Herbperennial herbStraightforward

Lovage

Levisticum officinale

An intensely celery-flavoured perennial that reaches two metres and comes back every year with no attention whatever. One plant is enough for any household — the flavour is far stronger than celery, and the plant is large enough to shade out whatever is behind it.

Position: Full sun or Partial shade
Water: moderate demand
Drainage: Moisture-retentive
Grows to: 150–200 cm × 60–90 cm
Hardiness: H6
Harvest: April to August
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

Harvest

Lovage’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	M	A	M	J	J	A
Sow outdoors		April.	May.
Harvest		April.	May.	June.	July.	August.
Divide	March.	April.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

What kind of herb this is

Herbs are a kitchen grouping rather than a botanical one, and the plants in it want opposite things. This is the one distinction that decides how to treat it.

Moisture-loving perennial herb

Growing regime

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Wants damp ground and tolerates shade, which is the opposite of the Mediterranean set. Most will spread if allowed to, so the question is usually containment rather than establishment.

Treated the same way: chives, fennel, garlic chives, lemon balm, mint, sorrel. The herb bed, split by regime

Indoors: Not worth growing indoors

Where the indoor assessment comes from

IndoorsSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — growing indoors
Checked 2026-08-13

Almost any herb will sit on a windowsill in July. This is about whether it is still there in March, which is the part a pot on a supermarket shelf does not tell you.

What happens when it flowers

On a herb this is rarely a problem and rarely nothing. It is the point at which the plant stops being what you grew it for — by a lot, a little, or not at all.

Leaves coarsen

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

The seed is a crop too

Cut the flowering stems out to keep the leaves coming, or let one run up for seed. A mature lovage reaches two metres, so this is as much about size as about flavour.

source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Frost: Very hardy
Hardiness rating: H6 (RHS)
Grows best at: 12–25 °C
Germinates at: 10–20 °C
Soil: Loam, Clay
Soil pH: 6–7.5
Drainage: Moisture-retentive
Water needs: moderate
Drought: moderate tolerance
Waterlogging: moderate tolerance
Heat: good tolerance
Wind and exposure: moderate tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — position
Checked 2026-08-13
FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
Germinates atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Seed germination temperatures
Checked 2026-08-13
SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Levisticum officinale — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Prefers this soil	Heavy clay suits Lovage as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Sandy	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Chalky and alkaline	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on chalky and alkaline without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Lovage as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on silty without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Peaty and acid	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Shallow over rock	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on shallow over rock without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Made ground and urban soil	Grows well here	Lovage grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 150–200 cm
Mature spread: 60–90 cm
Rooting depth: 60 cm
Spacing: 60–90 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Marginal source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	Too large to be sensible in anything but a half-barrel
Hydroponics	Marginal source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence Two metres of plant with a taproot, grown for a leaf used a few at a time. The ratio is worse than for any other herb here. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13
Greenhouse	Marginal source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection Checked 2026-08-13
Polytunnel	Marginal source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection Checked 2026-08-13
Windowsill	Marginal source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing herbs and salads indoors Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

PruningCut the whole plant to the ground in early summer after the first flush. It regrows with tender leaves rather than the coarse ones that follow flowering.
HarvestingUse it sparingly. Lovage is several times stronger than celery, and a single leaf is enough for a pan of soup — most people's first attempt uses far too much.
PropagationDivide the crown in early spring before growth is far advanced, making sure each piece has a bud and a share of the thick fleshy root. Lovage is a big plant and one division is usually enough for any garden. It also comes readily from fresh seed sown as soon as it ripens in late summer.
WateringLovage wants a moisture-retentive soil and will wilt hard on a light one in July, though it recovers overnight. Water established plants in a drought and mulch the crown in spring; a plant that dries badly runs up to flower early and the leaves coarsen. It is otherwise about as self-sufficient as a herb can be.
FeedingA mulch of garden compost in spring is enough and more than most plants of this size ask for. Lovage reaches two metres from a standing start every year and does it on ordinary soil; adding fertiliser produces an even larger plant, which is rarely what anybody wants.
PlantingPlant one, at the back, in spring. The flavour is far stronger than celery and a single plant supplies any household; at two metres tall it will shade out whatever is behind it, so put it on the north side of a bed where that does no harm. It is long-lived and dislikes being moved, so choose the spot properly.

Where this guidance comes from

PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — care
Checked 2026-08-13
HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — use
Checked 2026-08-13
PropagationSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
WateringSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
PlantingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — planting
Checked 2026-08-13

The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

Structure	What protection is worth	What decides it
Greenhouse	No real benefit source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Height. Lovage reaches two metres and is a completely hardy perennial that wants a corner of the garden, not a corner of the greenhouse.
Polytunnel	No real benefit source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Height.

On a windowsill

Does not work indoors

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Not a windowsill crop. The reason is given — usually light, root volume or sheer size. Size and a taproot. Two metres tall outdoors, and there is no small version of it.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Not worth it

It can be made to grow, but a soilless system is the wrong tool — usually because of rooting volume, running cost, or a result no better than a pot of compost.

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Two metres of plant with a taproot, grown for a leaf used a few at a time. The ratio is worse than for any other herb here.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

A single plant supplies a household. Two metres of it in a system supplies a household and nothing else fits.

Techniques that suit it

Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.

Horticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence

Applies when: Deep medium only.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space: Very large, with a deep taproot.
pH band: 5.5–6.5

Where these figures come from

Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence

Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.

Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH

Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

When it is readyPick young leaves from spring until midsummer; they are at their best before the plant flowers and become coarse and very strong afterwards. Cut the whole plant down after flowering and it produces a fresh flush of tender leaves. Seed is gathered when the heads turn brown, and the hollow stems are cut young for candying or as a celery substitute.
How to pick itPick individual leaves from the outside. Use sparingly — the flavour is several times stronger than celery — and freeze rather than dry.

Where the harvest guidance comes from

When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Lovage — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Aphids	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.