How to Grow Angelica in Australia

Angelica (Angelica archangelica) is grown for its aromatic stems, bold foliage and great green flower heads, which give a herb garden real height. It is a tall biennial or short-lived perennial of the carrot family, Apiaceae. It suits the cool, moist, part-shaded corners of Australian gardens, from Hobart to the Blue Mountains. Many failures happen before a single leaf shows: the seed stores poorly, and it needs light to germinate.

Three mistakes that matter

1. Sowing old seed that was stored warm. Seed kept at room temperature loses vigour and often turns dormant, so an old packet from the shelf may give nothing at all. Sow fresh seed, keep spare seed sealed in the fridge, and chill older seed as Germinating the seed describes.
2. Burying the seed. The seed needs light to germinate, and a normal covering of soil or mix keeps it dark. Press it onto the surface of damp seed-raising mix, or cover it with no more than a dusting about 1 mm deep.
3. Planting it in a hot, dry, sunny spot. Angelica comes from cool northern climates and wants soil that never dries out. In hot sun and dry soil, plants wilt and struggle. Choose part shade with morning sun, and mulch the root zone well.

When to plant

Cool weather governs sowing, because angelica seed germinates best at about 10 to 20°C. Sow in autumn or from late winter into spring, never into summer heat. Fresh seed sown around Anzac Day gets a natural winter chill outdoors in the cooler zones. Sow once, then again every year or two, because each plant dies after it sets seed.

If you miss the autumn window, chill the seed in the fridge and sow in late winter or spring instead.

Site, soil and setup

Wild angelica grows along mountain streams, damp meadows and willow thickets in northern Europe. In the garden, give it cool roots, steady moisture and room: a flowering plant reaches about 2 m tall and spreads to about 1 m.

Germinating the seed

Angelica seed must be fresh or kept cold, because it stores poorly at room temperature. It needs light, so it is sown on the surface. And dried seed often goes dormant (a resting state that stops germination), which a spell of cold, moist conditions breaks.

Expect slow, patchy results even when everything is right. Cold stratification is a moist chill that copies winter. In one trial, seed given 3 to 4 weeks of it reached about 40 per cent germination, the best result recorded there. Seedlings take anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months to appear. Sow at least three seeds for every plant you want.

When nothing comes up

Give a tray at least 3 months before you give up on it.

• Seed buried too deep: resow on the surface and press in, with no covering or only a dusting.
• Old or warm-stored seed: stratify it for up to 3 months, or start again with fresh seed.
• Too warm: move the tray somewhere cool; a sunny windowsill or a heat mat is too hot for this seed.
• Mix dried out, or the bag went mouldy: keep trays damp under clear plastic, and chill seed in clean, barely damp sand.
• Too little cold: return the sown tray to the fridge for several more weeks, then bring it out again.

Sowing Seeds

Start angelica seed fresh or chilled, in a tray or where it is to grow, following Germinating the seed.

Starting under cover

• Fill a tray or small cells with damp seed-raising mix, with some coarse sand added for drainage.
• Sow thinly on the surface and press the seed in without covering it.
• Keep the tray cool and bright, out of direct sun, and never let the mix dry out.
• Once true leaves appear, move each seedling into a deep pot, because it quickly forms a taproot.

Sowing direct

Angelica resents root disturbance, so sowing where it will grow is often the most reliable way. Sow fresh seed in autumn so winter supplies the chill.

• Rake the prepared bed fine and water it well.
• Scatter seed on the surface in small groups and press it in.
• Keep the surface damp with a fine spray until seedlings appear.
• Thin each group to the strongest seedling, leaving plants 50 to 90 cm apart.

Transplanting and hardening off

Plant out while seedlings are still small, around 8 to 10 cm tall. Harden them off first (a week or two of gradually longer spells outdoors, so they toughen up). Set each one at the same depth it grew in its pot, 50 to 90 cm apart, and water it in well.

Care by growth stage

Steady moisture decides how well angelica grows; it needs little feeding. Soft, sappy growth from too much nitrogen draws aphids, so keep every feed at half strength or less.

If growth stalls in poor soil, a light application of all-purpose controlled release granular (NPK around 14-5-10) scratched into the soil can help. Stake second-year plants on windy sites. Drive a sturdy stake beside the crown before the flower stem rises, and tie the stem loosely with soft ties as it grows.

Deadheading

A plant usually dies once its seed ripens. Removing the flower stems before the buds open can keep it alive for another year or two. The cost is the flowers, and the seed for the next sowing.

• Cut rising flower stems at the base, before the buds open, to prolong a plant you want to keep for stems.
• Leave one or two plants to flower, for pollinators and for fresh seed.
• To save seed, tie a paper bag over a ripening head and cut it once the seed is dry.
• Remove other seed heads before they ripen, or seedlings will come up across the bed.
• Cut spent plants back to the base once seeding is done.

Companion planting

Angelica does best among plants that also like damp, part-shaded ground, and away from its carrot-family relatives.

