Queen Anne’s Lace Care Guide: How to Grow Queen Anne’s Lace

Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) is a taproot wildflower that is a member of the parsley family (or carrot family), Apiaceae. It is known by other common names including wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and devil's plague. Queen Anne's lace plant is primarily known for its tiny white flower clusters, which grow in an inflorescence called an umbel. Each Queen Anne's lace umbel can contain upwards of one thousand flowers. This plant has hairy stems and attracts pollinators such as ladybugs and butterflies.

Queen Anne's lace grows readily throughout much of the northern hemisphere. In some regions—including Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Washington state—it is considered a noxious weed and invasive species that crowds native plants. In other areas, it coexists better with native species. Home gardeners may be drawn to the feathery Queen Anne's lace flower and its edible roots, which bear resemblance to a cultivated carrot.

Queen Anne's lace is a biennial plant, which means it takes two years to go through its biological life cycle.

1. 1. Plant seeds in the early fall. Wild plants of this species naturally propagate in early fall, so this is a good time to plant seeds of Queen Anne's lace. Scatter seeds over moist soil and water them regularly until new plants are established.
2. 2. Plant Queen Anne’s lace in a sunny spot. This plant thrives in full sunlight but can also tolerate partial shade. It is most likely to succeed in USDA hardiness zones three through nine.
3. 3. Use well-draining soil. Loamy, nutrient-poor soil is best, but it can also handle chalky soil, sandy soil, and even a little bit of clay soil provided that it drains well.
4. 4. Water Queen Anne’s lace sparingly. While seedlings need regular moisture, mature Queen Anne's lace does best in relatively dry soil. If established in its natural habitat, this plant does not need to be watered or fertilized.
5. 5. Deadhead your plants to control growth. Queen Anne’s lace self-propagates quickly, so consider deadheading your crop before it spawns an entire yard of invasive plants.
6. 6. Be patient. In its first year of life, the plant’s resources will be spent on growing a taproot system and a stalk. In the second year, flowers will appear. Most flowers are white, although on some plants, purple flowers appear at the center of an otherwise white floret.

The entire Queen Anne’s lace plant is edible and non-toxic. You can dry Queen Anne’s lace seed heads and put them in tea. The roots are also edible—they resemble a cultivated carrot but are notably less flavorful.

Take note that several Queen Anne's lace look-alikes are toxic and should be avoided. These include water hemlock (Cicuta spp.), poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), and fool’s parsley (Aethusa cynapium). You can often distinguish these poisonous plants from Queen Anne's lace by smelling them. Queen Anne's lace has a sweet fragrance similar to that of carrots, while the other plants do not. That said, it’s best to avoid ingesting a plant of unverified origin.

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