Celery
Apium graveolens
Botanical family: Apiaceae
Apium graveolens, selected from wild marsh smallage by the Italians in the Renaissance. Three cultivated forms: celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum), the swollen root; stalk celery (var. dulce), the stems; leaf celery (var. secalinum), the aromatic leaves. Sow in a nursery bed in March-April, plant out in May-June, harvest October-November. Cellar keeping 3-4 months for celeriac.
Partial shade
Rich, moist
Abundant
Fairly hardy, but damaged by hard frosts: celeriac overwinters in the ground under straw, celery is harvested before the frosts
Protect over winter in your zone
Role in permaculture
An Apiaceae with a long growing season (5-6 months) that needs soil very rich in organic matter and sustained watering. The celery-cabbage pairing is traditional: its scent would confuse the olfactory trails of cabbage pests (the cabbage white). Not before carrot (same family).
Good companions
Fix nitrogen from the air (legumes)
Aromatic: scent said to confuse pests
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Poor companions
Traditional avoidance (antagonism not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Seasons & availability
Harvested in summer and autumn; celeriac keeps through the winter.
Available: January, February, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Celery » (rhs.org.uk/vegetables/celery/grow-your-own)
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture du céleri » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-du-celeri)
- Garden Organic, « Celery » (gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/how-to-grow/growing-guides/vegetables-herbs-guides/how-to-grow-celery)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Celery is an allergen subject to mandatory declaration in the European Union (sometimes severe reactions). Like other Apiaceae (parsnip, angelica), its sap contains photosensitising furocoumarins: when handling or harvesting, contact followed by sun can irritate the skin.
Family behaviour: Apiaceae
In general, Apiaceae are umbel plants (carrot, parsley, celery, coriander, dill) whose flowers attract precious beneficials: hoverflies, ichneumons, parasitoids. Fairly easy to pair, except fennel, they are useful along edges to feed beneficials.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Archaic Greece, Pindar (Theban poet), Olympian XIII, for Xenophon of Corinth, ~464 BC · Corinth, the Isthmus of Corinth and Nemea (Greece)
Pindar celebrates the double triumph of Xenophon of Corinth by evoking the wreaths of wild celery (selinon) awarded to the victors of the Isthmian and Nemean Games: the plant, plaited into a garland, was the prize of athletic victory. Verbatim (English translation, Perseus): 'Two wreaths of wild celery crowned him'.
Pindare, Olympiques XIII, v. 32-34 (Perseus Digital Library, trad. D. A. Svarlien). Texte primaire ~464 av. J.-C.
A major botanical nuance: the Greek selinon (σέλινον) designates wild celery / marsh celery (Apium graveolens), not parsley; the latter is petroselinon ('rock selinon', Petroselinum). Older translations often render selinon as 'parsley', hence the confusion. The wreath was of WILD celery, not the garden celery selected later in the Renaissance.