How to Grow Chinese Celery UK

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: Full sun or partial shade (RHS), and PFAF suggests some shade in summer, which suits a leaf crop being cut repeatedly. Keep the soil consistently moist. PFAF gives an optimal mean temperature of 16-21°C; leaf growth is poor above that, so the plant is at its best in spring and autumn rather than the height of summer.

Soil pH range

6.6 6.8

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Soil pH	6.6 - 6.8
Germination temp	15°C
Optimal growing temp	16-21°C
Soil texture	A rich, light, moist soil. RHS lists loam and sand as suitable; PFAF adds that it tolerates mildly acid through to mildly alkaline conditions and will grow in very acid and very alkaline soils, though it prefers pH 6.6-6.8.
Drainage	Moist but well drained. The one thing it will not forgive is drying out.
Lifecycle	Biennial, grown as an annual for its leaves and cut repeatedly through the season.
Edible parts	leaves, leaf stalks, seeds

At a Glance

When to Plant Chinese Celery in the UK

When to plant Chinese celery in the UK: across the UK, sow early February to mid April.

Region	Sow
United Kingdom	early February to mid April

United Kingdom - detail & sources

PFAF sows this crop surface-sown in a greenhouse in February and continues as late as mid-April, which is the window recorded here. Two details matter more than the date. The seed needs light, so it is scattered on the surface and not covered. And germination is slow and erratic, taking two to three weeks at 15°C, so a tray that looks empty after a fortnight has usually not failed. RHS rates the crop H6, hardy throughout the UK, so plants set out in spring will stand well into autumn and often through a mild winter.

Growth Stages

Stage	Notes
Sowing and germination	Surface sow from February under glass and do not cover the seed, which needs light to germinate. PFAF gives two to three weeks at 15°C, and warns that germination is erratic. Water from below so the seed is not washed off the surface.
Pricking out and growing on	Slow to start. Prick out into modules and grow on under cover until the weather settles, keeping the compost consistently moist.
Planting out	Set plants about 15cm apart in rich, moist soil in sun or light shade. No trench and no earthing up: this crop is not blanched.
Cutting season	Begin taking outer stalks once the clump is established and keep cutting. Growth is best at a mean 16-21°C, so expect the strongest flushes in late spring and again in autumn rather than in high summer.
Second-year flowering	As a biennial it runs up to flower in its second June to August and sets seed in August and September. The leaves coarsen at that point, but the seed is itself a useful flavouring if you want it.

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Cut and come again rather than one harvest. Take the outer stalks at the base once the clump is established and leave the centre to keep growing; done that way a plant crops for months. The flavour is considerably stronger than stick celery, so a little goes further than you expect. In its second year the plant runs up to flower between June and August, and the leaves coarsen once it does.

Storage

Use fresh, or freeze chopped leaves. The stalks do not keep like blanched celery and are better left on the plant until needed.

Diseases

Celery leaf spot

moderate

Septoria apiicola

Named by the RHS among the problems of this crop. Worth knowing that a related fungus carries a handling risk too: PFAF records that where plants are infected with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, skin contact with the sap…

Pests

Snails

moderate

Gastropoda (snails, various spp.)

Named by the RHS among the problems of this crop. A young clump being cut repeatedly is soft, low and permanently damp, which is exactly what they want.

Slugs

moderate

Gastropoda (slugs, various spp.)

Named by the RHS among the problems of this crop, alongside snails.

Celery leaf miner (celery fly)

high

Euleia heraclei

Named by the RHS as a pest of this crop. The larvae mine blisters through the leaf, which matters more here than on stick celery because the leaf is the crop.

Chinese Celery, Cut and Come Again

Same species as celery, entirely different crop

No trench, no earthing up, no blanching. It makes a clump of slim aromatic stalks you cut from repeatedly rather than one head you harvest once.

Much stronger flavour than stick celery

It behaves more like a herb than a vegetable in the kitchen, so a little goes considerably further than you would expect.

The seed needs light, so do not cover it

PFAF surface-sows in February under glass. Germination is erratic and takes two to three weeks at 15°C, so a tray that looks empty after a fortnight has usually not failed.

Hardy right across the UK

RHS rates it H6, hardy in all of the UK and northern Europe. Plants set out in spring stand well into autumn and often through a mild winter.

Best in spring and autumn, not high summer

PFAF gives an optimal mean temperature of 16-21°C and notes that leaf growth is poor above it. Some summer shade suits a crop being cut repeatedly.

It runs to seed in its second year

As a biennial it flowers June to August and sets seed in August and September. The leaves coarsen then, though the seed is a useful flavouring in its own right.

References

1. Plants For A Future (PFAF) - Apium graveolens secalinum - Leaf Celery

   Fetched and read directly. Source for surface sowing in February under glass through to mid-April, germination in 2-3 weeks at 15°C, the 16-21°C optimal mean temperature, pH 6.6-6.8, and the dermatitis hazard where plants are infected with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

2. Royal Horticultural Society - Apium graveolens Secalinum Group | leaf celery

   Fetched and read directly. Source for the H6 hardiness rating, height and spread, tolerance of full sun or partial shade, soil range, and the named susceptibility to slugs, snails, celery leaf miner and celery leaf spot.

2 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.