Why is My Dill Plant Dying?


Why is my dill plant dying

Has your dill started dying, and you’re not sure why?

Dill is one of my favorite herbs to grow every year, and I have been growing it for around 15 years. During this time, I encountered every problem I talked about in this article! More importantly, I’ve learned how to identify and solve each one of these problems.

I now work at a garden center, and I’ve had the pleasure of speaking directly to a lot of specialist herb growers who taught me all the tips and tricks to save dying herbs, such as dill.

In this article, I’ll share with you everything I have learned in a step-by-step guide.

Let’s get straight to the point…

The reason for a dying dill plant is usually because dill dies quickly after the plant has bolted when the flower heads produce seeds. Dill turns yellow and dies back due to overwatering and too much fertilizer. Dill turns brown and wilts with a dying appearance due to drought stress or a lack of sun.

We need to keep in mind that dill is a very short-lived annual herb, dying back before Winter, and can be difficult to revive once it has symptoms that indicate it is dying.

Instead, I was taught that it’s best practice to sow more seeds if it is still early in the season and to provide the right care conditions for them to grow and produce tasty leaves.

Keep reading to learn why your dill is dying and how to prevent it from happening…

Why is My Dill Dying Back After Flowering?

As we discussed Dill is a relatively short-lived annual herb that tends to prioritize the formation of flowers as quickly as possible to then produce seeds (a process known as bolting).

We need to consider that dill has to grow, flower and produce a seed for next year in the space of Spring and Summer.

The formation of flowers signals the dill has switched from the growth stage to the reproduction stage. After the reproduction stage, dill tends to die back quickly.

What I have found is that the process of bolting happens far quicker in hotter climates, which tend to have dill plants die back earlier in the year than in colder climates. When I lived in Southern California, my dill bolted around 4 weeks earlier than it does for my friends in the Pacific Northwest, where it is much cooler.

However, cooler temperate climates may notice that after a heat wave in summer, their dill plants bolt and die quickly. I find this catches a lot of people out, myself included, on a few occasions!

An example of a dill flower head that has bolted.
An example of a dill flower head that has bolted.

This can be annoying if you are growing dill for the flavorful leaves or if your plants continue to die early.

It should be noted that the flavor of the leaves noticeably declines in culinary value after the dill has produced seeds which is why diligent pinching of the flower buds is essential. I can tell you from experience, It really isn’t worth cooking with once it has gone to seed and I usually place it on the compost heap.

My solution

I’ve learned that to increase the longevity of your dill, you can delay the process of bolting by pinching off the flower buds as soon as you notice them forming.

This increases the time that dill stays in its growth phase and, therefore, produces more leaves and a bushier appearance to the plant for longer.

Regular harvesting of your dill is likely to prevent any formation of flower buds and keep your dill in a more productive phase in terms of producing new leaves for a lot longer. I pinch my dill and basil (as basil has this same problem) every few weeks, even if I am not going to cook with it immediately.

I tested freezing my surplus dill, and it works very well! The dill still retains its flavor after freezing.

Watch this helpful YouTube video for how and when to prune dill so that you extend longevity:

Why is My Dill turning Floppy AND Yellow? (Not Enough Sun)

I find to help us care and revive our dill we need to undertsand how it grows in its native environment…Dill is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe where it thrives in open areas in full sun.

Thankfully, I can attest that you do not need a Mediterranean climate to grow dill successfully but it is important to sow your dill or locate your potted dill in the sunniest area of the garden.

The amount of sun is correlated with the concentration of essential oils in the leaves and, therefore, the strength of the aroma and flavor. I have personally noticed the aroma is extra intense in the hotter, sunnier growing seasons.

From research I learned that Dill requires at least 6 hours of direct sun per day to live and grow successfully. If dill is in too much shade I;ve observed the growth is often sparse with thin stems, less pronounced flavor and aroma, and the dill dies back quickly.

Sunlight also increases evaporation and reduces humidity to reduce the risk of fungal diseases such as mold or mildew.

Note that too much fertilizer can also turn dill yellow and floppy which I write about further down this article…

My solution

If your dill is located in less than 6 hours of sun and appears to be dying back, then you can try to bring in more light by cutting back any surrounding vegetation or overhanging tree limbs that are casting shade.

Ideally, if the dill is planted in a pot, then simply move the pot to an area of full sun.

However, if the dill is planted in the ground, then it is more difficult to save as it does not like to be transplanted, which is why I love to grow it in a pot.

In this case, my advice is to sow more seeds rather than try to revive the individual dill plant if it is still early in the season.

Sow more seeds before July as this still gives enough time to grow and harvest dill before it dies back in Winter.

After July, it is unlikely that the dill will grow again to produce a viable harvest before succumbing to Winter, in which case I would recommend that you save your seeds for the following year.

Drought Stress Causes Dill to Turn Brown and Die Back

A common reason I see for dill dying is that the soil dries out whilst the seeds are germinating or whilst the plant is young and vulnerable to the drying effects of the sun.

I have experienced this more often with my dill plants that are planted in pots or containers as they tend to heat up more in full sun and dry out a lot quicker than dill planted in garden soil.

If your dill is dying due to drought then it typically displays poor growth and wilts and the leaves often turn brown at the edges.

My solution

The key to preventing dill from dying due to drought is regular watering so that the soil is evenly moist (but not saturated) and planting dill in soil with lots of organic matter.

I have had lots of years to test which soil that dill plants grow in best. I have tested growing dill in:

  • Well rotted manure
  • Leaf mold (compost made from leaves)
  • Garden compost
  • Store-bought compost.

