Don’t you hate it when you grow a plant and only a small part of it is useful, so you end up discarding most of it?
Wouldn’t it be nice to grow a plant where you can eat the leaves and stalks, use the seeds in cooking, and dig up the roots to eat like a vegetable?
Start growing lovage. You can eat it from root to tip, and a little goes a long way. It can also replace parsley or celery in any dish that calls for them.
What is not to love about lovage? Let’s explore.
What is Lovage?
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a perennial herb native to Southern Europe, where it is recorded as having been used as far back as the Middle Ages.
This is a large plant, sometimes reaching up to six or seven feet tall and over 30 inches wide. In hot areas or less-than-ideal conditions, it will stay much smaller.
It’s sometimes known by various other names such as Maggi plant, smellage, or, in Italy, it’s called mountain celery or sedano di monte.
Lovage tastes a bit like celery to many people, but with a little more herbaceousness. It is much easier to grow than celery, though.
It’s hardy in USDA Growing Zones 3 to 9, so you can try growing lovage across North America.
There are a range of medicinal uses that some people use lovage for, such as pain, inflammation control, and indigestion, among a range of other benefits.
Lovage is good for you, too. It has a high amount of magnesium, potassium, and Vitamins K and C.
Lovage is more commonly used in the kitchen than the medicine cabinet these days, and provides an intense hint of celery-like flavor to pork and poultry dishes, stews, soups, and stocks.
Plants Similar to Lovage
There is only one species of the true lovage. There are species of plants that go by the common name lovage that grow in the wild, but they aren’t the same plant. They don’t have the reliability of L. officinale in the garden, and they don’t have the same incredible flavor.
Scotch lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) is found in northern Europe, but can sometimes be found in the north-east of North America. This may be sold as sea lovage or scotch parsley. It has a much stronger taste than L. officinale.
Black lovage (Smyrnium olusatrum) is a favorite of English foragers. These plants are less favored in the garden (if even available) as they can be frost tender and generally only like areas within 15 to 20 miles of the coast.
Bastard lovage (Laserpitium spp.) is a rare species in cultivation, but it’s foraged to make oil for medicinal preparations.
If you’re wanting to try growing lovage, go with the original. It’s the one with the best flavor and is adapted to cultivation.
How to Propagate Lovage
Lovage can be propagated by either seeds or by root division. Sometimes, it’s difficult to find lovage seedlings in nurseries because the plant isn’t common, so you might need to buy your seeds online at places like Amazon.
If you’re lucky, you can take divisions or seeds from someone you know.
Growing Lovage by Seed
Let’s look at collecting lovage seeds. You can do this if you’re lucky enough to know someone with a plant. Then, planting is the same whether you have collected or purchased the seeds.
The seed heads turn brown anywhere in late summer through fall (depending on where you live). At that point, snip off the whole head and put it upside down in a paper bag.
Place this bag in a warm, dry place and shake it gently now and then to release the seeds. You should hear the seeds rattling around inside. There is no need to remove the seeds from the bag. Keep them there until you plant them.
You can plant these straight away in the fall in small pots with quality seed-starting soil. This may or may not work, but you have a lot of seeds, so it is worth a try because the seeds germinate best when they’re fresh.
Keep the pots inside and around 60°F until spring. In late spring, you’ll have a head start on lovage seedlings to move outside.
If you choose to save the seeds over winter or you purchased some, stratify them briefly in the fridge, though this step isn’t required, but it helps. Place the seeds in moist sphagnum moss in a sealable bag and place this in the fridge for a month.
Sow in early spring six weeks before the last frost at about a half inch deep in pots. Use individual cells or small pots with one seed per pot. We love this re-usable option with drainage holes from Burpee, available at Amazon.
Keep the soil moist with a spray bottle, and in 10-14 days, several will have hopefully germinated. Some won’t, as germination is hit-and-miss with lovage seeds. That’s why you should always plant several at a time.
Transplant outside when the danger of frost has passed and the soil temperature is consistently above 60ºF. The seedlings need to have a set of true leaves before being planted.
Don’t wait longer than this because growing lovage forms a long tap root, which is sensitive to being moved as it gets bigger.
Be sure to harden the plant off before planting outside. This simply requires taking the plant outside for an hour on the first day and bringing it back in. Add an hour each day for a week.
Growing Lovage by Root Division
This is a reliable method of propagating lovage, so if you have mature plants at least two or three seasons old, try this. Just keep in mind that disturbing the large tap root too much can kill the whole plant, so be gentle as you work.
Lovage dies back in winter, so do this in spring when the plant is at least a foot tall.
Lovage has an extensive root system, so dig as wide as the crown, and ensure you dig deep enough to get as much of the root as possible. If you start pulling up the plant and it resists, you don’t have all the root. Keep digging!
