Herb · Apiaceae
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
Give it rich soil, steady moisture, and a little patience at sowing, and parsley keeps the kitchen in fresh leaves.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
50–75°F · 10–24°C
70–90 days
Overview
Parsley is the workhorse herb of the kitchen garden, a member of the carrot family grown for its bright, clean-tasting leaves. It comes in two main looks, the tightly ruffled curly type and the bolder flat-leaf Italian type, with the flat-leaf kind carrying the stronger flavor. Both grow happily in a bed or a pot on a sunny sill.
It is a biennial, which shapes how you grow it. The first year is all about leaves, and that's the harvest you want. Come the second year the plant shifts gears, sends up a flower stalk, and the foliage turns tough and bitter, so most gardeners simply start fresh from seed each spring.
Parsley asks for little once it's up, but getting it up takes patience. The seed is famously slow, often weeks to sprout, and the taproot beneath resents being moved. Sow it where it will grow, keep the soil evenly moist, and it rewards you with months of cutting.
Care
The short version: full sun to part shade, rich and well-drained soil kept evenly moist, and a steady monthly feed to keep new leaves coming all season.
Light
Parsley does best in full sun but takes partial shade in stride, which makes it handy for a spot that loses the afternoon light. Where summers run hot, a little shade through the worst of the day keeps the leaves tender.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist and never let the plant dry out all the way, which matters most in pots and through hot spells. Plan on watering every 2 to 4 days, but don't let it sit waterlogged, since soggy roots invite rot.
Soil
Plant in rich, well-drained loam worked with compost so it holds moisture without staying soggy. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0 suits it, sitting from slightly acidic to neutral.
Temperature
Parsley likes it cool to mild, growing best from 50°F to 75°F (10°C to 24°C). It shrugs off light frost, but a long hot stretch pushes it to bolt and turn bitter.
Humidity
Average humidity around 40% to 60% suits parsley fine. What matters more is airflow, since leaves that stay damp in crowded, still air are where leaf spot gets started.
Feeding
Feed monthly through the growing season with a balanced fertilizer or a side-dressing of compost. That steady nudge is what keeps fresh leaves coming after each cutting.
Pruning
Harvest is the pruning here. Cut the outer stems at the base once the plant is established, and regular picking pushes new growth from the center. In the second year, snap off flower stalks as they appear to hold off bolting a while longer.
Repotting
Container parsley wants a fresh start about once a year, since its taproot quickly fills a pot. Roots circling the soil, fast drying, and pale stunted top growth all say it's time to move up or, more often, resow.
Size & spacing
Parsley stays compact, reaching 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 cm) tall with a spread of 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm). Give each plant that much room so air moves freely and the leaves dry between waterings.
When to plant
Parsley is cold-hardy and gets going early. Start seed indoors in late winter or direct-sow in early spring a few weeks before the last frost, and you'll be cutting leaves through the first season. The flower stalk and seed come in the second year.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 8-10 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: Early spring, a few weeks before the last frost; parsley is cold-hardy
- Harvest: Harvest outer leaves once plants are full in the first year; flowers and seeds form in the second year
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Parsley is an easygoing herb, and most of its trouble shows up on the leaves or follows soggy soil. Learn the few common signs and you can step in early. Match what you see below, then act while it still helps.
Stems collapse at the base and the roots go soft and dark
This is stem and root rot, and it follows soil that stays too wet and drains too slowly. Once the base has rotted there's no saving the plant, so pull it and bin it. Fix the drainage before you replant, and ease off the watering on anything in a pot.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected plants
- Improve drainage before replanting
Tan to brown spots with dark edges spreading over the leaves
This is Septoria leaf spot, a fungus that takes hold when the foliage stays wet and humid. The spots start low and inside the plant, then grow and run together the longer the leaves stay damp. Thin the planting for better airflow, water at the soil line, and strip off any marked leaves.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected leaves
- Improve air circulation by thinning plants
- Avoid overhead watering
A tall flower stalk shoots up and the leaves turn tough and bitter
This is bolting, and for parsley it is usually just the plant doing what a biennial does in its second year. Heat and stress can push it early. There's no reversing it, so treat parsley as an annual, replant each spring, and harvest hard before the seed stalk climbs.
