Lovage is a large perennial herb from the central and southern Europe grown for its foliage, seeds and roots. If you could combine both parsley and celery you might get an idea of the flavor of lovage. But lovage has a stronger flavor than both. The root is grated and is added to soups or salads. The foliage is treated like parsley and added to soups or dried as a condiment. The seeds are produced in umbels like a carrot. These are dried and used as a seasoning much like fennel. So the whole plant is used in various dishes.
People use lovage foliage as more of an herb. The seeds are used as a spice. And the root is the vegetable portion. The plant is incredibly vigorous and can get to 8 feet tall in heavy, high organic soil. We have whittled down the population of it so the hardiness of it may be slightly improved by three years to find out if it would over winter in Michigan. It did after a few trials and errors we ended up with some very nice rooted plants grown from seeds in long 10 inch pots.
Now easy to establish in most soils with some tolerance to shade. Plants come with the full root system and is easy to plant and establish. Should produce seeds in 2 - 3 years.
| Plant Specs |
| Genus & Species |
Levisticum officinale |
| Hardiness |
-20 F or so. |
| Height (ft) |
8 |
| Width (ft) |
4 |
| Pollination Requirements |
Self fertile as far as we know. |
| Soil |
Adaptable but grows very well in composted high organic soil. |
| Climate |
Zone 5-9 |
| Ease of Cultivation |
Very easy to establish. Recommend mulch and fertilizer to kick start the plants. Once established, long lived. Root cuttings can be made if you wish to increase your lovage planting. Useful herb plant with some restrictions on consuming vast quantities of the root. Best as a flavoring due to its strong flavor. |
