Not usually thought of as a perennial crop, but following my experiments with growing celery from side-shoots that appeared at the base, especially on plants that had flowered (I cut the flower heads off) I would say that they a r e practically perennial.
I still take a couple of plants every autumn and plant in the greenhouse, just in case a bad frost finishes the outside plants off, but 'touch wood' for several years now this was just for insurance and the outdoor plants got through winter just fine.
And they regrow from little side-shoots very well and the side-shoots can also be used to start off a new clump.,
Now I don't know whether all celery is suitable for perennial treatment. Mine is Tehama Sunrise, a variety from the USA, which can be blanched like traditional celery, but is sort of a halfway house between celery and cutting celery. It would be interesting to see whether other celeries can be made to do the same. Winterhardiness was achieved simply by growing from my own seeds, then I noticed the sideshoots after flowering and the plants have become pretty perennial.
I still take a couple of plants every autumn and plant in the greenhouse, just in case a bad frost finishes the outside plants off, but 'touch wood' for several years now this was just for insurance and the outdoor plants got through winter just fine.
And they regrow from little side-shoots very well and the side-shoots can also be used to start off a new clump.,
Now I don't know whether all celery is suitable for perennial treatment. Mine is Tehama Sunrise, a variety from the USA, which can be blanched like traditional celery, but is sort of a halfway house between celery and cutting celery. It would be interesting to see whether other celeries can be made to do the same. Winterhardiness was achieved simply by growing from my own seeds, then I noticed the sideshoots after flowering and the plants have become pretty perennial.
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