How to grow parsley

Compact and easy to grow from seed, parsley produces nutritious tangy leaves through summer and into autumn. It makes an attractive edging to veg beds and grows well in containers. Choose from curly- or flat-leaved types and use in salads, sauces and butters, and sprinkle over all kinds of cooked dishes.

Biennials are plants that complete their life cycle over the course of two years. In the first year, biennials typically produce leaves and roots but no flowers. In the second year, they flower and produce seeds before dying. Some common biennials include foxgloves (Digitalis), honesty (Lunaria annua) and viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare).

biennial

There are two types of leaf parsley to choose from:

• Curly-leaved varieties are highly decorative, both in the garden and on the plate, with a mild flavour 

• Flat-leaved varieties (also known as Italian or French parsley) have a stronger flavour and are generally easier to prepare in the kitchen. 

There are several varieties of each, offering larger or more decorative leaves or improved flavours. When choosing varieties, look for those with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in trials – see our list of AGM fruit, herbs and veg.

Parsley makes an attractive edging to herb beds and veg plots, or even flower borders, and also grows well in containers.

Sow from early spring to early summer for pickings throughout the summer and autumn.

Parsley can be sown outdoors or indoors, or bought as young plants.

If you don’t have the time or space to grow parsley from seed, you can buy plug plants or potted plants from garden centres, online retailers and supermarkets.

These can be grown indoors on a well-lit windowsill or planted outdoors from spring onwards. Give them a sunny or partially shaded spot, in the ground or in a large container, and water well, both before and after planting.

Once established, parsley needs little attention. Just water and weed regularly, and snip off any lower leaves that turn yellow, to keep plants looking good and encourage new growth. 

Parsley leaves can be harvested throughout the summer months – picking regularly encourages plants to produce more leaves. Take a few leafy stems from the outside of a plant, snipping them near the base with scissors.

You can also harvest young parsley seedlings as micro-greens or mini-leaves, when packed with flavour and nutrients.

When grown outdoors, parsley dies down over winter, but for winter harvests bring potted plants indoors or into a greenhouse or coldframe, or cover plants with cloches. They should continue producing a few new leaves, especially in milder spells.

However, it’s not worth keeping parsley plants into their second year, as these biennial plants will stop producing tasty leaves and concentrate on flowering and setting seed instead. 

Parsley leaves are best used fresh, but can kept in the fridge for a week or so. They can also be frozen or dried for use in winter, after harvesting has stopped.

To freeze parsley, chop the leaves and add to an ice-cube tray, then top up with water and freeze. You can then simply add the cubes to your cooking whenever needed.

To dry, hang up a bunch of parsley in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place for a few weeks. When fully dried, crush the leaves and store in an air-tight jar. Dried parsley has less flavour than fresh leaves. 

Parsley is closely related to carrots and celery, and can be affected by the same pests and diseases as its relatives.

Slugs and snails like to eat parsley seedlings, so growing it in pots is often a good option, as the plants may be harder for them to reach.