Herb · Apiaceae
When to plant lovage
Tastes strongly of celery and grows to two metres, so it belongs at the back of a bed rather than in a herb pot.
Start seed indoors
8 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Sow direct
2 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make lovage plantable anywhere.
- Start seed indoors 8 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Sow direct 2 weeks before the last frost.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 2 after planting.
- Hardy in USDA zones 3a–8a.
- Can also be sown in late summer for an autumn crop.
Frost tolerance
Very hardy. Dies back entirely and reappears early in spring.
Classified as very-hardy, with damage expected below -25°C (-13°F)-13°F (-25°C).