Growing parsley in a pot
Parsley is the plant most people give up on too early. Where radish appears within four days, parsley can take three weeks — and in those three weeks many people bin the pot, convinced the seed was bad. Get through that period and you harvest from the same plant from May into November.
At a glance
- Light
- 4 to 6 hours, tolerates partial shade well
- Pot depth
- Pot 20 cm deep — parsley roots deeply
- Sowing
- February to April indoors, April to July outdoors
- Harvest
- 10 to 12 weeks after sowing, then continuously
- Water
- Evenly moist, copes badly with drought
- Level
- Easy, if you are patient
Sowing, and the patience it takes
Sow one centimetre deep and keep the compost constantly moist. Germination takes two to three weeks at room temperature, and unevenly: the first seedlings appear days before the last.
Soaking the seed overnight in lukewarm water speeds it up noticeably. The seed has a hard coat carrying germination inhibitors, and water washes part of that away.
Sow directly into the pot the plant will stay in. Parsley forms a taproot and hates being moved — transplanted seedlings often sulk for weeks.
Care
Twenty centimetres of depth sounds like a lot for a herb, but that taproot goes straight down. In a shallow trough the plant stays small and bolts sooner.
Parsley tolerates partial shade better than most herbs, but drought badly. Let the root ball dry out and the lower leaves yellow permanently.
Harvesting
Cut whole stems from the outside, close to the compost. The heart in the middle keeps growing, exactly as with loose-leaf lettuce. Picking leaves off the top slows the plant instead.
Take a third of the plant at once without worry. Parsley regrows quickly and stays compact rather than woody.
The second year
Parsley is biennial: in its second year it bolts and the leaves turn small and bitter. That is not your mistake, it is the life cycle.
Sow fresh every spring and discard the old plant once the flower stem appears. Leave it standing and it will give you seed for the following year.
Frequently asked questions
Why has my parsley not come up?
Almost always impatience. Parsley germinates in two to three weeks and does so unevenly. Keep the compost constantly moist through that period and soak the seed overnight beforehand.
Curly or flat-leaf parsley?
For growing it makes no difference: same depth, same light, same sowing windows. Flat-leaf has more flavour, curly is sturdier and keeps longer after cutting.
Can parsley overwinter indoors?
Yes, in a cool bright spot it grows on slowly. Expect few new leaves in December and January, and water considerably less.
Updated on 2026-08-25
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