Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  Flat-leaf Parsley

Description:

An upright parsley producing large, flat, open medium green leaves; requires a well prepared fertilized soil and even moisture; if it flowers, the leaves are inedible; pinch blooms to promote foliage

Edible Qualities

Italian Parsley is a perennial herb that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. The fragrant ferny compound green leaves are usually harvested from late spring to mid summer. The leaves have a bitter taste and a light fragrance.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Drying
• Seasoning

Features & Attributes

Italian Parsley's attractive fragrant ferny compound leaves remain green in color throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth.

This is a dense herbaceous perennial herb with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage. This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Italian Parsley is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Italian Parsley will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. It grows at a fast rate, and tends to be biennial, meaning that it puts on vegetative growth the first year, flowers the second, and then dies. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant is typically grown in a designated herb garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Italian Parsley is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.