Herb · Apiaceae
Garden Angelica
Angelica archangelica
A towering woodland-edge herb that gives you candied stems and architectural umbels, then bows out after a single bloom.
Partial shade
Every 3–7 days
41–77°F · 5–25°C
USDA 4–9
Overview
Garden angelica is a giant among herbs, sending up hollow ridged stems and great domed flower heads that can reach well above head height. It belongs to the carrot family and grows wild along the cool, damp edges of northern Europe, which tells you exactly what it wants at home: rich, moist ground and a little shade. Gardeners have grown it for centuries for its candied stems and its bold, sculptural shape at the back of a border.
It lives on a clock. Angelica is a biennial that is really monocarpic, spending its first year or two building a deep taproot and a mound of broad leaves, then throwing up a flower stalk, setting seed, and dying once that seed ripens. You can stretch its life by cutting the flower stalk before it blooms, but the end is written in once it flowers.
This is a plant with a sharp edge. The sap carries compounds that can burn skin in sunlight, and angelica is a dead ringer for poison hemlock, so it asks for respect in handling and absolute certainty before anything reaches the kitchen.
Care
The short version: part shade and rich, deep soil that stays moist but never waterlogged, with steady water through the first season so the taproot never dries out.
Light
Angelica does best in partial shade, much as it grows at the edge of woodland. It will take full sun in cooler regions or where the soil stays reliably moist, but hot, dry sun stresses it and shortens an already short life.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist and never let it dry out, above all in the first season while the taproot is forming. A layer of mulch holds that moisture in and keeps the roots cool, which is just what this woodland-edge herb wants.
Soil
Give it rich, deep, moist loam that still drains, packed with organic matter. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 suits it, and digging in compost or well-rotted manure feeds the heavy growth it puts on.
Temperature
Angelica is hardy and cool-natured, happy roughly between 41°F and 77°F (5°C to 25°C). It survives hard winters down to USDA zone 4 but sulks in real heat, which is one reason it leans toward shade in warmer gardens.
Humidity
Average humidity of around 40% to 60% suits it, which is what most gardens offer outdoors. The damp, cool air at a woodland edge is closer to its native home than a hot, dry exposure.
Feeding
Feed in spring with a balanced fertilizer or top-dress the crown with compost or well-rotted manure. A monthly feed through the growing season keeps the large leaves and tall stems coming.
Pruning
Deadhead the spent flower stalks before they set seed to buy the plant another year and curb its self-sowing, and cut away tired foliage. Once angelica is allowed to flower and seed, though, it dies, so any pruning only delays that end.
Repotting
Angelica is rarely repotted, since its deep taproot resents being disturbed and it is sown straight where it will grow. Leave it in place and let it run its short course rather than trying to lift and move it.
Size & spacing
This is a big herb, reaching 5 to 8 feet (150 to 250 cm) tall and spreading 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) across. Give it room at the back of a bed where its height works in your favor and its umbels have space to open.
When to plant
Angelica runs on fresh seed and cold. Sow it in late summer or fall while the seed is still alive, or give it a cold spell and sow in early spring, then expect leaves the first year and flowers in the second or third before the plant sets seed and dies.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Sow fresh seed where it is to grow in late summer to fall, or cold-stratify and sow in early spring; direct-sow because the taproot resents transplanting.
- Harvest: Large greenish-white compound flower umbels appear in early to mid summer of the second (or third) year, after which the plant dies; harvest tender young leaf stems and leaves in year one to two.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Angelica is mostly trouble-free, and its biggest surprise is simply the plant dying after it flowers, which is normal. The few real problems show up on the leaves or at the crown. Match what you see below before you act.
The plant flowers, sets seed, then yellows and dies
This is not a disease but the plant's nature. Angelica is monocarpic, so it blooms once in its second or third year, ripens seed, and then the whole crown fades away. Let some seed drop to start the next generation, or save fresh seed for replacements, and clear the spent plant once the seed is gathered.
Fix:
- This is normal; allow some seed to ripen and self-sow, or save fresh seed to start replacements
- Remove the spent plant after seed harvest
Wilting plant with a blackened, mushy crown
Standing water around the base brings on crown and root rot, and the stem bases turn soft and dark at the soil line. Once the crown rots there is no saving the plant, so pull and destroy the worst ones to stop it spreading. Better drainage and watering that keeps the soil moist but never soggy heads it off.
