How to grow Lovage

Levisticum officinale

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) — a big, hardy perennial herb related to celery. Its leaves, hollow stems, seeds and even roots taste of celery and go into soups, stews and salads. It dies down in late autumn, resprouts in spring and sends up flower stems up to 2 m tall. NC State lists it as a problem for cats, dogs and horses.

Checked against sources: October 3, 2026

Quick facts

Type	Herb
Family	Apiaceae
Light	Partial shade
Soil pH	6–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 4 °C
Germination	12 days
Seedlings ready	35 days
Sowing to harvest	365 days
Where it grows	Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 7 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

The first harvest comes about 365 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	—	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 5 days	—	—
Harvest	every 7 days	—	organic, at the start of the stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	—	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 3 days	—	—
Harvest	every 3 days	—	organic, at the start of the stage

Growing notes

Light

Light shade suits it best, but it also grows well in full sun.

Soil

Rich, moist soil that neither dries out nor gets waterlogged, pH 6.0–7.0. Mix garden compost or well-rotted manure into the soil from the planting hole.

Care

Sow in spring, indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost or straight outside; fresh seed germinates best, in 10–14 days. Move seedlings into individual pots at four true leaves and plant out in late spring or early summer, 30–45 cm apart — after a few years a clump can be 1 m across. Protect seedlings from slugs. Water regularly in the first season and in hot, dry spells, and mulch the clump with compost or manure every spring; no other feeding is needed. Plants from seed give their first leaves in the second year. Pick young leaves in spring and summer; once flowers form the leaves turn bitter, so remove the flower stems for a longer harvest, and if new leaves stop coming in summer, cut back the old foliage. In a pot, use a heavy one at least 30 cm wide and deep.

Pests and diseases of Lovage

Leaf Miner

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.