GardenAnnual Herb · 10 varieties
Dill
Anethum graveolens
Apiaceae — the same plant family as carrot, celery, parsley, parsnip and 5 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb. It wants full sun and pH 5.5–6.5 soil. It matures in about 42–56 days from sowing. Watch for aphids and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 8 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is direct sown. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Half hardy
- Suffers in days above
- 95 °F
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it, the temperature that would kill it and a warm-night limit. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 1.5–5 ft
- Mature spread
- 2–3 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 3–12 in
- Between rows
- 12–24 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25 in
- Container size
- 5 gal
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Direct sow
There is no line here for how much water it wants each week, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Critical water
- Germinationest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 42–56 days from seed
- Harvest cues
- Rapid leaf growth, First flowers
There is no line here for how warm the soil should be for the seed to come up, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Planted again for autumn
- Sow by
- early Sep typical · zone 6b
42 days to maturity from sowing, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: leaf, seed, flower, stem.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Dill flowers feed the tiny parasitoid wasps that hunt cabbage worms. Let some of it bloom near the bed.
Same family, same pests, and mature dill is said to stunt carrots. 'Said' is doing some work there — but why risk it.
Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf and seed and flower and stem; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
PetsNon toxic to dogs, Non toxic to cats, Non toxic to horses
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
Open one and add it to your garden — it lights up here. The rest of the 10 are in the full list below.
| Variety | Type | Days | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bouquet | Bouquet | 40–45 | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Dukat | Dukat | 42–56 | |
| Fernleaf | Fernleaf | 55–60 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension records this asslow to run to seed in heat · smaller than most · happy in a pot |
| Green Sleeves | Greensleeves | 40–50 | |
| Hera | Bunching | 40–50 | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Hercules | Bunching | 42–56 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension records this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Long Island Mammoth Heirloom | Mammoth | 60 | |
| Mammoth Heirloom | Mammoth | 42–56 | |
| Superdukat | Dukat | 40–45 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension records this asslow to run to seed in heat |
| Vierling | Vierling | 42–56 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension records this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase |
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- NC State Extension
- Penn State Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
- Utah State University Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 16 of the 19 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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