Growing Sweet Cicely in Scotland: The Complete Guide

Myrrhis odorata

Sweet cicely isn't actually native to Scotland, despite a common reputation to the contrary, but it might as well be: genuinely naturalised here for centuries, with a real Gaelic name, Mirr, and over 12,000 recorded Scottish sightings.

This is a hardy, deciduous perennial grown for aniseed-flavoured leaves, dying back to the ground each winter and returning in spring, with an H5 hardiness ratingThe RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition → meaning no winter protection is ever needed. The real thing to know before growing it is that it looks like several other members of the carrot family, some of them genuinely dangerous, so correct identification matters more here than the growing itself. It's an early flowerer too, worth knowing since it's among the first plants in the garden with much to offer pollinating and beneficial insects each year.

Planting

Propagate by seed or by divisionPropagating a clump-forming perennial by digging it up and splitting it into several smaller pieces, each with roots and shoots attached. Full definition →, in spring or autumn. Choose a site with moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil; RHS lists partial shade specifically, while Gardener's World gives a wider tolerance running from full sun through partial shade. It tolerates acid, alkaline or neutral soil, so pH isn't a real constraint here. Give it real room: RHS puts a mature plant at 1-1.5m tall and 0.5-1m wide, Gardener's World a larger 2m by 1.5m.

Care

Once established, sweet cicely needs very little routine attention: no winter protection, and no chemical intervention for pests or disease, since it's rated generally free of both. Remove flower stalks as they develop, which improves leaf quality for cooking and also limits how much the plant seeds around if you'd rather it didn't spread.

Harvesting

Pick leaves through spring and summer for their sweet, aniseed flavour, traditionally used to sweeten tart fruit like rhubarb or gooseberries, as well as in salads and with fish. Seeds can be gathered in summer once the flowers have set, with a stronger aniseed flavour than the leaves.

Common problems

The one genuine risk here isn't a pest or disease at all: correctly identifying the plant. Sweet cicely resembles several other members of the carrot family, including hemlock, which is deadly poisonous. Familiarity with umbellifers generally is essential before foraging any wild plant in this family; grown deliberately from known seed or a known plant in your own garden, this risk doesn't apply.

Common questions

Sources