Topic: Celery gone to seed

[Annadl]

Let me get my notes- planted seedlings 1st Sept, have had steady growth.  Bout 10 inches high, lots of stalks but they're not big, nor fat!!  Noticed the tallest one gone to seed this morning.

Could anyone possibly explain why this has happened?  They should be ready about now.

I just did a second batch last week but lost these :(

Anna from Downunder.

[djbrenton]

What's the temperature with you? I grow self blanching celery from mid-summer sowings and harvest by November. I've not a lot of experience but I'm not sure celery is a hot weather plant. Trench celery can over-winter here.
This might be a dumb question but it's not a UK pack of seeds with UK instructions is it?

[Mrs Ava]

Anna, have you had it very dry and hot?  Also, did you sow direct or transplant??  It could be that the plants have been stressed, either by lack of water, intense sunshine on the plants scorching them, or root damage when the seedlings were transplanted.  I have given up starting spinach in the summer, or in seed trays, and favour direct sowing in early/mid September because the darn stuff bolts immediately otherwise.....maybe you are suffering the same?

[john_miller]

Do you have a cultivar suitable to your climate? Celery can be grown in warm weather areas if you have a suitable cv.. California (where daytime temperatures will be around 30C for 9 months a year) produces celery year round while Michigan (summer temperatures of 30C days, nights above 15C) also produces a lot during the summer.
If you do have a local cv. then, as EJ suggests, your plants probably got stressed. In warm weather climates adequate moisture is critical- Michigans production is confined to muck/peat soils, where water is retained, while California has massive irrigation schemes. I was able to grow celery successfully the one time I tried it even though my summertime temperatures are high or, more accurately, until Tarnished Plant Bug found it (which made the plants unsellable because of the damage). I just watered it frequently/constantly.