Fix:
- Start new plants from seed each year rather than maintaining biennials
- Harvest heavily before bolting
- Remove flower stalks to briefly prolong leaf production
Leaves chewed by fat green caterpillars with black and yellow bands
This is the parsleyworm, the caterpillar of the eastern black swallowtail, and it works through the outer foliage fast. You can pick them off by hand, but most gardeners move them to a spare plant and let them grow into butterflies. Planting a little extra parsley means there's enough to share.
Fix:
- Handpick caterpillars if leaf supply is limited
- Relocate caterpillars to a sacrificial plant since they become swallowtail butterflies
- Cover plants with row cover if protection is needed
Toxicity
Parsley is a safe culinary herb for people, and a sprig in your food is nothing to worry about. The catch is the furanocoumarins it shares with the rest of the carrot family, which can give pets and grazing animals an upset stomach or sun-sensitive skin if they eat a real quantity. Cats, dogs, and especially birds deserve a light touch, so keep harvested bunches out of reach.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A nibble does little harm, but a cat that eats a real mouthful can end up with a queasy stomach and loose stools. The furanocoumarins can also leave the skin touchy in sunlight.
Dogs Mild
Small culinary amounts sit fine with most dogs. Eat a large helping, though, and the same furanocoumarins bring on drooling, an upset stomach, and skin that reddens or burns in the sun.
Horses Mild
Grazing on a large stand of parsley can leave a horse photosensitive, so light-skinned areas redden and chap after time in the sun.
Rabbits Mild
A few leaves make a fine treat. Pile on too much and the furanocoumarins can unsettle the gut, so keep parsley to an occasional share of the greens.
Livestock Mild
Goats, sheep, and cattle can develop sun-triggered skin irritation if they graze heavily on parsley, though a stray plant in the pasture rarely amounts to much.
Birds Mild
Birds are the most sensitive of the lot. The concentrated furanocoumarins can irritate the gut and skin in even modest amounts, so offer parsley sparingly and not as a staple green.
People Safe
Parsley is a kitchen staple and safe to eat. Handling huge quantities of the fresh plant in bright sun can leave sensitive skin prone to a rash, but that's a worker's hazard, not a mealtime one.
Furanocoumarins can cause sun-triggered skin and eye irritation in animals that ingest substantial amounts; small culinary garnish quantities are typically low-risk.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
A few distinct kinds of parsley turn up in gardens, split mostly by whether you want the leaves or the root. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Curly parsley (var. crispum)
Its tightly curled, ruffled leaves make it the favorite for garnish and for tucking into the front of a bed.
Italian flat-leaf parsley (var. neapolitanum)
The flat, deeply cut leaves carry the strongest flavor, which is why cooks reach for this one.
Hamburg parsley (var. tuberosum)
This kind is grown for its thick, parsnip-like taproot rather than the leaves on top.
How to propagate
Parsley is grown from seed, and that's about the only way most gardeners start it. The trick is working with its slow sprouting and its dislike of being moved.
SeedModerate
Spring; start indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost or direct-sow when soil can be worked · About 3-4 weeks to germinate, plus several more weeks to establish
Parsley grows from seed, but it tests your patience. Start it indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost or direct-sow once the soil can be worked, and expect 3 to 4 weeks to germinate plus several more to fill out. Soaking the seed overnight speeds sprouting. Because parsley sets a taproot and resents being moved, sow it where it will grow or shift young seedlings with care.
Myths
Parsley is a safe culinary herb, so it poses no risk to pets.
Garden parsley does carry furanocoumarins, the same family of compounds found across the carrot family, and a pet that eats a large amount can get an upset stomach or skin that burns in the sun. Small garnish-sized portions are low-risk, and the toxic 'spring parsley' on the ASPCA list is a different plant entirely, Cymopterus watsonii.
Parsley seed simply will not germinate.
It sprouts just fine, only slowly, and the wait can stretch to several weeks before anything shows. Soak the seed overnight before you sow it and the sprouting comes along faster.