How to Grow Dill for the Garden and Cooking
Learn how to grow aromatic dill for garden beauty, cooking, and bouquets. Plus, discover how to harvest seeds for pickling.
Reviewed by Sylvia DuaxReviewed by Sylvia Duax
Dill’s soft ferny foliage practically begs you to touch the delicate plant. Learning how to grow dill has many benefits: You can snip the herb’s fronds for cooking, harvest dill seed for pickling, or cut the yellow umbels and feathery leaves for pretty homegrown flower bouquets. The plant is also a favorite food for black swallowtail caterpillars, and its small yellow flowers are excellent for attracting pollinators.
Dill is hardy in the winter in USDA Zones 9-11. Many gardeners learn how to grow dill as an annual for summer harvests in Zones 2-8, where the plant may self-seed.
Where to Plant Dill
When considering how to grow dill in your yard, look for a location with well-draining soil and at least six to eight hours of full, direct sunlight. The delicate foliage adds textural interest to garden beds and borders, especially for cottage gardens. If you can, site your dill in a spot where it will be protected from the wind. High winds can easily damage dill stalks if they are not staked.
Plant dill alongside herbs or vegetables in a traditional kitchen garden, or enjoy its scented foliage in a perennial garden or container plantings. When planting dill in an edible garden, place it near cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts. The herbaceous plant repels common brassica pests like cabbage worms and loopers while attracting beneficial bugs, such as ladybugs and bees.
One plant to avoid growing near dill is carrots. Dill can stunt the growth of carrots, and because they are closely related, they cross-pollinate to create inferior hybrid plants. It’s also best to avoid planting dill near tomatoes. While some studies have shown that tomatoes and dill can be helpful companions when young, mature dill will likely impede the growth of the tomatoes.
Related: 9 Tips for Companion Planting Vegetables to Boost Harvests
How and When to Plant Dill
Dill is easy to start from seed and grows best outdoors.
How to Grow Dill from Seed
In spring, after the last frost, sow dill seeds directly into the soil, placing them 1/4 inch deep and 1 to 2 inches apart. Plant the seeds in rows about 6 inches apart, or, if you want the dill plants to self-sow, plant them in clumps where the seeds can drop and grow the following year.
Consider succession planting to keep a continual source of dill on hand. Start by sowing just a few seeds from the packet first and then a few more each week during the growing season. Seeds usually germinate in 7 to 14 days. Dill can also be cultivated from nursery-grown transplants placed in the ground or a container in spring. Dill tolerates light frost, so feel free to plant it outdoors a few weeks before the last anticipated spring frost.
You can also start dill seeds indoors four to six weeks before the last frost and transplant the seedlings to the ground after the danger of frost has passed. Mature dill does not respond well to being transplanted, so position your seedlings in a spot where they can thrive.
How to Produce Strong Seedlings
Thinning is critical to producing lush growth and preventing crowded seedlings from developing seed heads, which stops foliage production. When seedlings are 3 or 4 inches tall, reduce their numbers to only the strongest seedling every 12 to 24 inches. Some dill plants become floppy with age and size. Keep them upright by sinking a sturdy twig or stake in the ground near the base of the plant. Use garden twine to loosely anchor the plant to the stake.
Related: The 11 Best Seed Starting Trays of 2024 to Help Kickstart Your Garden
Dill Care Tips
Learning how to grow dill is easy, considering the fragrant plant’s relatively low-maintenance nature. However, it may need help from stakes or other plants to stay erect.
Related: Herb Gardening Tips for Beginners
Light
Choose a location with full sun—at least six to eight hours of daily direct sunlight is best for dill.
Soil and Water
Plant dill in moist, well-drained soil. If your soil holds water due to heavy clay, add organic matter to the top few inches to help drainage. If poor soil drainage is an issue, plant this herb in containers or raised beds.
Proper watering is essential for growing dill. Keep the soil evenly moist while the seeds germinate. Once dill plants start growing, they need about 1 to 2 inches of rain or additional water every week to thrive.
Temperature and Humidity
The best temperature for dill is around 70oF, although the plant is cold-hardy to as low as 25oF.
When temperatures rise, dill tends to bolt and send up flower stalks to set seeds. Once this annual herb bolts, it dies. To keep the plant for an extended growing season, remove the flowers.
Fertilizer
Fertilizer isn’t necessary for most herbs, including dill, but you can apply a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer once or twice during the growing season if you’d like. Use a liquid fertilizer mixed with water, or scratch a time-release fertilizer into the ground while planting. For the amount to use, follow product label instructions.
Related: Liquid vs. Granular Fertilizer: Which One Is Better for Your Plants?
Pruning
Pruning is an essential step in learning how to grow dill that isn’t leggy. Prune dill early in the season, nipping off the plant’s top leaves to encourage lower leaves to grow more abundantly. Pruned parts can be used for prepping and cooking food.
Potting and Repotting
Even if you don’t have an outdoor garden, you can still keep pots of dill on a sunny balcony or deck. Choose a container at least 12 inches deep—dill plants form a deep taproot. Clay and terra-cotta pots work well for dill because they don’t retain as much moisture as plastic or glazed ceramic pots. Whatever container you choose, make sure it has excellent drainage and is large enough to keep the spacing of the plants 12 to 24 inches apart.
