The illustrated growing guide
Sweet Cicely
Myrrhis odorata
Family Apiaceae
Est. zones 3-7
A charming shade herb with a clever trick: its sweet, anise-scented ferny leaves cooked alongside tart fruit like rhubarb let you cut the sugar by a third. The green seeds are a sweet nibble, the lacy spring flowers feed early pollinators, and it's a graceful cottage- and woodland-garden plant for cool climates. As with all carrot-family plants, be sure of your ID.
Part Shade to Shade
Moderate water
Moderate growth
Attracts beesI
Overview
Will sweet cicely suit your garden, and what goes wrong.
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what sweet cicely actually needs.
Hardy inZones 3-7Sweet Cicely at a glance
Common sweet cicely problems
- Almost none
- Almost none
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Growing
Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
How to grow sweet cicely: light, water & soil
How to plant & propagate sweet cicely
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The year
What sweet cicely asks for, month by month.
The sweet cicely year, month by month
BloomWhat each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
The sweet cicely year as text
- Jan quiet month
- Feb quiet month
- Mar quiet month
- Apr quiet month
- May bloom
- Jun quiet month
- Jul quiet month
- Aug quiet month
- Sep quiet month
- Oct quiet month
- Nov quiet month
- Dec quiet month
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
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Ecology & uses
What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Sweet Cicely in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer perennial
- Nectary/insectary
What sweet cicely is grown for
✓ Commonly eatena traditional sweet herb) — but be certain of ID; know its deadly Apiaceae relatives (poison/water hemlock
Harvesting & storing sweet cicely
Ferny anise-sweet leaves, green seeds, and roots — a natural sweetener that cuts the sugar needed for tart fruit like rhubarb.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
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Cultivars
Named varieties of sweet cicely, ruled as a catalogue.
Best sweet cicely varieties & cultivars
Species
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Sources & plant ID
Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.
Research basis
Sources behind this profile
No extension citations are attached to sweet cicelyyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.
Plant ID
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Where to buy
Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.
Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
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Questions
Sweet Cicely questions, answered straight.
Is sweet cicely safe for kids and pets?
Sweet Cicely is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. One caveat on this one: a traditional sweet herb) — but be certain of ID; know its deadly Apiaceae relatives (poison/water hemlock. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
When do you harvest sweet cicely?
Ferny anise-sweet leaves, green seeds, and roots — a natural sweetener that cuts the sugar needed for tart fruit like rhubarb.
How do you propagate sweet cicely?
Division or seed.
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Elsewhere
Where sweet cicely sits in the library.
Comfrey
Lavender
Rosemary
Anise Hyssop