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How to Grow Parsley Plants: The Complete Guide

Learn how to plant, grow, and harvest parsley in your very own garden.

Botanical Name
Petroselinum crispum
Plant Type
Herb
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Part Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral

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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Parsley

Catherine Boeckmann

Parsley is a biennial plant with bright green, feather-like leaves. It’s in the same family as dill and carrots and is most commonly used as a garnish. Here’s how to grow parsley in your own garden.

About Parsley

This popular herb is used in sauces, salads, and especially soups, as it lessens the need for salt. Not only is parsley the perfect garnish, it’s also good for you; it’s rich in iron and vitamins A and C!

Native to Mediterranean Europe, the parsley plant is a biennial, but is usually grown as an annual in home gardens. After the first year, the leaves tend to become more bitter and tough, but the plant will gladly reseed itself in temperate zones.

Read Next

Planting

Pick a spot that gets full sun (6+ hours of sunlight) and has well-draining soil that’s rich in organic matter. This herb needs more fertile soil than most herbs. Soil pH should ideally be around 6.0—slightly acidic. 

Try to also choose an area that is weed-free; it’ll be easier to see the parsley sprouting.

When to Plant Parsley

Parsley seeds can be started indoors or sown directly in the garden. However, the taproot of parsley plants is delicate, so take extra care if transplanting!

  • For a head start, plant seeds in individual pots indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost date.
  • Sow seeds outdoors 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost, as parsley is a slow starter. 
  • For the best germination, soil should be around 70ºF (21°C), though parsley seeds will germinate in temperatures as low as 50ºF (10ºC).

How to Plant Parsley

  • The germination rate of parsley seeds tends to be low, so consider soaking the seeds overnight before sowing to improve your chance of success.
  • Sow parsley seeds 1/4 inch deep.
  • Sow seeds about 6 to 8 inches apart. For larger plants, sow about 8 to 10 inches apart.
  • Be sure to keep soil moist while seeds germinate. 
  • It can take 2 to 4 weeks for seedlings to appear. 
    • Tip: Plant radish seeds in the gaps between parsley seeds. The radishes will sprout and grow before the parsley appears, and the radishes will mark the row.
  • Indoors, you can use a grow light to help seedlings grow. Make sure it remains at least two inches above the leaves at all times.

Growing

  • Be sure to keep parsley plants sufficiently watered, especially through the heat of summer.
  • Lightly mulch around the plants to conserve moisture.

Types

  • Flat-leaf varieties: Use in cooking because they have better flavor and are easier to work with than curly-leaf parsley
  • Curly-leaf varieties: Use when you want a fancier garnish

Harvesting

  • When the leaf stems have at least three segments, parsley is ready to be harvested.
  • Cut leaves from the outer stems of the plant whenever you need them. Leave the inner portions of the plant to mature. Ideally, allow 2 to 3 weeks for regrowth between major harvests. 
  • If you want fresh parsley throughout the winter, replant a parsley plant in a pot and keep it in a sunny window.

How to Store Parsley

  • One method of storing the parsley fresh is to put the leaf stalks in water and keep them in the refrigerator.
  • Another method of storage is drying the parsley. Cut the parsley at the base and hang it in a well-ventilated, shady, and warm place. Once it’s completely dry, crumble it up and store it in an airtight container.
Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom

  • Add a parsley infusion to bathwater to soothe and cleanse.

Pests/Diseases

  • Aphids
  • Stem rot
  • Leaf spots
  • Carrot fly and celery fly larvae

Parsley is a favorite of black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars as well.

Recipes

Vegetable Soup with Parsley Dumplings
Herbs
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË found each other. She leads digital content for the ÃÛÌÒÁµÈË website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

carl d (not verified)

10 years 2 months ago

My parsley is a beautiful green when it's growing, but when I hang it up to dry it turns yellow. Any ideas?

I don't see an answer to carl d on August 29, 2014. My question is - Can it still be used when it is yellow when it is dried??

Thank you.

Hi, Theresa. Yellow parsley is not ideal and will not taste the way green parsley does. Our natural living blogger has some recommendations for preserving herbs. Click here to read about her methods.

Janet L Mackedanz (not verified)

10 years 3 months ago

I was just talking to mydaughter out in Cal. for a little bit and we were talking about parsley and what you can do with it. She said that she knewa lady that uses it for her artheritus. So I decided to get on line and look it into it.and I found this network so I read through it to get some more information on it. My mother used to have quite large plant of it gowing in the house when I was growing up. I used to take little pinches of it and just eat.It tased really good. Janet Mackedanz

Alan Tonge (not verified)

10 years 4 months ago

Where -a -bouts in the garden should I place my parsley pot. Does it like direct sunlight, shelter from the wind or shade etc.

Lisa Marie Berry (not verified)

10 years 6 months ago

Can you plant flat leaf parsley in the same large planter as curly leaf parsley? Or are they best left in separate planters? They are starter plants, not seeds.

Someone (not verified)

10 years 7 months ago

When do you start to harvest? How do you know?

Parsley generally requires 70 to 90 days from the time seed is sown to harvest. Begin harvesting parsley when it produces leaf stems with three segments. Harvest the larger leaves at the outside of the plant first, leaving the new, interior shoots to mature.

Liesel (not verified)

10 years 8 months ago

Why do the leaves turn yellow?