"What on earth is that thing?" My neighbor leaned over the fence and asked me, pointing at the green tower in the damp back corner of my yard. I planted it years before and barely touched it since. It stood taller than she did and looked like celery left out in the rain for a decade. I told her it was lovage. She asked how much work it took, and I had to think, because the honest answer was almost none. A splash of water in a dry spell was the whole job. Growing lovage is one of the easiest things you can do in your herb bed as a beginner.
So yes, lovage is easy to grow, and it earns its spot as an easy perennial herb for people who hate fuss. You plant it once and it comes back every spring for years, often a decade or more. You do not need to stake it, spray it, or check on it daily. It just gets on with the job while you tend to harder things in your garden.
Most of that ease comes down to how tough the plant is. Lovage is a hardy perennial across USDA zones 4 to 9. It lives through cold winters and warm summers on its own. It is not picky about your soil either. It grows in clay, loam, or sand, and it handles a wide range of soil pH that would stress out fussier herbs. Give it a damp spot and it thrives, but it copes with less. That toughness is why growing lovage suits a hands-off gardener.
The pest side is where you really win with lovage. Deer leave it alone, since the strong celery scent puts them off. It shrugs off drought once the roots take hold, and it does not mind the humid summers that bring rot to your other herbs. There are few serious pests that bother it, so you rarely reach for any spray. That hardiness is the heart of good lovage care, because a plant that does not get sick or eaten needs little from you.
The care it does want is simple and quick. Give it about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of water per week when rain falls short, and your plant stays lush and green. Each spring, scatter a topdressing of compost around the base to feed the new growth. After it flowers, cut the whole clump back and you get a fresh flush of tender leaves for your kitchen. That is the full routine.
Starting from seed is just as forgiving, so do not worry if you skip the nursery. Sow the seed in spring and you see sprouts in 10 to 14 days, which is fast for a perennial herb. From there your seedling builds slowly the first year, then takes off. One plant is usually plenty for your whole household, since the leaves pack so much flavor into a small amount.
The one thing you do need to plan for is room. A happy lovage plant grows into a 6 to 8 foot (1.8 to 2.5 meter) clump, so give it a back corner where it will not crowd your shorter herbs. Your other small task is snipping off some of the flower heads before they set seed. Leave them all and the plant self-sows little lovage seedlings across your bed, which you then have to pull. Remove a few heads and the spread stays in check.
Past those two jobs, you leave it largely alone. That is what makes lovage such a rewarding low-maintenance herb for a busy gardener like you. Plant it in a damp spot with room to spread, water it in your dry weeks, and feed it once in spring. In return you get a towering, fragrant plant that feeds your kitchen for years and asks for almost nothing back.
Read the full article: Lovage Plant: A Complete Growing Guide
