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Chervil: A charming, easy-to-grow herb that thrives in gardens and containers!
Ooh la la! Meet chervil—parsley’s elegant, anise-kissed cousin, ready to charm your garden. This fine French herb whispers flavor with a soft touch, making chefs swoon and salads sing. Consider it a classy dinner guest: low-maintenance, well-mannered, and always a delight. Ready to grow your new favorite secret ingredient? Let’s dig in!
About Chervil Plants
If parsley had a charming, delicate cousin, it would be chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium). With its feathery green leaves, upright habit, and lacy appearance, it resembles parsley—and for good reason. Both belong to the Apiaceae (or Umbellifer) plant family. But while parsley is a hardy biennial that overwinters and flowers in its second year, chervil is a cool-season annual that bolts (goes to seed) quickly in summer heat.
Chervil thrives in pots, herb beds, or tucked among veggies as a companion plant. Though often considered a springtime star, chervil also grows well in fall. When temperatures rise in summer, it bolts, sending up white umbel flowers, turning bitter, and signaling it’s time for the compost heap. To stretch your harvest, sow seeds in succession, water regularly, and grow in partial shade to help delay bolting.
Also known as French parsley or garden chervil, this classic French herb brings a subtle, anise-like flavor to poultry, eggs, soups, and fish. Unlike robust herbs like rosemary, fine herbs like chervil are prized for their delicate flavor and are best added at the end of cooking.
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Planting
Choose a partly shaded growing location with moisture-retentive, yet well-draining, soil. Chervil prefers moist, well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter.
Chervil has a long taproot that can make it tricky to transplant. As a result, this herb is rarely sold at plant nurseries and is typically grown from seed using the direct sowing method.
When to Plant Chervil
Chervil is best planted from seed in the spring or fall, as it prefers cool weather and tends to bolt in warm temperatures.
- Spring Planting: Sow seeds directly in the garden 2 to 3 weeks before the last expected frost. This timing allows the plant to establish itself before the summer heat arrives. To ensure a continuous supply of fresh chervil leaves, plant successively every 3 to 4 weeks throughout the spring and early summer.
- Fall Planting: Sow seeds in late fall for germination the following spring. This allows the seeds to overwinter and sprout when the weather warms up. Fall planting is a good option if you live in a warmer climate where chervil may struggle during the summer heat.
How to Plant Chervil
- Plant seeds ½ inch deep in rows spaced 12 inches apart, or plant a few seeds together in a 12-inch pot.
- Chervil seeds can take up to 3 weeks to sprout. When they do, thin out the weakest seedlings so the remaining plants are spaced 6 inches apart.
- Add mulch around the base of plants when they’re several inches tall to control weeds.
- Look out for slugs and snails, which can decimate small chervil plants. Installing slug pubs and other deterrents can help!
Growing
Once planted, chervil grows quickly. Harvest time typically begins about 9 weeks after planting and lasts until the plant bolts in the heat. However, you can extend the life of chervil plants and harvest them a little longer by succession planting seeds and following these simple care tips.
Light
Chervil bolts faster in full sun—especially in hot climates. To avoid this, plant chervil in partially shaded locations that are protected from strong sun and afternoon heat.
Water
Like other tender-stemmed herbs, chervil needs a fair amount of water and should be provided with about 1 inch of water per week. Keeping the soil consistently moist, but not soggy, and adding mulch can slow down the bolting process.
Fertilizer
Amending soil with compost before planting can help chervil sprout and grow a little better. After that, you can skip the fertilizer entirely or feed your plants with liquid organic fertilizer diluted to half strength every few weeks or according to the instructions on the fertilizer packaging.
Humidity and Temperature
Although chervil isn’t fussy about humidity, hot weather will cause these cold-season plants to bolt. You can slow down this process by growing your plants in light shade and watering them more as temperatures rise. However, once bolting begins, it’s usually best to replace bolted chervil with new plants unless you want to collect your own chervil seeds for sowing.
Seasonal Care
For a continuous harvest, succession-sow chervil seeds from spring through fall, and cover autumn plantings of chervil with cold frames or cloches to protect them from cold damage. If you live in an area with mild winters, you may be able to grow chervil year-round under winter protection.
Propagation
Chervil plants will readily self-sow if you leave them in place when they bolt and don’t remove the flower heads. You can prevent self-sowing by deadheading the flowers when they fade, or collect the seeds yourself for future plantings!
- Wait for chervil flowers and seeds to dry on the plant.
- Shake the dried flower heads over a paper bag until the dark, oblong seeds fall off. Or harvest the entire flowerhead and pop it into the bag.
- Leave the top of the bag open and allow the seeds to dry indoors for another 1 to 2 weeks.
- Rub the dried flower heads, if needed, to remove any remaining seeds. Then, discard the plant debris and store the seeds in labeled and dated paper envelopes until spring.
Harvesting
You can start harvesting chervil about 9 weeks after planting, or when the plants are at least 4 inches tall. Like parsley, chervil is a cut-and-come-again herb that’s usually harvested little by little by pinching off a few outer leaves at a time and allowing the center of the plant to regrow. When harvesting, cut chervil stems down low to the ground and never harvest more than 1/3 of your plant in one go.
Harvesting regularly can delay flowering, but chervil plants will still eventually bolt as temperatures climb. Before they do, harvest the entire chervil plant by clipping the stems off near the soil line. Then, dig up the plant roots, or allow them to degrade back into your garden soil.
Storing and Using Chervil
Unlike many common herbs, chervil doesn’t dry well and is best used fresh. If you can’t use all of your chervil at once, wrap the stems in a damp paper towel and store them in a zip-close bag in your fridge for up to 1 week. Or chop the leaves fine, pop them into an ice cube tray with olive oil or water, and freeze them so they last even longer.
If you’re new to working with chervil, feel free to use chervil in any recipe that calls for parsley or tarragon. Many home chefs use chervil in poultry and fish dishes, but it makes an exceptional herb butter and can be infused into salad dressings and olive oil, too!
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