Fix:
- Improve drainage and reduce watering
- Remove and destroy badly affected plants to limit spread
Curled, sticky leaves with winding tunnels or chewed edges
Soft new growth draws aphids, which cluster on the undersides and leave a sticky film. The pale, twisting lines are leaf miners working inside the leaf, while ragged holes point to the green-and-black celery worm, the larva of the black swallowtail. Blast the aphids off with water or treat with insecticidal soap, pull mined leaves, and pick the caterpillars by hand or leave them to become butterflies.
Fix:
- Dislodge aphids with a strong jet of water or treat with insecticidal soap
- Remove and destroy mined or heavily chewed leaves
- Hand-pick caterpillars (or tolerate them, as they become swallowtail butterflies)
Toxicity
Treat this herb with caution. Its sap and foliage hold furanocoumarins that can blister skin once sunlight touches it, and grazing animals can react the same way through their lighter-skinned patches. The sharpest danger is mistaking angelica for deadly poison hemlock or water hemlock, so never eat any part unless you are certain of the plant.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that chews the foliage may drool or be sick to its stomach, and sap on the skin can leave it sore. The trouble usually passes on its own, but keep a curious cat away from cut stems.
Dogs Mild
Chewed leaves can bring on some drooling and an upset stomach, nothing more in most cases. Sap that gets onto the muzzle or paws may irritate the skin, so rinse it off.
Horses Caution
The furanocoumarins in the leaves and sap can make a horse's skin react badly to sunlight, with redness and soreness on the muzzle and any pale patches. Keep angelica out of grazing paddocks to be safe.
Rabbits Caution
Don't offer angelica as forage. The same sap compounds that burn human skin can upset a rabbit's gut and leave it off its food, so stick to greens you know are safe.
Livestock Caution
Grazing cattle, goats, and sheep risk photosensitization from the furanocoumarins, which shows up as scabbing and peeling on light-skinned areas after a day in the sun. Fence the plant off from pasture.
Birds Caution
There's little to suggest angelica belongs in a bird's diet, and the sap compounds make it a poor choice. Keep pet birds away from the fresh foliage and stems.
People Caution
The young leaf stems are a traditional candied treat, yet the fresh sap can blister skin that then meets sunlight, a reaction called phytophotodermatitis. The far greater danger is mistaking angelica for deadly poison hemlock or water hemlock, so never eat a plant unless its identity is certain.
Wear gloves and long sleeves when cutting or handling fresh stems and foliage, and wash skin promptly; avoid sun exposure on sap-contacted skin to prevent phototoxic burns. CRITICAL: Angelica closely resembles deadly poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) and water hemlock (Cicuta spp.); never forage or eat a plant unless its identity is absolutely certain.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Angelica is grown mostly as the true species, but there is a coastal form worth knowing if you garden near the sea.
Angelica archangelica (species)
This is the classic garden angelica, with hollow ridged stems that cooks have candied for generations and big domed umbels of greenish-white flowers.
Angelica archangelica subsp. litoralis
A coastal form from northern Europe, slimmer than the species and at home along the shoreline where salt and wind would trouble most herbs.
How to propagate
Angelica comes from seed and seed alone, and the trick is sowing it fresh before it loses the spark of life.
SeedModerate
Sow fresh seed in late summer to fall, or cold-stratify and sow in early spring. · 1 to 2 years to reach flowering size
Start angelica from fresh seed only, since it loses its life within months of ripening. The seed needs light and a spell of cold to wake up, so scatter it on the surface and leave it uncovered, sowing fresh in late summer or cold-stratifying for an early spring start. Sow it straight where it will grow, because the deep taproot hates being moved, and give it 1 to 2 years to build up to flowering size.
Myths
Angelica is an edible herb, so it is harmless to handle.
Cooks have eaten the candied stems for centuries, but the fresh sap and foliage hold furanocoumarins that can blister skin once sunlight hits it. Wear gloves and long sleeves when you cut it, and wash off any sap before heading into the sun.
Any tall herb with big white Apiaceae flower heads is safe to forage like angelica.
Angelica has deadly twins. It looks much like poison hemlock and water hemlock, and a wrong guess can kill you. Never eat a wild plant unless you are certain of its identity, and leave foraging to people who truly know these umbellifers apart.