Dill does not take well to being transplanted. If your plant outgrows its pot, it is best to start a new, larger container. You can continue planting seeds into the summer if your area is not excessively warm.
Pests and Problems
Dill plants attract aphids and other garden pests. You may also find caterpillars called parsley worms, but be patient with those striped critters munching on stems and foliage—they’ll eventually become delightful black swallowtail butterflies. You may even want to grow extra dill so there’s enough for you and the caterpillars.
Other beneficial insects drawn to dill’s flowers include bees, hoverflies, lacewings, and ladybugs. These insects start as larvae and dine on pests, including aphids, mealybugs, and mites.
Related: Try These Garden Pest Control Methods to Protect Your Plants
How to Propagate Dill
The best way to propagate dill is with seed. You can also propagate dill via cuttings, but this method isn’t as reliable.
How to Grow Dill by Seed
Because dill doesn’t do well with transplanting, it’s best to directly sow the seeds in early spring in a prepared garden bed at a depth of 1/4 inch. When the seedlings reach 3 to 4 inches high, thin them to stand 12 to 24 inches apart.
How to Grow Dill Using Cuttings
To take a dill cutting, choose a stem with at least 3 to 4 inches of new growth and snip it off with shears or scissors. Set the cutting in a container of water (removing any leaves below the water line) and wait about two to three weeks for roots to grow. You do not need to use a rooting hormone or fertilizer. After the roots have grown to about 2 to 3 inches long, plant the dill in a container or in the ground.
How to Harvest Dill
The best part of learning how to grow dill is harvesting the plant. Fresh dill begins to droop as soon as you clip it. While its flower umbels look beautiful in a mixed bouquet, don’t be surprised if they wilt after a few hours. Dill flavor begins losing potency within a couple of days, so when harvesting it for recipes, plan to use it as soon as possible.
To harvest dill seeds, cut the flower stalks after the yellow blooms have faded but just before the seeds ripen and loosen from the umbel. Place a small paper bag with a few tiny holes for ventilation over the entire flower head. Hang the plant upside down in a cool, dry location and wait for the seeds to fall. Gather them in the bottom of the bag, and store the seeds in an airtight glass container in a cool, dry, dark place.
Related: Best Ever Dill Pickles
Types of Dill
‘Long Island Mammoth’ Dill
Anethum graveolens ‘Long Island Mammoth’ is an old-fashioned favorite. Its fernlike leaves may be harvested for fresh use or dried for long-term storage. The plant grows up to 5 feet tall and bears large clusters of flat-top yellow flowers that develop into brown seed heads.
‘Fernleaf’ Dill
A productive dwarf variety that grows just 18 inches tall, Anethum graveolens ‘Fernleaf’ is an excellent choice for container gardens or compact in-ground beds. It has delicate, feathery foliage with excellent dill flavor. It blooms from midsummer into fall.
‘Bouquet’ Dill
The ‘Bouquet’ cultivar has fine bluish-green foliage on plants that grow to 30 inches tall. Its large yellow flower heads reach 6 inches in diameter, and they can be cut for fresh floral arrangements or dried as an everlasting.
Dill Companion Plants
‘Dark Opal’ Basil
Ocimum basilicum purpurescens ‘Dark Opal’ is a variety of purple basil. The annual has dark reddish-purple leaves that lend a stronger flavor than traditional green basil. The herbaceous plant blooms delicate lilac flowers and grows 12 to 18 inches tall. It looks striking nestled between plants with conventional green foliage.
Asparagus
Marty Baldwin
Asparagus is a slow-growing perennial that takes up a lot of space in the garden. The spear-like vegetable is hardy in Zones 3-9. Asparagus is one of the first plants to sprout in spring, and if you’re patient enough to wait a few years after planting, the vegetable will reward you with vibrant green stalks for over a decade.
Broccoli
Bob Stefko
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) is a brassica plant with a 2-year life cycle. Although it won’t bloom until its second year, the vegetable is treated as an annual. When planting broccoli, it’s important to avoid placing it where you’ve grown other cruciferous vegetables (such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or kohlrabi) in the previous two years. Crop rotation is necessary to prevent diseases spread through soil.
Garden Plans for Dill
Classic Herb Garden Plan
Ensure your kitchen is always stocked with fresh herbs with this classic herb garden plan, where 10 kinds of herbs surround a decorative sundial in a 6-foot-diameter bed.
Colorful Herb Garden Plan
Plant an herb garden that dazzles using this colorful plan, where a 3x8-foot border features foliage with purple, green, and golden hues—including variegated leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dill a weed?
Dill isn’t considered a weed, but some spice companies and people call it dill weed, perhaps because of its feathery foliage. Dill weed is fresh or dried foliage. Dill seed is produced from the pretty yellow umbels of flowers.
How do you store dill for the best quality?
Store fresh dill in the refrigerator with its stems tucked into a container of water or its leaves wrapped in a damp paper towel. You can freeze fresh dill by placing it in water in ice cube trays. Drop the cubes into cooked dishes that can handle the additional moisture. Although the flavor becomes muted, dill leaves and seeds are easily dried for later use.
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