Water Parsley (Flamingo Celery, Japanese Dropwort)
Oenanthe javanica. APIACEAE (UMBELLIFERAE).
Planting and Growing Water Parsley
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow water parsley in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of water parsley
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for water parsley
- Season of bloom and planting time for water parsley
- When, how deep, and where to plant water parsley
- How to plant water parsley
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of water parsley
- Landscape and container uses of water parsley
- Comments about water parsley and its features
Growing Water Parsley
A few cultivars of low, spreading or arching, fleshy, tuberous, deciduous perennial herbs, to 14 in. (36 cm) tall, 3 ft. (90 cm) wide. Smooth, green, pink, white, variegated, parsleylike, coarsely cut, deeply toothed, fragrant leaves, to 4 in. (10 cm) long, on nodding stems.
Semi-dormant in winter.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many tiny, cream, white, fragrant flowers, to 1/8‑in. (3‑mm) wide, in flat, spreading, umbrella-shaped clusters, on slender, hollow, erect stems, in summer.
Best Climates
Tender. Plant as annual, zones 2–8; ground hardy, zones 9–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Wet to moist, well-drained, sandy soil or, in water features, shallow-depth marginal or shoreline sites. Fertility: Average. 6.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun to partial shade, 9 in. (23 cm) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize semi-weekly. Propagate by cuttings, division.
About This Plant
Good choice for edgings in bog, shade, vegetable gardens and water feature shorelines. Invasive. Salad green, cooking vegetable similar to celery. Pest and disease resistant.
Warning:
Caution should be observed when planting Oenanthe species in home landscapes.
While Oenanthe javanica is reportedly free from poisoning hazard, many other related plants of its genera are fatally toxic if eaten.