How to grow chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium · Apiaceae · Herb

Chervil is a cool-season herb in the Apiaceae family, almost always sown straight into the ground where it will grow. It wants partial shade — four to six hours of sun is enough and steady, even moisture. From sowing to first pick is about 40–60 days. It shrugs off a light frost but a hard freeze will damage it.

Grower’s note: A delicate, anise-tinged 'gourmet parsley' that bolts the moment it turns hot - grow it in spring and fall, in the shade of taller crops. Sow where it will grow; it hates transplanting. Add it at the end of cooking or the flavour is lost.

Sowing

Sow about 0.25″ deep, into soil between 45–70°F — germination is quickest near 60°F. Germination takes a week or two (7–14 days). It does not transplant well, so sow it in its final position rather than starting it in pots.

Spacing & layout

Give each plant about 6″ along the row with roughly 8″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is 9 per square foot. Allow at least 8″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 8″ deep.

Fitting it to your season

As a cool-season crop, chervil does its best growing in the mild weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. A second sowing in late summer, timed to mature as the weather cools, is usually the better crop of the year — though a hard freeze will end it.

Quick facts

When to plant chervil

Companions

Common problems

Pests: aphids, slugs.

Diseases & disorders: powdery mildew, damping off.

Same family (Apiaceae)

Rotate these so they don’t follow each other in the same bed year to year.

Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.