Annual
How to grow chervil
Anthriscus cerefolium
Chervil is the herb for the shady, damp corner where coriander and basil fail. Sow it direct from March to May and again in August and September, about 1 cm deep, in light shade and moist soil, and cut leaves six to eight weeks later. It is a cool-season crop: summer heat and dry soil send it to seed, while a late summer sowing under a cloche crops through winter.
- Hardiness
- Hardy, overwinters under cover
- Position
- Light shade (dislikes hot sun)
- Soil
- Moist, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate, keep cool and damp
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting chervil
WhenSow Mar to May and Aug to Sep direct; harvest 6 to 8 weeks later
Starting off
Sow direct Mar to May and Aug to Sep every three or four weeks, about 1 cm deep; germination takes 10 to 21 days at 10 to 18°C. Do not transplant, as the taproot resents it and the plant bolts. The same rule applies in container gardening: sow straight into the final pot or window box. Aug to Sep sowings under a cloche or in a cold greenhouse give leaf through winter.
Spacing and planting
Thin to 15 to 20 cm apart in rows 25 to 30 cm apart, sowing 0.5 to 1 cm deep. Fine in a 15 cm pot or window box with at least 10 cm of compost on a shaded sill.
Varieties worth growing
- Plain-leaved (common) chervil
- The standard form sold simply as chervil. Flat, lacy leaves with the best anise flavour, and the quickest to crop.
- 'Vertissimo'
- A slow-bolting selection with good cold tolerance. The one to choose for August and September sowings that stand through winter.
- Curled chervil
- Tightly curled leaves that look good as a garnish. Slightly milder in flavour than the plain form and grown the same way.
Chervil month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Pick from plants under cloches or in the cold greenhouse. Ventilate on mild days.
- February
Keep picking under cover. Order fresh seed; last year's packet may not germinate.
- March
First direct sowing from mid month once the soil is workable, under a cloche in a cold spring.
- April
Sow again. Thin the March rows to 15 to 20 cm.
- May
Last spring sowing, in the shadiest spot you have. Start cutting the March sowing.
- June
Cut regularly and keep watered. Plants begin to bolt as the days heat up.
- July
Pull bolted plants, or leave one or two to drop seed. Too hot to sow.
- August
Sow for autumn and winter from the middle of the month.
- September
Sow again early in the month, in a cold greenhouse border or where a cloche can go over it.
- October
Cover outdoor rows with cloches before the first hard frost. Cut the August sowing.
- November
Pick outer leaves lightly; growth slows right down.
- December
Pick sparingly from covered plants.
Feeding chervil
Chervil needs no fertiliser on any reasonable soil. It is in the ground for only a few weeks, and moisture and shade matter far more than nutrients.
Low, cool, shaded, moist conditions suit it.
Feeding plan
Before sowing
Garden compost
A 2 to 3 cm layer raked into the surface if the soil dries out quickly. It is there to hold water, not to feed.
Before sowing, thin or sandy soil only
50 g/m², the low end of the label, raked in once. That is about 15 g along a metre of row 30 cm wide. Skip it on good soil.
Pots and window boxes, once the plants have been cut
1 g per litre of water, watered on every 3 weeks at most. One or two drenches see a pot through its life.
Signs to watch
Yellowing leaves and a flower stem in Jun
Heat and drought, not a deficiency
Sow again in part shade and keep damp
Pale, slow growth in a pot
Nitrogen short in exhausted compost
One half-strength balanced feed
Reddish tints in a cold March
Phosphorus locked by cold
Wait for warmth, no feed
Pests, diseases and problems
Plants throw up a flower stem while still small, leaves turn yellow or pinkish
Bolting triggered by heat, dry soil, full sun or root disturbance
Pull the plants and sow again in light shade. Avoid sowing in June and July, keep the soil damp, and never transplant.
Seedlings vanish or are grazed off at soil level
Slugs and snails, which favour the same cool, damp, shaded spots as chervil
Go out with a torch after dark and pick them off, clear hiding places nearby, and water nematodes onto moist soil from April once it is above 5 °C.
Patchy or no germination
Old seed, or a drill that dried out; chervil seed keeps for only about a year
Buy fresh seed each year, sow it about 1 cm deep, and keep the drill damp for three weeks.
Clusters of green insects on stems and leaf undersides, leaves sticky or distorted
Aphids, including willow-carrot aphid in May and June
Rub them off or wash off with a jet of water. On a salad herb that crops in weeks, resowing is often simpler than treating.
White powdery coating on leaves in late spring or early autumn
Powdery mildew on plants that are dry at the root
Water the soil, not the leaves, thin crowded rows, and shear affected plants to 5 cm for clean regrowth.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Cut outer leaves 6 to 8 weeks after sowing once plants are 10 to 15 cm tall, or shear the whole plant 5 cm up for two or three regrowths; expect 30 to 50 g per plant. The anise flavour is lost in drying and fades in cooking, so use it fresh or freeze chopped leaf in ice cubes or butter.
Rotation and companions
Rotation: umbellifer group with carrots, parsley and coriander, 3-year gap. Sow it under broad beans or sweetcorn, whose shade stops it bolting, and beside lettuce, which shares its cool, moist needs.
Good to knowBolts in heat and full sun, so grow it in spring and autumn in light shade; sow direct.
Growing chervil in pots
Chervil does well in a pot provided it stays cool. Sow thinly straight into a 15 to 20 cm pot or a window box with at least 10 cm of multipurpose compost, and thin to 5 cm apart for cut-and-come-again leaves. Stand it on a north or east-facing sill or step, out of midday sun, and never let the compost dry out. Fresh compost carries enough food for the first cut. A pot sown in early September and brought into a cold greenhouse, porch or cool windowsill gives leaves into winter.
Chervil: common questions
Does chervil grow in shade?
Yes, chervil prefers light shade and is one of the best herbs for it. Under taller crops, beside a north-facing fence or on a shaded windowsill it stays leafy for weeks longer than in full sun, where it bolts.
Can you grow chervil in winter?
Yes, it is hardy and crops through a normal English winter if covered. Sow in late August or early September and put a cloche over the row in October, or grow it in a cold greenhouse border. Growth is slow from December to February, so pick lightly.
What is the difference between chervil and parsley?
Chervil is a quicker, more delicate plant with finer leaves and a mild aniseed flavour, where parsley is stronger and grassier. Chervil crops in six to eight weeks and runs to seed within a few months; parsley is slower and stands for most of a year. Chervil is added at the end of cooking because heat destroys its flavour.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.
- How to grow chervilRHS
- How to grow chervilBBC Gardeners' World Magazine