Chinese Parsley

How to grow Chinese Parsley

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team · Last reviewed 21 July 2026 · Written for UK gardens · How we research our guidance

Planting

Sow direct from April onwards, thinning to 15–20 cm; like dill it has a taproot and bolts quickly if transplanted. For leaf, sow thickly in a wide row every three weeks and harvest young. For seed, sow once in spring, space the plants and let them run.

Pruning

Cut leaf plants back to 5 cm and they will regrow once or twice before flowering. Pinching out flower buds delays bolting only briefly.

Propagation

From seed. Plants left to flower self-seed readily and often produce good autumn seedlings.

Pests and diseases

Few problems in open ground. Slugs take seedlings, and crowded sowings can damp off or rot at the base in wet weather.

Value to wildlife

The umbels of small white flowers attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps, useful natural predators of aphids.

Notes

Bolting is the whole difficulty with coriander — heat, dryness, root disturbance and long days all trigger it. Sowings made in late summer for autumn cropping tend to stand far longer than midsummer ones. If you want the seed rather than the leaf, choose a variety bred for seed production; leaf varieties bolt at the wrong stage for a good crop.

This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Coriandrum sativum but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Others in Coriandrum