is the flowering plant that is used for dyeing this is of great benefit for it saves a whole season of growing. However, in the dye content tests we carried out, it did not perform as well as the biennial variety sold on this website (see sample number 5 in the last product image). The question remains whether it is worth having a slightly paler crop in 1 year or a slightly brighter crop taking 2 years to grow.
NOTE: Seeds and plants can only be shipped within Europe. Flowers can be used fresh or dried for dyeing and eco-printing.
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