Parsley is a biennial cultivated plant. If the site conditions are very good, it can even be a perennial, but then it can no longer be used as a spice plant. From the time of flowering in the second year, it only produces a few leaves, which contain too high a proportion of poisonous apiol.
Can you use parsley perennial?
Parsley is actually a biennial plant that produces aromatic leaves in the first year and flowers in the second year. After flowering it should no longer be used as a spice plant as the leaves contain poisonous apiol.
Parsley is a biennial
- All-year harvest possible in the first year
- In the second year, harvest only until flowering in June/July
- Do not use after flowering
- Re-sowing in spring or August
Parsley grows in one place for two years
Parsley is grown in the garden or on the balcony as a biennial plant.
If the location conditions are good, it will come back in subsequent years. However, the leaves should then no longer be used for seasoning.
The plants are pulled out after flowering in the second year because the yield in the following years is hardly worth mentioning.
Parsley plants in the first year
In the first year after sowing, the parsley develops a lot of leaves around the heart.
The leaves are particularly aromatic at this time.
They are cut close to the ground. The heart must not be injured as new leaves will not grow back.
The flowering in the second year
Inflorescences begin to form in May at the latest. The flowering period of parsley lasts from June to July.
Once the plant flowers, the leaves are no longer edible. The poisonous apiol, an essential oil that can cause spasms of the digestive organs and uterus, accumulates in them.
If you want to harvest seeds, leave the plants until the seeds are ripe. You can store dried seeds for up to three years. Warning: The seeds are poisonous!
Re-sowing in August or spring
You can sow parsley on the windowsill from February to August or directly outdoors in April or August.
Sowing in August is preferable outdoors, as the plants are then less affected by diseases and pests.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to consistently grow parsley in the garden, you should create new beds every year. You will then always have enough supply of particularly aromatic herbs and can simply compost the plants after flowering.
