How to Grow Chervil Plants

About Growing Chervil Plants in Your Herb Garden

If you are not growing Chervil plants in your home herb garden, you’re not alone. Chances are, you just don’t know much about this tasty herb. Therefore, you never gave it a try. Chervil herbs are a gourmet herb in many cultures. Chefs love to use it. Now that the secret is out, we encourage you to grow Chervil in your herb garden. Then, try it in your kitchen.

Chervil, also called French Parsley, is native to eastern and southern Europe, Russia, and Asia. Chervil herb is an annual and a member of the carrot family. It is very popular in ethnic cuisine. Can you guess which? That’s right! It is commonly used in French cuisine!

Chervil has a peppery, sweet, anise-like flavor. It is related to Parsley.

Fast-growing Chervil grows to harvestable size in just 6-8 weeks. Chervil has light green leaves. It has small, white flowers.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Chervil herb has a wide variety of medicinal uses, including:

Helps cure stomach disorders and digestion problems.
Helps to reduce cellulite.
As an herbal tea, it improves blood circulation.
Treat high blood pressure.
Chervil tea helps soothe irritated or tired eyes.
Beneficial for liver problems.
A cure for coughs, flu, and colds.
Skin tonic and to cure various skin problems, like acne and eczema.

Culinary Uses:

Use the leaves to flavor a variety of recipes.

Nutritional Value

100 grams of fresh Chervil contains approximately:

237 calories
49 g carbs
0 cholesterol
4 g fat
11 g fiber
23 g protein
83 mg sodium

Chervil Plant Growing Specifications

Flower Colors: White.

Days to Harvest: Six to eight weeks.

Plant Height: 12 to 24 inches tall.

Light Needs: Full sunlight to partial shade.

Ideal Soil pH : 6.5– 7.0.

Plant Hardiness Zones: 3 – 7

Ideal Growing Temperatures

Daytime: 55 to 70° F.
Nighttime: 45° F minimum.

Plant Type: Biennial.

Deer Resistant? Yes.

Native To: The Caucasus regions that includes parts of Asia and Europe.

Botanical Name: Anthriscus Cerefolium

Other Names: Gourmet parsley, French parsley, Rich Man’s parsley

Chervil Plant Propagation

Chervil plants are grown from seed. Plant this cool-weather crop in early spring, or late summer for a fall crop.

The ideal soil temperature to sprout seeds is 50 to 55 degrees F. They have trouble sprouting in warm soils.

Directly sow seeds into your garden. Sow seeds early in the season, and cover lightly with soil.

Chervil plants do not transplant well. So, do not start them indoors.

Final Plant Spacing: Thin plants to about 8″ apart.

Days to Germination: 7 – 14 days.

How to Grow Chervil Plants

Planting and Soil Needs

Like most other herbs, Chervil is an easy-to-grow plant. These cool-weather herbs prefer full sun. But, plant them in partial shade in warmer areas.

As a biennial, plant them where they can grow undisturbed and won’t be in the way of your annual rototilling and the planting of annual herbs.

They grow well in average to moderately rich soils. The soil should be well-drained.

While the plants will grow in average soil, they respond to rich soil. As a result, mix compost into the planting site. Also, mix into the planting site a balanced, general-purpose fertilizer at planting time.

Light Requirement

Select a location in your garden where your Chervil plants will receive at least seven to eight hours of bright, direct sun. For optimal growth, grow them in a location where they will receive full sunlight from sunrise to sunset.

The plants are tolerant of light, partial shade. Even in cooler areas of the country, Chervil plants benefit from partial shade during the mid-afternoon when the sun is hottest and most intense. In hotter regions, select a growing location that has partial sunlight or light shade during most of the day to protect it from damage by the hot rays of the sun.

Important Note: With reduced sunlight, the plants grow slower and smaller, with less flowers.

Fertilizer Needs

Apply a balanced, general-purpose fertilizer once or twice during the growing season. If grown in average soil, apply it a little more frequently.

Water Needs

Provide sufficient water during the growing season to keep the soil moist. The goal is to have the soil evenly moist, but not wet, the entire season. Water directly to the roots of the plant. Make sure to keep them watered during a drought.

Other Steps

Weeds rob valuable water and soil nutrients. Therefore, keep young Chamomile plants well-weeded. Then, after they have grown several inches, apply a layer of mulch. This helps to retain soil moisture and gives the plant a neat and tidy appearance.

Prune off any dead, damaged, or diseased leaves and stems during the growing season.

As a cool-weather herb, Chervil overwinters in most areas without any additional care. In colder regions, apply a layer of mulch to first year plants to protect the roots from freezing.

Insect and Plant Disease Problems

Like with many other herb plants, insect and disease problems are uncommon.

Also see:

Plant Problems – causes and cures

How to Harvest Chervil

Harvest mature plants when the plant reaches at least six to eight inches tall. Cut the stems about 2-3 inches above the ground. This will encourage the plants to re-grow.