Have you ever struggled for success with this versatile herb? RHS Senior Horticultural Advisor Andy Vernon shares his experiences and top tips to get your best-ever crop
I’m far from a confident cook, but I’ve grown to love the taste of freshly chopped parsley in almost everything I make. When it comes to seasoning dishes with herbs, I can never remember the best combinations – but find parsley always works. So it’s now something I routinely grow, particularly the flat-leaf type.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a biennial herb, meaning it grows leaves in its first year, then flowers and sets seed in its second. Outdoors, it’s usually treated as an annual and resown each spring. After its first year or when it bolts, it can be dug up and put on the compost heap. But why not enjoy the flowers? Many insects visit the pretty yellow-green umbels and the seeds are good dried – I use them in pickles and chutneys.
I find parsley can sometimes be surprisingly tricky to grow from seed, even for experienced gardeners. Last year, growing it drove me to distraction – to the point that I thought I had some sort of parsley curse. It can be very slow to germinate, sometimes taking four weeks or more, which can feel discouraging!
I couldn’t decide whether my flat-leaf fiasco was down to dormancy or possibly old seed. Parsley seeds, like others in the carrot family (Apiaceae), can lose viability relatively quickly. If the seed is more than a year old, germination rates drop significantly.
The seeds have a hard tough outer coat, so soaking them in warm water for 12–24 hours before sowing can improve germination. I’ve heard some gardeners even pour hot water from a kettle along a seed drill when sowing. Parsley prefers a consistent soil temperature between 15 and 21°C. Too cold or too hot, and germination can be thwarted.
Seeds should be sown just below the surface – ideally about 0.5 cm deep. Too deep and they may not emerge. The soil must also be consistently moist but not waterlogged. Drying out at any point during germination will bring things to a halt. There’s so much to go wrong, but at least sowing indoors can avoid most of these pitfalls.
Once the seeds had finally germinated, the conditions in my corner of east Cheshire last year were not helpful – the driest May on record, and then a series of mini heat waves and sudden downpours. Unlike Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, parsley really doesn’t like poor soil, preferring plenty of organic matter that drains well.
Parsley loves sunshine, so is good for a south-facing windowsill. Too much shade can lead to weak, leggy plants. I did try sowing directly into beds amongst other plants, but no – the parsley seedlings were quickly outcompeted, so this leafy diva doesn’t like competition either. I suspect some root rot occurred in slightly less well-drained areas I tried too.
Nevertheless, I’m happy to say that finally, after much parsley perseverance, I did grow some and was able to enjoy those lush leaves freshly chopped in my meals.
I’ve put this flat-leaf fiasco down to a very changeable year weather-wise, and the ever-changing conditions in my garden. My message: ‘try, try and try again!’
You may also be interested in
Look for the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) when buying vegetable seed or small plants. You can also download the RHS lists of recommended cultivars.
About Andy Vernon
Andy is a Senior Horticultural Advisor based at RHS Bridgewater, finding ways to make the most of his small garden in rainy east Cheshire.
