How to Grow Celery
Celery At a Glance
Difficulty
Challenging
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -2°C
Plant Family
Apiaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Biennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Celery grows slowly and needs a long season, so start it inside or it will not be ready before fall. About 10 weeks before your last frost, sprinkle the tiny seeds on moist potting mix and barely cover them (0.5 cm at most), since they need light. Keep them warm and damp and they sprout in 14 to 21 days. Plant out 20 cm apart about 2 weeks after your last frost, once nights stay above about 10°C (50°F), because a cold spell can make young celery bolt (rush to flower). Before planting out, set the pots outside in a sheltered spot for a few hours a day, a little longer each day for about a week, so they toughen up (this is called hardening off).
Celery is one of the trickier crops, but the secret is simple: never let it dry out. Steady water and rich soil give crisp, tender stalks, while a thirsty plant turns stringy and bitter.
When To Start
First chance to plant
60 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
60 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant Celery?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Celery Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Celery Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Start celery seeds indoors, barely cover them and keep them warm
10 weeks before your last frost· every year
Plant celery out into rich soil and keep it damp
2 weeks after your last frost· every year
Cut celery stalks from the outside and keep watering well
100 days after your last frost· every year· optional
Start hardening off your celery seedlings: an hour outside today, a little longer each day.
4 days after your last frost
Water your new celery plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Your celery is coming along! Water often, because celery needs steady moisture to grow crisp stalks.
About 49 days after you plant it
Your celery is nearly there. Cut the stalks once they are firm and thick.
About 78 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your celery.
About 85 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Celery's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
20 cm
Plant Spacing
45 cm
Row Spacing
4
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
Yes: Tower.
Method: Tower.
Succession Planting
Yes.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 14–21 days
Growing Tips
- 1Grow celery in full sun, at least 6 hours a day, with a little afternoon shade in hot spells.
- 2Mix plenty of compost into the bed before planting, since celery is a hungry plant with shallow roots.
- 3Water often so the soil stays damp all the time, and spread mulch around the plants to hold the moisture in.
- 4Feed with compost tea or a handful of worm castings every 2 to 3 weeks.
- 5Slugs love young celery, so go out after dark with a flashlight and pick them off by hand.
- 6Wash aphids off the leaves with a spray of water.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~85
Days to Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
45 days
When to Pick
Harvest stalks when firm
How to Harvest
- 1Start picking once the outer stalks are about 20 cm long and firm.
- 2Snap or cut the outer stalks off at the base, and the centre keeps growing more.
- 3To take the whole plant, cut it at soil level once the bunch is full and firm, about 85 days after planting out.
- 4Celery handles a light frost, but bring it all in before a hard freeze.
- 5Wrap the stalks in a damp cloth or a bag in the fridge, where they keep about 2 weeks.
- 6Use the leaves too, fresh or dried, in soups and stews.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Celery only makes seed in its second year, so keep a strong plant alive over winter under a thick layer of mulch, or pot it up and keep it cool and frost free indoors, then plant it out again in spring. It crosses with celeriac and other celery through insects, so let only one kind flower at a time. Hybrid F1 seeds will not grow true, so save only from a variety that is not a hybrid. When the flat flower heads turn brown and dry, cut them into a paper bag and shake out the tiny seeds. Store them in a labelled envelope somewhere cool, dark and dry, where they keep about 5 years, and use any extra as celery seed in the kitchen.
Seed Production
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