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How to Grow Parsleys | Care, Pests & Disease Control

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Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

A bunch of harvested curly parsley leaves — “Parsley leaves” by Jeffery Martin is licensed under CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons

7 sources cited · Verified

The short answer

Site
6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6–7
Biggest risk
Parsley leaf spot

Parsleys (Petroselinum crispum) — biennial.

This crop carries an unusually heavy problem load: 2 diseases, 5 pests and 0 nutrient issues are documented for it, so most of the effort in growing it well goes into prevention.

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

Diseases

A young parsley plant growing in soil — “Starr 070308-5407 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr 070308-5407 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Parsley leaf spot (causal agent not yet confirmed)
Parsley virus diseases (unspecified/unidentified)

Pests

A young parsley plant — “Starr 070308-5408 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr 070308-5408 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Aphididae (various spp.)

Slugs
low

Gastropoda (slugs, various spp.)

RHS names this directly.

Snails
low

Gastropoda (snails, various spp.)

RHS names this directly.

Psila rosae

Celery leaf miner (celery fly)

Euleia heraclei

Quick Facts

Detail of triangular, aromatic parsley leaves — “Starr-080731-9590-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-makawao-Maui (24831382061)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr-080731-9590-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-makawao-Maui (24831382061)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Factor Value
Soil pH 6 - 7
Sunlight 6-6 hours direct sun
Optimal growing temp 11-20C
Minimum survivable temp -5C
Drainage Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; rich, moist but well-drained soil
Lifecycle biennial
Edible parts leaves

At a Glance

Detail of triangular, aromatic parsley leaves — “Starr-080731-9590-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-makawao-Maui (24831382061)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr-080731-9590-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-makawao-Maui (24831382061)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Petroselinum crispum Parsley Parsley leaf spot (caus… Parsley virus diseases… Aphids Slugs Snails Carrot fly Celery leaf miner (cele… DISEASES PESTS

Soil & Growing Conditions

A young parsley plant growing in soil — “Starr 070308-5407 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr 070308-5407 Petroselinum crispum” by Forest & Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Soil pH range

6 7

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

Growth Stages

Parsley leaves at a plant nursery — “Starr-070906-8879-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-Kula Ace Hardware and Nursery-Maui (24264055374)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Starr-070906-8879-Petroselinum crispum-leaves-Kula Ace Hardware and Nursery-Maui (24264055374)” by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC BY 3.0 us. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing 0 Sow seed in situ, in succession from late spring through summer (RHS).
First-year leaf growth 3 Develops rich-green, crisped, triangular aromatic leaves, harvested through the first year (RHS).
Overwintering 6 Can be overwintered, though leaves become coarser in the second year (RHS).
Second-year flowering 9 Produces small yellow-green flowers in its second year as a biennial (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

A bunch of harvested curly parsley leaves — “Parsley leaves” by Jeffery Martin is licensed under CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Parsley leaves” by Jeffery Martin is licensed under CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

When to pick: Cut-and-come-again herb; leaves harvested from late spring through autumn, best before flowering in second year; "seed is slow to germinate"

References

  1. country=USA

  2. country=INTL

  3. country=UK

  4. country=UK

  5. country=UK

  6. country=UK

  7. Directly fetched and verified. RHS explicitly does not recommend pesticide use against aphids; recommends tolerance, manual squashing, and encouraging/purchasing natural predators (ladybirds, hoverflies, lacewings, parasitoid wasps, earwigs) as biological control, especially under glass.

7 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

What soil pH do parsleys need?

A pH of about 6–7. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.

What problems affect parsleys?

Our data links 2 diseases and 5 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team

Science-based growing guides · Thresholds that hold in any climate

This guide states the conditions the plant itself responds to — soil temperature, frost tolerance, day length — rather than dates, because the same calendar month means opposite seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. Anything genuinely restricted to one part of the world is named as such rather than presented as universal. Written and maintained by our editorial team against international horticultural research and extension sources.

Vegetable Growing Guides

Last verified 2026-08-29

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