How To Prune Dill: The Right Way and Best After Care

How to prune dill is a question that most people have, but don’t worry, because dill is one of the easiest plants you can grow. Its low maintenance and easygoing characteristics are what give it that ideal reputation.

But as always, since plants do “grow” bigger and bigger, there may come a time that you need to prune your dill plants. Today, we’re going through a step-by-step on how you can prune your dill plant successfully for fuller and healthier looks shrubs.

How To Neatly Prune Dill?

To neatly prune dill, you must first you must know the type of this herb that you have, then use quality scissors, and pick the right time to do so. After doing as such, cut off the edges and make sure to cut the dead parts too.

This is a herb that is an annual plant, but with the appropriate growth circumstances, it will self-seed and return year after year, as a result you may consider how the seed is also easily saved each year for later planting.

If you don’t want the plant to seed too much, as it can grow super tall after this, further pruning will be required. This way, you enjoy fresh dill in your cooking recipes and dill leaves for salads.

By doing so, you must aim to keep the herb looking neat and bushier, at the same time, which also causes the plant to create lateral growth. This is ideal if you want a more significant crop of dill to use in pickling, marinades, drying, and other dishes.

Dills grow to a mature height of three feet, and because of the possibility that this will make them top-heavy, a gardener will need to stake them if the plants are not clipped. On another note, you should also remember that they can avoid staking by being kept short and compact by pruning.

1. Know the Type of the Herb

The bouquet type of this herb is one that produces a lot of seeds and grows pretty tall. This makes it a great option for in-garden planting and promoting your dill’s growth the following year.

In addition to this, the seeds can also be used for culinary purposes, and this dill is also a favorite amongst gardeners for producing pickles since it produces a lot of seed heads that are ideal for canning.

On another note, mammoth dill needs a lot of room in your garden because it may grow up to five feet tall. Which is why knowing its type is an important task, as the herb may grow quite big, this would show you that the plant needs you to prune it just the top parts, or one third of it.

A small-growing cultivar that is suitable for container gardening is the Dukat dill. This variety of the herb is one that would not grow as high; on the contrary, it would grow quite short, around 18 to 24 inches high.

When it grows like that, you should know the exact time that has come to trim it would be after it has reached eight to ten inches high.

Lastly, the vierling dill lasts a long time and bolts more slowly than other types of the variations. Vierling is an excellent option if you want a continuous summer dill harvest. Keep in mind that it grows about 36 to 60 inches tall, and when it starts to exceed 20 inches, you will know it is time.

2. Use Quality Scissors

Dill should be pruned with tidy, precise pruning shears or snips, with each cut being rapid and clean. During pruning, do not harm or crush the stem or leaves. Moreover, the reason why you should have your tools sterilized is that the plant, as a whole, might catch a disease if the pruned tool was used on an ill plant, as some bacteria may be contaminating it.

Before and after using scissors for pruning, clean them by dipping them into a dilute solution of bleach and water. This will stop any further rot from the plant from spreading.

3. Pick The Right Time

Keep an eye on the blossom buds if you cut them to dry dill. Before the plant flowers, the flavor is at its peak. Cut lengthy stems, then hang them upside-down in a room with good ventilation and darkness.

Bind the bouquet with gardening twine and hang it from a curtain rod. When the leaves are dry, put them in a dark cabinet in an airtight container. This herb thrives in the cooler and wetter parts of the year, and this is why you can try planting it in cool months, like late fall or early spring.

As days get longer, dill naturally begins to seed, and when it begins to seed, it grows these fantastic flowers that are exceptional at luring in beneficial insects. This would be a period of eight weeks, so after this period, you will know that the plant is ready to be pruned. So if you have enough space in your garden, let this plant provide precious flowers for all the pollinators in your lawn.

4. Cut Off the Edges

Snip the frond-like leaves above a leaf set from the plant’s top. According to good general pruning advice, never remove more than one-third of the entire plant when pruning any herb. Moreover, remember that a stem won’t produce more dill if cut down entirely without frond, or leaf sets.

Pinch off blossoms or stray stems as the plant grows to maintain a clean appearance. However, remember that dill is a great herb to add to a flower bed, container garden, or outside spot.

In addition, just like other herbs like cilantro and basil, you want to put off flowering with dill. The formation of the flower heads may be slightly delayed by pinching the flower buds.

5. Cut Off the Dead Parts

Finally, pruning your dill especially comes in handy when eliminating some of the plant’s dead parts. This could mean dead leaves, dead stalks, or stems. Either way, pruning helps give you a chance to pick out the diseased parts of the plant in time, or before they begin to spread. If you let the plant live with these kinds of parts, you could end up damaging it entirely with no return.

How To Care For Dill Plants After Pruning?

To care for dill plants after pruning, you must provide them with the right amount of moisture, and also fulfill their sunlight needs, and the right water needs. Lastly, you must also give it the right fertilizing needed, so it grows further.

– Provide Adequate Moisture

Dill likes good moist soil. The key would be to plant it with tall companion plants like cabbages would provide dill with enough shade to retain moisture. If you see any burnt tips or drying on the ends, it is probably a signal that the soil is not wet enough.

– Sunlight Needs

Dill should be planted in a garden that receives full sun for at least six to eight hours daily, as the plant will grow after the pruning and thrive.

A little afternoon shade is acceptable and welcomed if you are in an area where summers are particularly hot.Because if you are providing enough sun, watering the plants consistently and keeping them moist will bring great growth results.

– Watering Needs

Keep the soil around your dill continuously moist without letting it get soggy or drenched. Never let the soil dry entirely in between watering sessions since this can lead to the plant entering the seed too early, and now that it has the need to grow more and develop stronger.

– Fertilizer

Dill is not a heavy feeder, like the majority of herbs. Your dill shouldn’t need additional fertilizer if your garden soil is rich in organic matter.

A slightly leaner soil will result in more aromatic plants.

Conclusion

Pruning dill has never been easier. With the help of this guide, you will know how to cater to the dill in your herb garden. To recap the information above:

• Dill plants grow best in cooler, wetter months. This is also when their leaves have the most flavor, so indulge in dill salad or pickles from your garden beds.
• Pruning dill will make it an even bushier shrub, and this is ideal if you’re growing as ground cover to make your gardens look full.
• They can be pruned to reduce their seed production and prevent them from outgrowing their container.
• If this is the very first time you are growing dill, you have nothing to worry about. Besides pruning, this is one of the easiest kitchen herbs to grow, and you will enjoy it immensely.

So, ready to grow dill on your own? Plant beautiful dill weeds in your garden and get started!