How to Divide Parsley

You can divide parsley to improve your harvest of aromatic leaves.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is among the most common sights in an herb garden, popular for flavoring and as a garnish. Technically a perennial, parsley is typically grown as an annual as it goes to seed during the second year. Therefore, gardeners who divide the plant generally do so to increase one year's yield, not as a means of propagation for future years.

Things You'll Need

• Parsley plant or seeds
• Trowel or sharp knife
• Potting soil
• Planting container with drainage holes

Instructions

Dividing Seedlings

1. Obtain a parsley plant at the seedling stage from a reputable nursery in your area. Select a variety that's well-suited to your local growing conditions. Check that the plant is not extremely root-bound such that its roots circle the perimeter of the pot and make sure the soil is not very dry. Choose either a flat- or curly-leaf variety, according to your tastes and culinary purposes.

2. Remove the parsley plant from its container. Massage its clump of roots gently to loosen them from the soil. Avoid breaking off any roots.

3. Use your fingers to delicately separate the parsley stalks into two parts. Divide them in a ratio of one-third to two-thirds. Use a trowel or knife to continue dividing the parsley's roots. Cut as few roots as possible; gently pull apart any intertwining roots whenever possible. Repeat the process again with the rest of the plant to divide it in half.

Dividing Parsley from Seeds

1. Purchase parsley seeds of a variety well-suited to your local climate in spring, four to six weeks before you plan to put them in your garden. Soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours. Sow them in rows and spaced 3 to 4 inches apart.

2. Divide or simply thin out the new parsley plants as they come in so the plants are 2 inches apart. Replant the thinned seedlings when possible and keep them 2 inches apart along any new rows.

3. Dig up mature plants in between leaf harvests with the trowel; do this gently to minimize root cutting. Divide them as you would for store-bought seedlings. Replant the parsley with an extra 2 inches between the newly separated plants.

Tips & Warnings

• Unlike most plants, parsley fares best when replanted and can produce a maximum yield, when moved, up to three times in a growing season. Take advantage of this tendency and divide them each time you replant.

• Besides the division technique, you can maximize your yield of parsley leaves by harvesting from every other plant along the row. Another technique is to harvest only the fully mature leaves and let the less developed ones continue to grow.

• While frequent replanting and division will benefit your parsley harvest, you should not divide the plants too frequently. Allow at least three weeks for leaf development between each harvest and divide and transplant no more than once per cycle or three times per season.

References

• North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension: Growing Herbs for the Home Gardener
• Our Herb Garden: Growing Parsley