Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla Bright Lights Swiss Chard is a prestigious, All-America Selections Winner valued for its spectacular, multi-colored stems and mild, delicious flavor. Growing to about 12 to 20 inches tall with a spread of 18 to 24 inches, this variety is perfect for vegetable gardens, ornamental borders, and container plantings where both culinary utility and visual impact are desired. Unlike standard white chard, Bright Lights produces a dazzling array of stem colors—including gold, pink, orange, purple, red, and white—that brighten up the garden from early spring through late fall while providing a continuous harvest of nutritious greens.
Culinary and Practical Uses
The tender young leaves are excellent for fresh salads, adding a pop of color and a mild, spinach-like flavor without the bitterness often associated with older chard.
The thick, crunchy stalks can be chopped and sautéed like celery or asparagus, while the large leaves are perfect for steaming, braising, or stuffing.
A nutritional powerhouse rich in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as magnesium and potassium, making it a staple for healthy, vibrant meals.
Characteristics
Foliage: Large, savoyed (crinkled) dark green to bronze leaves with contrasting bright veins; the stems come in a vivid mix of yellow, gold, orange, pink, violet, red, and white.
Growth Habit: Upright, vase-shaped rosette that grows vigorously; widely considered the standard for rainbow chard due to its uniform growth and intense coloration.
Flowers: As a biennial, it typically does not flower in the first year; if overwintered, it produces tall spikes of insignificant greenish flowers in the second spring, which attract pollinators but signal the end of leaf quality.
Seeds: Harvested from dried flower stalks in the second year; the corky seed clusters often contain multiple seeds, requiring thinning after germination.
Growing Requirements
Sun: Thrives in full sun to partial shade; tolerates shade better than most leafy greens, though colors are most vivid with at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight.
Soil: Adapts to most soil types but prefers fertile, well-draining, loamy soil rich in organic matter with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
Water: Requires consistent, moderate watering; maintaining even soil moisture is crucial to prevent the stalks from becoming tough or stringy.
Spacing: Plant seeds or transplants 6 to 12 inches apart to allow for full leaf development and airflow; closer spacing yields smaller, baby-leaf plants.
Maintenance: Harvest outer leaves continuously using the "cut-and-come-again" method to encourage new growth from the center; mulch to keep roots cool and suppress weeds.
Shipping Info Bright Lights Swiss Chard seeds ship as fresh, high-quality, viable seeds that are carefully packaged for stability and protection from damage during transit. Prompt shipping supports reliable germination and seasonally appropriate planting.
Growing Zones
3a
-
10b
Your Growing Zone:
Find My Zone
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Low Temperature
15°F
High Temperature
85°F
Fragrant
No
Polinator Required
No
Polinator Friendly
Yes
Flower Color
Bronze
Gold
Green
Orange
Pink
Red
Violet
White
Yellow
Very healthy cutting. Followed the instructions and let it get acclimated to its new surroundings for a couple of weeks before repotting. Would not hesitate to purchase from this business again 😃
Plants arrived in great condition. This plant has only been in the ground about 10 days and is growing a lot. The plant cage is 12” tall so it’s doing well. I put guards around my new plants for a little while because I have bunnies who love tender young leaves.
I got 2 mystery plants (one indoor and one outdoor). The indoor was a pilea and the outdoor plant was a white blackberry. White blackberry was dramatic, but it’s making a comeback and the pilea is doing great!
Need to upgrade your packaging. I would suggest taping the plant in place in the cardboard tube on the count that it slid and smashed itself. Luckily, it's a strong plant and should recover. Hoping.for the best.
The plant arrived after a few delivery reroutes. It came with three leaves two so far are healthy one was dying and has since died. The two remaining leaves appear to be doing well.
Customer service here is second to none! Very very happy and already made another purchase. But anyway, I ordered 1 and they sent me 2 beautiful babies! I'm so excited to watch them grow!
This little guy came in perfect. Despite the cat knocking it over and being placed in the soup cup for safer keeping, it’s thriving and happy. Once it’s bigger then it will make its way outdoors.
This is my first year of ordering live plants on line. I live in an apt, but have a nice size patio to do container planting. I'm waking up my green thumb and loving it.
I am very happy for all the Butterworth I got extra like usual which was nice I put them all in pots for now I'll do my project later after they get growing thank you
I received what I believe is a very healthy plant. Unfortunately, the shipping was very hard on the plant. It is quickly bouncing back. Wish I would have known it was a seedling .
The package arrived with no issues. The fig was very stable & looked like it came out of the nursery (it did). The USDA certificates for Gypsy moth /Japanese beetles ensures the plant were checked makes me feel I finally found an institution which cares about the customer & plant. Thanks Jose
I’m excited about this tiny banana tree and can’t wait to see it grow more! It came well packed and in perfect shape. Now this beautiful little plant has burned leaves, but that’s my fault because I left it out on my patio in the sun for a long time. Don’t do what I did. But you can see a new leaf already sprouting in the middle and just about to unfurl. I have no doubt this tiny tree will grow well.
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From all of us at Blossomdale - welcome in, settle down, and let’s enjoy the growing together.
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Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla Bright Lights Swiss Chard is a prestigious, All-America Selections Winner valued for its spectacular, multi-colored stems and mild, delicious flavor. Growing to about 12 to 20 inches tall with a spread of 18 to 24 inches, this variety is perfect for vegetable gardens, ornamental borders, and container plantings where both culinary utility and visual impact are desired. Unlike standard white chard, Bright Lights produces a dazzling array of stem colors—including gold, pink, orange, purple, red, and white—that brighten up the garden from early spring through late fall while providing a continuous harvest of nutritious greens.
Culinary and Practical Uses
The tender young leaves are excellent for fresh salads, adding a pop of color and a mild, spinach-like flavor without the bitterness often associated with older chard.
The thick, crunchy stalks can be chopped and sautéed like celery or asparagus, while the large leaves are perfect for steaming, braising, or stuffing.
A nutritional powerhouse rich in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as magnesium and potassium, making it a staple for healthy, vibrant meals.
Characteristics
Foliage: Large, savoyed (crinkled) dark green to bronze leaves with contrasting bright veins; the stems come in a vivid mix of yellow, gold, orange, pink, violet, red, and white.
Growth Habit: Upright, vase-shaped rosette that grows vigorously; widely considered the standard for rainbow chard due to its uniform growth and intense coloration.
Flowers: As a biennial, it typically does not flower in the first year; if overwintered, it produces tall spikes of insignificant greenish flowers in the second spring, which attract pollinators but signal the end of leaf quality.
Seeds: Harvested from dried flower stalks in the second year; the corky seed clusters often contain multiple seeds, requiring thinning after germination.
Growing Requirements
Sun: Thrives in full sun to partial shade; tolerates shade better than most leafy greens, though colors are most vivid with at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight.
Soil: Adapts to most soil types but prefers fertile, well-draining, loamy soil rich in organic matter with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
Water: Requires consistent, moderate watering; maintaining even soil moisture is crucial to prevent the stalks from becoming tough or stringy.
Spacing: Plant seeds or transplants 6 to 12 inches apart to allow for full leaf development and airflow; closer spacing yields smaller, baby-leaf plants.
Maintenance: Harvest outer leaves continuously using the "cut-and-come-again" method to encourage new growth from the center; mulch to keep roots cool and suppress weeds.
Shipping Info Bright Lights Swiss Chard seeds ship as fresh, high-quality, viable seeds that are carefully packaged for stability and protection from damage during transit. Prompt shipping supports reliable germination and seasonally appropriate planting.