Grows well with

• Lemon balm, which shares the same moist, part-shaded conditions.
• Mint, which likes damp shade too; keep it in a sunken pot so it cannot spread through the bed.

Keep apart

• Carrot, parsnip and parsley, which share aphids and the carrot-family powdery mildew.
• Sun-loving herbs such as thyme and lavender, which a 2 m angelica would shade.

Harvesting Stems

Cut stems in spring of the second year, while they are young and tender and before the flower stalk forms.

• Pick a few young leaves in the first year, taking care not to damage the central stem.
• Choose young, tender stems and leaf stalks, often flushed pink.
• Cut with secateurs just above the crown, taking a few stalks from each plant.
• Cover up as Safety describes, and cut in the cool of the morning or in shade.
• Collect ripe seed in a paper bag in late summer to autumn, for sowing.

The sap in every part carries furanocoumarins, which can burn skin in sunlight, so see Safety before cutting. Store saved seed sealed in the fridge. For candied angelica, cut young stems into lengths of about 4 cm, blanch them in sugar syrup, dry them and store them in airtight jars.

Candied stems decorate cakes and trifles, and fresh stems can go in with stewed rhubarb or into jam.

Traditional use and history

Garden angelica is native to northern Europe and western Siberia, including Norway, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Finland. Its names suggest it has been used in the Nordic countries since at least the Viking age. Icelandic and Norwegian laws of the twelfth century set penalties for stealing it, and enclosed angelica gardens became a mark of a proud Faroese household.

The Sámi of northern Scandinavia ate the peeled stems as a summer treat. They harvested wild stands selectively so they would not be depleted, and spread the plant to new areas. In the Faroe Islands the stems were served as a dessert with cream or thick sour milk. Around Voss in western Norway, gardeners selected a form with nearly solid, sweeter stalks, the Vossakvann.

Nordic folk tradition also laid the fragrant stems in doorways, in the belief that the smell kept sickness out. The plant was unknown to the Greeks and Romans. It probably reached southern Europe with monks returning from Scandinavia, and the old legend of an angel revealing the plant gave it the name archangelica. In England, the herbalist John Gerard wrote of the root as a defence against plague.

English cooks candied the stems for trifles and cakes, and growers near London still raised it for candying in the nineteenth century. Niort in France is known for candied angelica, and the seed and root flavour liqueurs such as Bénédictine and Chartreuse, and gin. Norwegian seed savers have been reviving the Voss angelica, which came close to disappearing in the twentieth century.

Safety

Happy Valley Seeds sells angelica as seed for growing. Nothing here is advice to eat or take any part of the plant. Anyone thinking of using a plant should first seek advice from a qualified health practitioner.

Common problems

Plant died after flowering. Angelica dies once its seed ripens, so this is its natural end. Save seed or keep a self-sown seedling, and see Deadheading to prolong the next one.

Seedlings stall after planting out. A disturbed taproot sets angelica back, so plant out small and water in well, or sow direct. Read more

Leaves scorched or limp in summer. Hot sun and dry soil stress a plant from cool climates; mulch deeply, water at the base and give afternoon shade.

Seedlings everywhere. Ripe seed heads left on the plant sow themselves across the bed; cut heads before they ripen, or lift spare seedlings while small.

Red, burnt-looking skin after gardening. Sap on skin in sunlight causes this reaction, so cover up while working with the plant, and follow Safety if it happens. Read more

Pests and diseases

Angelica has few serious troubles; those below are recorded on it overseas and are common in Australian gardens.

Aphids (Aphidoidea). Colonies cluster on shoot tips and flower heads and leave sticky honeydew. A firm jet of water or insecticidal soap knocks them back; spare the ladybirds and lacewings that arrive to feed on them. Read more

Common garden snail (Cornu aspersum) and grey field slug (Deroceras reticulatum). Both graze seedlings and young leaves at night, leaving slime trails. Hand-pick after dark and clear the boards and debris they hide under. Read more

Two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae). Fine pale speckling and webbing under the leaves appear in hot, dry weather. Water well and hose the leaf undersides. On heavy outbreaks use horticultural oil in a cool spell, because it can burn leaves in hot weather. Read more

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe heraclei). This carrot-family mildew shows as white, powdery patches that spread over the leaves, most often in dry spells. Keep plants well watered and airy, and spray 1 part full-cream milk to 10 parts water early. Read more

Prevention first

• Water and feed as Care by growth stage describes, because dry, stressed plants draw mites and mildew.
• Keep the spacing Sowing Seeds gives, so air moves between the leaves.
• Keep weeds such as sowthistle down, since aphid numbers build on them first.
• Before any spray, read its label and use it only as directed.

Tips

1. Keep a few seeds from your own plants and sow them within weeks of ripening, when they are at their freshest.
2. Let one self-sown seedling grow on in a good spot each year, so a new plant is usually coming on as an old one flowers.
3. In Perth and Adelaide, plant on the east side of a building or tree, where angelica gets morning sun and shade through the hot afternoon.