Parsley
Petroselinum crispum · Biennial
A biennial, so it will last two years before it needs replanting. Slow to germinate, so patience at the seed stage is the whole trick.
What it needs indoors
- Light
- Full sun6+ hours direct sun
- Water
- Keep moistKeep evenly moist
- Temperature
- 60–70°F
- Growing medium
- Rich, well-draining potting mix
- Native range
- The eastern Mediterranean
- Difficulty
- Beginner
What usually goes wrong
Three weeks in and nothing has come up
Normal. Parsley takes anywhere from two to five weeks to germinate and the seed needs to stay damp for the whole of it.
Fix: Soak the seed overnight before sowing, keep the surface damp with a cover or a daily mist, and resist digging around to check on it. Write the sowing date on the pot so you know when to give up.
Sends up a thick flower stalk in its second spring, leaves turn tough and bitter
A biennial doing what biennials do. Year one is leaf, year two is seed, and the flavour drops away on the way through.
Fix: Nothing reverses it. Start a fresh pot every year so there is always a first-year plant coming on behind the one about to bolt.
Sulks for weeks after being potted on and never quite comes back
Parsley roots down into a taproot, and a broken taproot costs the plant months.
Fix: Sow into the container you intend to keep it in. Moving a bought plant, keep the rootball whole, use a pot at least 8 inches deep, and water it in without teasing the roots apart.
How to grow parsley
Guides that mention parsley
Wants the same conditions
Grow these alongside parsley and one watering routine will suit them all.