How to Grow Celeriacs UK

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum)
  2. When to Plant Celeriacs in the UK
  3. Quick Facts
  4. At a Glance
  5. Growth Stages
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Pests
  9. Nutrient Issues
  10. Celeriac, a Knobbly Root With a Long Season
  11. Plan your Celeriacs planting
  12. Growing Celeriac in another region
  13. References
  14. Frequently Asked Questions

In the UK, celeriac goes in the ground early March to late March.

Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: sowing early March, and that same window applies across all 4 regions covered here.

The short answer

Plant
Early March to late March
Biggest risk
Celery leaf spot

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum)

Young celeriac seedlings freshly planted out — “Knolselderij (Apium graviolens var. rapaceum)” by Rasbak is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

8 sources cited · Verified

When to Plant Celeriacs in the UK

When to plant celeriacs in the UK: in Southern England, sow early March to late March. Find your area in the table below.

Young celeriac seedlings freshly planted out — “Knolselderij (Apium graviolens var. rapaceum)” by Rasbak is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Knolselderij (Apium graviolens var. rapaceum)” by Rasbak is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Region Sow
Southern England early March to late March
Midlands early March to late March
Northern England early March to late March
Scotland early March to late March
Southern England - detail & sources

RHS: sow indoors in March at 15°C; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and celeriac is started under cover regardless of region.

Midlands - detail & sources

RHS: sow indoors in March at 15°C; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and celeriac is started under cover regardless of region.

Northern England - detail & sources

RHS: sow indoors in March at 15°C; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and celeriac is started under cover regardless of region.

Scotland - detail & sources

RHS: sow indoors in March at 15°C; a single window is applied uniformly across all four sub-regions since the source gives no UK-region-specific gradient, and celeriac is started under cover regardless of region.

A page from the UK Vegetable Garden Planner PDF: the crop rotation planner, with a planning grid and four-bed rotation tips

Plan your celeriac — and the rest of the plot

This page covers celeriac. For every crop's sowing months on one chart, use the free UK vegetable planting calendar, and browse the UK vegetable growing guides for what else to grow alongside it. When you want the whole season on paper, the UK Vegetable Garden Planner is a printable PDF:

  • Twelve month-by-month sowing and harvest spreads
  • Raised bed, allotment and container layout pages for your own plot
  • A four-year crop rotation planner
  • Seed inventory, sowing log and harvest tracker
See inside the UK Vegetable Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · reprint every season

Quick Facts

A celeriac plant with its swollen bulb visible at the base — “Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Factor Value
Drainage Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; consistently damp/moist soil essential
Lifecycle annual/biennial, grown as annual
Edible parts swollen stem base

At a Glance

A celeriac root sliced in half showing its white interior — “Céleri-rave-fendu” by DocteurCosmos is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Céleri-rave-fendu” by DocteurCosmos is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Apium graveolens var. r… Celeriac Celery leaf spot Snails Slugs Celery leaf miner (cele… DISEASES PESTS

Growth Stages

Celeriac growing in the ground before harvest — “Miřík celer (Apium graveolens) - před sklizní” by Pohled 111 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Miřík celer (Apium graveolens) - před sklizní” by Pohled 111 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing and germination 0 Sow indoors in March with a light sprinkling of compost over seed, germinating at 15°C -- slow and erratic, taking up to 3 weeks; keep above 10°C once germinated to prevent bolting (RHS).
Planting out and establishment 1 Transplant outdoors after last frost, usually late May or early June, hardened off first, spaced 30cm apart in rows 40-45cm apart, stem base at soil level; cloches or fleece help reduce bolting risk (RHS).
Leaf growth and crown exposure 3 Keep soil consistently moist and mulched; from summer onwards remove outer leaves as they fall horizontal to expose and encourage the swollen crown, and remove side-shoots and damaged leaves (RHS).
Root swelling and harvest 8 Harvest October through March; extremely hardy, roots can stay in the ground and develop stronger flavour over time; on heavy or waterlogged soils lift and store in late autumn instead (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

A harvested knobbly celeriac root — “Apiales - Apium graveolens - 1” by DenesFeri is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Apiales - Apium graveolens - 1” by DenesFeri is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: Takes at least six months to reach maturity; harvest October through the following March; develops stronger flavour over time and can be left in the ground until required; grows large without turning woody

Diseases

A celeriac plant with its swollen bulb visible at the base — “Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Celery leaf spot

Septoria apiicola

Pests

A celeriac plant with its swollen bulb visible at the base — “Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Celeriac J1” by Jamain is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Snails

Gastropoda (snails, various spp.)

Slugs

Gastropoda (slugs, various spp.)

Celery leaf miner (celery fly)

Euleia heraclei

Nutrient Issues

Boron (B)

deficiency

Correction

RHS names celeriac among the boron-sensitive vegetables, alongside swedes and turnips. Boron is less available to roots in alkaline soils above pH 7, so avoid liming already-alkaline ground and test soil pH before treating.

Plan your Celeriacs planting

When to sow and plant Celeriacs depends on your own frost dates. Check the UK vegetable planting calendar, or the month-by-month guides that cover Celeriacs: January, March, April, May, June, July. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Celeriac in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

References

  6. General cross-plant guide, strawberry named explicitly under Boron.

  7. RHS explicitly advises against slug pellets (even organic) due to wildlife harm, and cites RHS's own controlled trial finding no damage reduction from physical barriers (copper tape, bark mulch, eggshell, grit, wool) -- while also noting some other studies have shown copper barriers to repel slugs, a preserved disagreement rather than a silently resolved one. Details Nemaslug (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) biological control including application temperature range and its lack of effect on snails specifically.

  8. Celeriac is grown exactly like celery, as a COOL-SEASON crop, but for the light brown bulb-type root rather than the leaf stalks. Harvest the root while still small so it stays tender and does not turn woody. After lifting, trim off the side roots and the leaves, then refrigerate at 32°F in high humidity for storage. (This guide is brief and does not cover sowing dates, spacing, days to maturity, watering, fertility or pests.)

8 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I sow celeriac in the UK?

In Southern England, from early March. In Scotland, wait until early March. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.

When do I sow celeriac?

Sow early March to late March.

What problems affect celeriac?

Our data links 1 disease and 3 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.

Get the UK Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for UK growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against RHS and Met Office guidance. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides UK

Crops With the Same Problems

Related Problem Guides

Related Reading

Last verified 2026-09-02

Plan Celeriacs by month

The months this guide gives for sowing or planting, each with the full list of jobs for that month in the UK:

More from the same group (roots & tubers):

Relevant next steps

Where To Go From Here

Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.

UK garden plannerTurn this crop guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and a harvest record. All growing guidesBrowse every crop we cover for your region, A to Z. Planting CalendarSee how this crop fits alongside everything else you are growing.

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