How to Grow Bok Choy (Pak Choi)

What Bok Choy Is and Why It Bolts

Bok choy is a non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) grown for its spoon-shaped leaves and crisp, juicy leaf stalks. It is in the same family as cabbage, broccoli, and turnips, which matters for two reasons: it shares their pests, and it should not follow other cabbage-family crops in the same bed if you can avoid it.

Like other Asian brassica greens, bok choy responds to stress by bolting, sending up a flower stalk at the expense of the leaves you want. Heat, drought stress, and, in spring, exposure of young seedlings to a stretch of cold followed by lengthening days can all trigger it. That is why timing (next section) is the single most important decision you make with this crop.

When to Plant

Bok choy is a cool-season crop grown in the mild shoulders of the year. University of Minnesota Extension notes that it dislikes hot weather, so gardeners typically grow two crops: one sown in spring for early-summer harvest and a second sown in mid-to-late summer for fall harvest. Many gardeners find the fall crop easier, because days are shortening and temperatures are falling as the plants mature, which works against bolting.

UF/IFAS Extension reports that bok choy grows best at 64-68 F but can tolerate temperatures as high as 95 F and as low as 27 F, which means light frost at the end of the season generally will not kill a maturing fall crop. In mild-winter regions the window flips: UF/IFAS notes it can be grown essentially year-round in south Florida and for two or three seasons per year in north Florida.

✔ If your spring crops always bolt, shift your effort to a late-summer sowing for fall. Cooling weather at maturity is the most reliable bolt insurance.

Sun, Soil, and Water

Give bok choy an open, sunny spot in fertile ground. University of Minnesota Extension recommends well-drained yet moisture-retentive soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5; UF/IFAS notes the crop also performs well in slightly acidic sandy soils (pH 5.5 to 7.0) as long as they are rich in nutrients. The practical takeaway is that bok choy is flexible about pH but not about fertility or moisture: work compost or other organic matter into the bed before sowing.

Water is the other non-negotiable. Bok choy is shallow-rooted, mostly water by weight, and matures in weeks, so any dry spell shows up immediately as tough, strong-flavored leaves and a higher bolting risk. Keep the soil evenly moist from sowing to harvest rather than swinging between soggy and bone dry.

Sowing and Spacing

Direct-sow seed in prepared soil once the bed is workable. University of Minnesota Extension suggests sowing three seeds every 12 inches for dwarf varieties or every 18 inches for full-sized heads, then thinning to one plant every 12 to 18 inches once seedlings are up. The thinnings are perfectly good eating.

If you prefer denser plantings of smaller heads, UF/IFAS describes rows 12 inches apart with plants 8 inches apart in the row. Closer spacing gives you more, smaller heads; wider spacing gives fewer, larger ones. For a steady supply, sow a short row every couple of weeks during your cool-season window rather than one big planting.

Care Through the Season

Bok choy needs little beyond steady moisture, weed control, and pest watch. Because it grows so quickly in rich soil, a bed amended with compost before planting usually carries the crop to harvest; if leaves pale on a long-season planting, a light side-dressing of nitrogen fertilizer keeps growth moving. Fast, unchecked growth is what produces tender stalks and mild flavor.

Mulch around plants to hold soil moisture and keep soil temperatures steady. If a heat wave hits a spring crop as it approaches maturity, harvest early; a slightly small head in the kitchen beats a bolted one in the compost.

Harvesting

UF/IFAS Extension reports bok choy can normally be harvested 40-50 days after seeding, and that plants are usually cut at the 10-15 leaf stage for leafy green production; harvested later than about 15 leaves, the taste turns a little bitter. Cut the whole plant at the soil line with a sharp knife, or harvest a few outer stalks at a time and let the center keep producing.

Bok choy does not store long: UF/IFAS gives it only 1 to 2 days at room temperature and 5 or more days refrigerated at 39 F. Cut it the day you cook it when you can, and refrigerate the rest promptly, unwashed, in a loose bag.

Common Problems

Bok choy shares the cabbage family's pest list. UF/IFAS names leaf blight, downy mildew, aphids, and cabbage caterpillars as the crop's common problems. Flea beetles also riddle young brassica seedlings in many regions. The cleanest defense for a short-season green is exclusion: lightweight floating row cover installed at sowing keeps caterpillar moths and flea beetles off entirely, and bok choy needs no pollination, so the cover can stay on until harvest.

Rotate bok choy away from beds that recently grew other cabbage-family crops, keep the planting weeded and well spaced for airflow to limit foliar disease, and hose off or squash small aphid colonies before they spread. Most failures with this crop are bolting from bad timing, not pests, so fix the calendar first.

Sources

Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.

• UF/IFAS Extension — Bok Choy, an Asian Leafy Green Vegetable (HS1337) — Optimal growth 64-68 F with tolerance from 27 F to 95 F; rows 12 in apart with 8 in plant spacing; pH 5.5-7.0 sandy soil; harvest 40-50 days after seeding at the 10-15 leaf stage; bitterness past ~15 leaves; common problems leaf blight, downy mildew, aphids, cabbage caterpillars; storage 1-2 days room temperature, 5+ days at 39 F; year-round culture in south Florida
• University of Minnesota Extension — Growing Chinese cabbage and bok choy in home gardens — Well-drained, moisture-retentive fertile soil with pH 6.0-7.5; two crops per year (spring and fall) because bok choy dislikes hot weather; sow three seeds every 12 in (dwarf) or 18 in (full-sized) and thin to one plant every 12-18 in

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