Queen Anne's lace
Daucus carota
An herbaceous biennial plant featuring finely divided, fern-like leaves and prominent flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers, often with a single dark purple or reddish floret in the exact center.
- Light
- Full sun, requiring at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day
- Water
- Low to moderate watering; allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Drought-tolerant once established.
- Growth
- Biennial plant forming a low-lying rosette of leaves in the first year, followed by a flowering stem reaching heights of 1 to 4 feet in the second year with a moderate growth rate
Care instructions
Thrives in full sun with minimal maintenance. Requires well-drained soil and occasional watering during establishment, though it becomes highly drought-tolerant once mature. Fertilization is generally unnecessary and can hinder flowering.
Growing details
Sunlight
Full sun, requiring at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day
Watering
Low to moderate watering; allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Drought-tolerant once established.
Soil
Prefers poor, dry, sandy, or rocky soils with excellent drainage, adapting well to a neutral to slightly alkaline pH range between 6.0 and 7.5
Hardiness zone
USDA hardiness zones 3 through 9
Growth habit
Biennial plant forming a low-lying rosette of leaves in the first year, followed by a flowering stem reaching heights of 1 to 4 feet in the second year with a moderate growth rate
Bloom season
Blooms from late spring through mid-autumn, producing compound umbels of small white flowers that sometimes feature a solitary central dark red or purple flower
Propagation
Propagated easily by scattering mature seeds directly onto the soil surface in spring or autumn, as seeds require light to germinate
Common pests & issues
Generally robust and resistant to most serious pests and diseases, though occasionally susceptible to root-knot nematodes or fungal leaf spots in overly wet soils
Similar species
Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) and water hemlock (Cicuta maculata), which can be distinguished by having purple-spotted or smooth green stems respectively, unlike the hairy stems of Queen Anne's lace