My findings…

Dill grows quite well in well-rotted manure, but it can grow a bit floppy in chicken manure due to its high nitrogen content, whereas it grows better in cow manure.

Dill grew well in store-bought compost, too, but the best by far was the combination of leaf mold (50%) with garden compost (50%).

The reason for this is that leaf mold has the best capacity to hold moisture compared to the other potting mediums, so the dill was incredibly resilient to flopping due to drought despite high temperatures. The garden compost provides the rich nutrient profile that the dill needs to thrive.

If you are having trouble with dill popping and turning brown, I recommend that you try this potting mix. I have had great results from it!

This created the optimal soil for dill as it retains a well draining porous structure yet holds moisture so that the developing dills roots can draw upon the moisture as they grow.

If you are planted dill in garden soil and your soil is relatively heavy or contains clay, it is a good idea to add some horticultural grit to the soil along with compost to ensure the soil around the roots drains properly.

It should be noted that a common problem I see is that clay soils can bake hard in full sun which causes water to run off the surface rather than infiltrate the soil evenly and reach the roots which is another cause of drought stress.

My solution to this is to use a mulch of compost or leaf mold around your developing dill plants, which helps to prevent the soil from baking and retains moisture.

Typically, I find that watering once every three days is sufficient for growing dill but in heat waves, it is often necessary to water every day as the plant has to grow and establish roots whilst contending with blazing sun.

Why is My Dill Dying After Transplanting?

My best advice is to try to avoid transplanting dill if at all possible as it does not like its roots being disturbed once the seed has germinated.

Dill has a long tap root that can establish 12 inches into the soil. If it is dug up and transplanted, the root has difficulty adjusting and reestablishing in new soil, and the dill is likely to die back. Trust me, I’ve tried this!

Instead, I now sow the dill directly where it is going to grow rather than growing in seed trays or attempting to move them whilst they are growing.

If there is still time in the season (sow seeds before July so they have time to grow before harvest), from experience, it is better to sow more seeds in the ground than attempt to transplant dill.

Dill Turning Yellow Because of Too Much Moisture Around the Roots

The secret to growing dill is growing it in soil that is both well draining yet retains moisture. I know this may seem counterintuitive, but the soil needs to hold moisture like a sponge yet also be porous enough to allow excess water to drain away in order to prevent the roots from sitting in saturated soil.

If there is too much moisture around the roots then I can tell you the dill starts to turn yellow as a sign of stress.

Here are the most common causes I see for excess water around the roots of your dill plants:

  • Slow-draining soils. If the soil is heavy clay or compacted, it can drain slowly or stay too boggy for the roots of your dill, causing root rot, which turns the dill yellow with a drooping appearance.
  • Pots or containers without drainage holes in the base. Water pools around the roots and causes root rot.
  • Overwatering. Ideally, dill should be watered once every few days with a generous soak to promote the growth of healthy roots rather than every day, which can create saturated soil.

As I discussed earlier, I favor growing dill in a mix of 50% garden soil and 50% leaf mold. Through some experimenting, I find this strikes the balance of holding lots of moisture yet still retaining a porous structure to allow the excess water to drain away so that the roots are not sat in boggy soil.

If you have clay soils or a boggy garden, then in my opinion, it is much better to plant dill in pots as, in my experience, it is much easier to create the optimal drainage conditions in pots rather than amend heavy clay soil.

The first thing I’d advise is to scale back your watering so that the soil is evenly moist rather than damp. Typically, I water once every 3 or 4 days, but I increase watering in times of extreme heat or drought.

I recommend feeling the soil to a finger’s depth to establish whether the soil is moist or boggy.

Once the dill has turned yellow it can be difficult to revive, but fortunately, it grows quickly from seed, so I recommend sowing more seeds if it is still early enough in the season (before July) and using the best practices of well-draining soil and good watering to avoid your dill turning yellow.

Too Much Fertilizer Causes the Leaves to Turn Yellow

Dill plants also turn yellow due to excess fertilizer. Nitrogen, in particular, tends to promote floppy drooping foliage stems and can decrease the flavor of dill due to lowering the concentration of essential oils.

Dill is a herb that is native to the Mediterranean and thrives in a wide variety of soils, even preferring sandy soils, which are typically lower in nutrients.

Personally, I have had great success growing dill in pots with good compost and leaf mold without the need for any additional nutrients.

Fertilizer is rarely necessary for growing dill as from my experience, good soil with lots of compost should be prioritized instead to grow dill that is full of flavor and avoid it turning yellow and dying.

Do you grow dill every year? Do you have any questions or insights you’d like to share? Please comment below! I’d love to hear from you!!

Key Takeaways:

  • A dying dill plant usually dies because it has bolted and produced seeds after flowering, which causes it to die back quickly. Dill plants turn brown and die due to drought stress and a lack of direct sun. They also droop and turn yellow because of too much fertilizer and overwatering.
  • Regularly pinch the forming flower buds of your dill plants and harvest the leaves so that they live longer and grow more flavorful leaves before Winter.
  • Dill requires full sun and lots of moisture to stay healthy. Too much shade and insufficient water cause dill to wilt and turn brown.
  • Overwatering or slow-draining soils cause root rot, which can turn the dill yellow. Too much fertilizer also turns the dill yellow, with a drooping and drying appearance.

Mark Bennett

Mark Bennett is the writer at gardener report. I'm a qualified botanist, landscape gardener and garden center plant troubleshooter! I grow and care for all the plants I write about so I have lots of first hand experience, in troubleshooting problems with plants and providing step by steps tips for recover. I love hearing from you so please leave me a comment and I'll reply!

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