You don’t need to get everything since the taproot can be nearly three feet long, but you don’t want to leave too much behind.
Shake off the excess dirt and divide the root into sections at least a foot long. If possible, cut into sections so each piece has a stem or growth.
Plant one section back to where you dug it up from, and the remaining sections in prepared spots. They should be 20 to 24 inches apart. Water well and watch it grow.
Planting Lovage in Containers
Lovage grows well in containers, but don’t forget about the tap root. A deep pot is necessary and should be at least 12 inches in diameter.
Use a quality potting soil, and make sure the container drains well. I highly recommend FoxFarm’s Ocean Forest Mix, which contains bat guano, forest humus, fish meal, and other goodies that are perfect for herbs, houseplants, and veggies. It’s available at Amazon.
Keep the soil moist and move the container into a garage or basement in the winter when the plant dies back.
If you can’t move it inside, mulch with a layer of your choice of mulch about an inch thick.
How to Care For Lovage
Lovage loves full sun, but it will tolerate part of the shade in warm areas. Too much shade causes a lack of vigor.
Aim for a soil pH of around 6.5. A little variation either way won’t hurt it. Plant in loamy soil that holds moisture and drains well. The soil needs to be kept moist. Water deeply twice a week if it is a dry time of the year, more if needed. Don’t allow the soil to become waterlogged.
Mulch in dry, hot areas to help retain the soil moisture. A half inch of compost is sufficient. During the growing season, when you are removing leaves and stems to eat, provide the lovage plant with some compost tea or a diluted fish emulsion two or three times.
Growing lovage doesn’t like or need strong fertilizers. Fertilome makes a good option, which you can pick up in various sizes at Amazon.
In the winter, when lovage dies back, mulch with compost, straw, or hay to keep the plant warm underground.
Lovage grows tall and has a strong taste so you probably don’t want more than two plants at a time unless you use a lot of it.
Best Companion Plants for Lovage
Remember, lovage is a tall plant, often reaching six to seven feet tall. Plant it at the back of the garden, against a wall, or somewhere it won’t block the sun from its companions. Plant it near:
Some people use lovage as a trap crop to lure tomato hornworms away from their tomatoes. In a garden next to or near lovage, plant the following:
Problems and Solutions for Growing Lovage
Lovage is a sturdy plant and doesn’t get affected by too many issues. Watch for:
Early Blight
This fungal disease (Alternaria solani) usually presents as brown spots on the leaves, often surrounded by a lighter brown or yellow halo. Bad infections can affect the plant’s ability to photosynthesize.
You also don’t want this on the foliage of plants that you eat the leaves. Remove the infected leaves and stems. Ensure good airflow and rotate the crops and plants around the growing lovage plants.
Don’t put too much mulch around the base of the lovage as this can make the soil retain too much moisture, which can weaken the plant, making it susceptible to disease.
If your plant shows symptoms of this disease, use a copper fungicide spray.
Leaf Spot
Leaf spot is a generic term for various pathogens that infect plants, resulting in spots on the leaves. The spots can be different colors and sizes and spread at different rates. They can be caused by both fungus and bacteria.
Alternaria is a common pathogen, but not the only one.
With bad infections, the leaves are covered in dark spots before turning yellow and dropping from the plant. Over time, the plant loses vigor and can die.
The pathogens that cause leaf spots survive on fallen foliage, twigs, and stems.
Prevention is best so make sure you clean all debris away and keep the base of lovage weed-free.
Make sure you water the base of the plant, not the leaves, keep the plant well-watered and fertilized if necessary, and remove all infected parts quickly.
After removing symptomatic leaves, spray the plant with copper fungicide.
Parsley Worms
Parsley worms are the larvae of the swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes). You may know them as carrot caterpillars, dill worms, fennel worms, or celery worms.
They nibble on leaves and cause some damage, but it is generally not too bad. The swallowtail butterfly pollinates many native plants, so a measured approach to this pest is always good.
You will normally notice the colorful larvae before you notice the damage they do. Pick them off as you see them and relocate them to a different plant that you can sacrifice. Plant some dill in another spot and put them on there.
Use row covers to stop the butterflies from laying their eggs on your growing lovage in spring.
Other pests include:
Harvesting Lovage
Growing lovage is rewarding right away. In the first year of growth, only harvest the leaves. Use them in any dish that asks for celery. Use them in soups, stews, egg dishes and salads. Or make pesto with walnuts, hazelnuts, or pine nuts.
Chop some up with garlic and add oil and vinegar to make a salad dressing. Or toss it into potato salad.
In the second year, harvest the stems. They’re like a thinner celery and they go amazingly well in egg salads.
In the third year, you can dig the plant up and use the roots if you want to. Boil or saute them, add to stews and soups – the choice is endless.
Dry the seeds and grind them up for a unique spice.
