How to grow wild carrots (Daucus carota)

Wild carrots (Daucus carota) are hardy biennial plants (also grown as annuals) with delicate flowers that will add some finesse to your borders. A British native wildflower, Daucus carota has white blooms with the occasional red or pink bloom in the centre of the cluster (the central floret contains the nectar). One of the most well-known varieties is Daucus carota ‘Dara’, which has delicate, airy blooms in sophisticated shades of pale pink and burgundy.

Wild carrots will attract pollinators when they are showing off their umbrella-like clusters of flowers in summer. They will add a naturalistic feel to your garden, working very well in a wild corner of the garden and in an area of cottage garden style planting. The long flower stems also make an elegant display in a vase indoors. Unlike their close relatives, wild carrots are not good for eating, with small, bitter roots compared to commercially grown edible carrot varieties.

Contact with the leaves of wild carrot may cause skin irritation so wear gloves and cover your arms if handling the plant. Wild carrot flowers will attract pollinators such as bees, wasps and hoverflies and they are a food plant for migrant swallowtail butterflies. In the wild they can be confused with the highly toxic plant hemlock. Wild carrot plants tend to be shorter and unlike hemlock they have hairy leaves, and green stems. The stems of hemlock are smooth and blotched with purple.

Where to grow

Wild carrots grow and germinate best in a light, free-draining soil, ideally in a sunny part of the garden, although they will tolerate being shaded for part of the day. They will grow well in nutrient-poor soils which are suitable for establishing a wildflower meadow. In richer soils they are likely to make tall, leafy plants but may not flower as well. In the wild they grow on thin, chalky soils. Growing 75-1.5m tall and up to 50cm wide, wild carrots make very useful ‘filler-plants’ for borders. Grown from seed, it’s easy to add them to your garden in large numbers for ‘repeat-planting’ through a planting scheme.

How to sow

Sow the seed directly onto garden soil in a sunny, well-drained spot. Sow onto damp, weed-free soil and cover with a layer of sieved compost so the seed is just covered. Sow the seed thinly to make thinning out easier. Thinning out releases the scent of the foliage and the roots, attracting carrot fly, which will lay eggs near the roots. Once seedlings are 8cm tall, remove any unwanted seedlings to leave a plant every 20cm. Wild carrots form a single taproot which can be damaged when transplanted, so sowing in trays and transplanting into modules is best avoided. However, wildflower suppliers may offer plug plants. Plant them as soon as you receive them, then water them in well. Water again during dry spells in the first year.

How to care for wild carrots

Wild carrots need little care through the growing season. The most important task is to remove weeds growing close by as the plants develop, to reduce competition for water and nutrients. Autumn and March-sown plants may flower in their first summer, especially in a warm spot but later sowings or sowings in a shadier spots may just form leaves in the first year, forming flower spikes the year after.

How to propagate wild carrots

Prompt removal of old flowerheads will keep more flowers coming through summer. But leave some intact on the plant in autumn and you will have the possibility of some useful winter structure in the garden. Even better, the plants will naturally self-seed, giving lots of plants for free for next year. You can also collect the seed and save it for sowing in spring so you have plants exactly where you want them. As the seedheads age they curl inwards and the flowerheads form a bird’s nest shape. Collect seed when the flowerheads have turned brown and are dry. Snip the heads off and turn them upside down, shaking the seeds into a dry brown paper envelope. Put it into a sealed sandwich box, with a sachet of silica gel, then keep in the bottom of the fridge to keep cool until you are ready to sow.

Pest and diseases

Carrot fly is the main threat to wild carrots. The larvae tunnel into the roots which can cause foliage to yellow and badly affected plants can die. To avoid releasing the scent which attracts carrot fly, remove unwanted seedlings on a still day and in the evening when the flies are less active. Water the soil before removing them, to avoid breaking the roots, which releases the scent.