Lovage
Levisticum officinale
Towering celery-scented herb said to lift the vigor of all around it.
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 21.7 in
- In-row spacing
- 19.7 in
- Between rows
- 2 ft 6 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Calendar (from your frost dates)
- Sow indoors
- 35 days before the last spring frost
- Sow direct
- at the last spring frost
- Plant out
- at the last spring frost
- First harvest
- 60 days after the last spring frost
- Harvest ends
- 14 days after the first fall frost
Growing
- Type
- Herb · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Umbellifer (carrot family)
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Watering
- Moderate
- Soil
- Deep, rich, moist
- Feeding
- Feed in spring, and again after the midsummer cut.
- USDA zones
- 4a–8b
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- June
- Pruning
- Take the flower stems off before they set seed, then cut the plant to the ground in autumn.
- Overwintering
- Fully hardy — it dies back to the ground each winter and returns in spring.
Through the year
- Mar–Mar Spring Growth
- Mar–Jun Harvest
- Jun–Sep Flowering
- Sep–Oct Growing
- Oct–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Mar Leaf Fall
Harvest
- When
- Harvest young leaves from mid-spring through summer, with the best flavor on fresh growth before the towering flower stems develop in early summer. Stems for candying or as "straws" are cut young in late spring; seeds ripen late summer; morning picking is best for leaves.
- What to look for
- Glossy, celery-like leaves that are still tender and deep green — mature high-summer foliage on flowering plants turns tough and bitter. Seeds are ready when the umbels dry and the seeds turn brown.
- How to harvest
- Cut individual outer leaf stems at the base with a knife or scissors, leaving the crown; the flavor is intensely celery-like, so a little goes a long way. Cutting the whole plant back by half in midsummer forces a flush of tender new leaves. Cut seed heads into a paper bag when browning.
- How often
- Pick leaves as needed all season from this large, generous perennial — a single established clump is more than enough for any household. One or two hard cut-backs per year renew the foliage; the plant dies down in winter and returns for decades.
- Storing the crop
- Fresh leaves keep about a week in the fridge in a bag. Leaves can be dried (retaining reasonable flavor) or, better, chopped and frozen in ice cubes for winter stocks and soups; the dried seeds store airtight for years and season bread and pickles like celery seed.
Pests & problems
Garden allies
Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant
- Parasitic wasps Braconidae & Trichogramma
Tiny, stingless wasps that lay eggs in or on caterpillars, aphids, and moth eggs — the white cocoons riding a hornworm are their calling card, so leave that caterpillar be. Umbel flowers with shallow nectar keep the adults fuelled.
- Aphid midge Aphidoletes aphidimyzaHunts Aphids
A tiny midge whose orange maggots paralyze aphids and drink them dry, twenty or more each. Sold as a greenhouse biological control and resident outdoors wherever there are small nectar flowers and an unsprayed aphid colony to find.
- Assassin bug ReduviidaeHunts Aphids
A patient ambusher with a curved beak it drives into whatever it catches — caterpillars, beetles, bugs, and the occasional bee, so count it a generalist rather than a specialist. It will jab a careless finger too, so admire it and leave it be.
- Big-eyed bug Geocoris spp.Hunts Aphids
A stubby 3 mm bug with enormous wrap-around eyes, working the soil surface and the low foliage for aphids, mites, thrips and insect eggs. It is the main natural check on chinch bugs in a lawn and it is killed outright by insecticide.
- Damsel bug NabidaeHunts Aphids
A slender, mantis-armed bug that grabs aphids, small caterpillars, and thrips in low crops and meadowy edges. Leave a strip of unmown grasses and flowers for it to overwinter in.
- Dragonflies & damselflies OdonataHunts Aphids
Aerial hunters that take mosquitoes, midges and small flies on the wing all day, and whose larvae spend a year or more clearing the same insects from the water. A pond with planted margins and no fish is the way to have them.
- Garden birds PasseriformesHunts Aphids
Both things are true: birds strip your currants and a brood of blue tits takes several thousand caterpillars out of one fruit tree in a fortnight. Net what you must and welcome them everywhere else — a nest box near the apples is worth more than a spray.
- Green lacewing Chrysoperla carneaHunts Aphids
Its bristly larvae — "aphid lions" — impale aphids, mealybugs, thrips, and mite colonies, eating hundreds a week. Adults feed on nectar and pollen from small open flowers and overwinter in hollow stems left standing.
- Hoverfly SyrphidaeHunts Aphids
Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.
- Ladybird (lady beetle) CoccinellidaeHunts Aphids
The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.
- Minute pirate bug Orius spp.Hunts Aphids
A pinhead-sized true bug that is the best natural check on thrips, and happily spears aphids, mites, and insect eggs too. It needs pollen when prey is scarce, so keep something flowering nearby.
- Praying mantis MantidaeHunts Aphids
A sit-and-wait ambusher that snatches caterpillars, beetles, and anything else that wanders close — friend and foe alike, so count it a mixed blessing. Tall, structured plantings give it perches and egg-case anchors.
- Soldier beetle CantharidaeHunts Aphids
Soft-winged beetles seen mating on flower heads in high summer; adults and larvae both take aphids and soft grubs. Open composite flowers are their landing pads and hunting grounds.
- Spiders AraneaeHunts Aphids
Webs, ambushes, and night patrols make spiders the garden’s steadiest generalist predators, taking whatever flies or crawls past. Mulch, ground cover, and undisturbed corners keep the population dense.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Did you know?
Every part tastes of celery, but the plant is far hardier and towers head-high.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com