When to plant Lovage in Cool Australia

Cool zone — applies to Hobart, Canberra, Ballarat, Orange, Armidale and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Temperate · Subtropical · Tropical · Arid.

Lovage is not recommended for direct sowing on a set calendar in the cool zone, which is why it carries no sowing window here. This tall, celery-flavoured perennial herb is genuinely hardy and will live for years once established, but starting it from seed sown straight into cold, wet cool-climate soil is unreliable: germination in 10 to 20 days depends on warmth the ground rarely holds at the ends of the season. A better route is to raise seedlings under cover or plant a division in spring, giving each plant its full 1 metre spread. Depth is 6 mm; rows sit 60 to 90 cm apart.

Sowing calendar — cool zone

No sowing window in this zone.

Growing notes

The reason lovage has no recommended direct-sow window in the cool zone is timing, not suitability of the plant itself. Lovage is fully hardy and copes with Hobart, Ballarat and Orange winters once it has a root system, but its seed germinates poorly in cold soil and rots in the wet. Sowing direct into unpredictable spring ground gives patchy, disappointing results.

The workaround is straightforward. Start seed in punnets under cover in early spring where you can give it warmth and control moisture, sowing at 6 mm and expecting 10 to 20 days to strike. Alternatively, and more reliably, plant a nursery-grown seedling or a division lifted from an established clump. Either way you skip the failure-prone cold-soil germination entirely.

Once in the ground lovage is almost indestructible. It dies back over winter and re-emerges vigorously each spring, so give it room: a single plant reaches well over a metre tall and needs 1 metre of space to itself. Site it at the back of a bed in deep, moisture-retentive soil, and cut it hard after flowering to keep fresh leafy growth coming through the season.

Lovage at a glance

Common questions

Why can't I direct sow lovage in a cool climate?

Lovage seed germinates unreliably in cold, wet soil and often rots before it strikes, so there is no dependable direct-sow window in the cool zone. Raise seedlings under cover or plant a division in spring instead for a much better result.

Is lovage hardy enough for Hobart winters?

Yes, established lovage is fully hardy and handles cold winters well. It dies back to the ground over winter and shoots away again each spring, so the plant itself is not the problem, only starting it from seed in cold soil.

How much space does a lovage plant need?

A lot. A mature plant grows well over a metre tall and wide, so allow a full metre of spacing per plant and site it at the back of the bed where it will not shade smaller crops.

How do I start lovage if I can't sow it direct?

Either sow seed in punnets under cover in early spring at 6 mm deep, or plant a nursery seedling or a division taken from an existing clump. Divisions are the fastest and most reliable way to establish it.

Keep exploring