How to Grow Parsleys USA | Care, Pests & Disease Control

Diseases

Parsley leaf spot (causal agent not yet confirmed)

Parsley virus diseases (unspecified/unidentified)

Pests

Aphids

Aphididae (various spp.)

Slugs

low

Gastropoda (slugs, various spp.)

RHS names this directly.

Snails

low

Gastropoda (snails, various spp.)

RHS names this directly.

Carrot fly

Psila rosae

Celery leaf miner (celery fly)

Euleia heraclei

Quick Facts

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

Soil & Growing Conditions

Soil pH range

6 7

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

Growth Stages

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

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"

Parsley, a Kitchen Garden Staple

Rich-green, crisped leaves

RHS: a biennial culinary herb with rich-green, crisped, triangular aromatic leaves.

Triangular, aromatic foliage

Parsley's distinctive triangular leaf shape sets it apart from its close relatives, carrot and celery.

Normally grown as an annual

RHS: normally grown as an annual, though it can be overwintered, with leaves becoming coarser in the second year.

Reaches 0.1-0.5m at maturity

RHS: reaches 0.1-0.5m in height and spread, taking 1-2 years to reach full maturity as a biennial.

Sown in succession

RHS: propagated by seed sown in situ, in succession from late spring through summer.

References

1. Clemson HGIC - Herbs (HGIC)

   country=USA

2. GBIF - GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Petroselinum crispum

   country=INTL

3. RHS - Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group | cauliflower

   country=UK

4. RHS - Celery Leaf Mining Fly | RHS Advice

   country=UK

5. RHS - How to grow Parsley | RHS Guide

   country=UK

6. RHS - Petroselinum crispum | parsley

   country=UK

7. Royal Horticultural Society (RHS Advice Team) - Aphids: Identification and Control

   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.