Plant · P-604

Dill

Anethum graveolens

Dill is a fast, self-sowing annual grown for both its feathery leaves and its ripe seed, the leaf strongest in flavor right before the plant flowers and the seed a classic remedy for infant colic and digestive upset. Its umbrella-shaped flowers pull in bees, butterflies and the small predatory insects that patrol a garden, and young plants deter carrot root fly - though a mature dill plant stunts nearby carrots, so it needs pulling or moving once it bolts. It resents having its roots disturbed and bolts fast if transplanted, so it is sown straight into the ground and grows quickest in the cool part of the year, running to seed fast in heat or drought. Left to drop a few seed heads, a stand keeps renewing itself for years without being resown.