Parsley Pruning Tips

If you grow parsley in your herb garden, some simple pruning tips will help keep the plant healthy while increasing its yeild. This is important since this plant tends to be a very active grower. If they are not occasionally thinned out then parsley will loose it's vigor. It will also prevent them from taking over another area and chocking out other plants. Many parley species flower abundantly thus producing many seeds. As these booms die you will want to remove them so the bloom will not form a seed thus conserving the plant's energy it will take to produce the seed. This makes your parsley more vigorous. Pruning herbs properly also helps prevent plant diseases such as powdery mildew since pruning increases the air flow.

Step 1: Checking for Dying Blooms

You will first want to check and see of your parsley plants have grown any blooms. If you see these blooms and they have begun to fade then it it important you deadhead them. To deadhead them mean to remove the dying flower before they form a seed. You may have  also heard of this process described as pinching back the flowers  of the parsley. By “deadheading” or “pinching back” the dying flower blooms on your parsley you will prevent the plant from over seeding allover your herb garden. This will keep your parsley vigorous and assist in preventing the plant from taking over you herb garden.

Step 2: The 1/3-Inch “Haircut”

You will want to take your scissors and just give your parsley plant a trim or “haircut”. This will keep your parsley plants from growing too high. Periodically take the tops of the plant in your hand and cut about a  1/3 inch off. Do this when you notice the plant is exceeding an ideal height for your herb garden. This  process will not damage or kill the parsley and will allow you to maintain a nice appearance in your herb garden while controlling overgrowth. This can also be done by simply plucking back the leaves.

Step 3: Dividing the Root System

Perennials such as parsley have a tendency to form a dense root mass. A dense root mass can cause the parsley you are growing to be less vigorous. A dense root mass will also cause the parsley to choke out other plants you are trying to grow in your herb garden. These are all reason as to why you need to thin out your parsley. To do his take a small shovel and use it to dig up some of the parsley which is growing next to or near other herbs. This will divide the root system and also stimulate new growth of the parsley in your herb garden. (This step should be done in either Spring or Fall.)

Step 4: End with Mulching

After taking care to prune your parsley  take care to mulch the plants in your  herb garden. Do this by taking mature compost and spread it in the top soil to improve moisture. Keep it away from the roots to prevent rotting.