How to Grow and Care for Queen Anne's Lace

A familiar sight in meadows and along roadsides all summer long, Queen Anne's lace is a very pretty wildflower. Native to Europe and Asia, Queen Anne's lace is invasive in North America, and some may consider it a weed. The leaves are delicate and thready, somewhat fern-like in appearance. The flat flower tops are a creamy white disk of tiny flowers, and look a bit like wild yarrow at a distance.

While it has a place in the landscape as a source of food for pollinators and makes a long-lasting cut flower in a wildflower arrangement, Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) is essentially a common weed. It is also commonly called wild carrot, as the root looks like a slender pale orange carrot and has a carrot-like scent. The young root is edible and can be eaten like a carrot, raw, in a salad, or cooked in a soup.

Warning

Queen Anne's lace spreads aggressively by reseeding itself. It adapts easily to poor soil conditions and tends to grow where many things won't. To cut back on the spread, it's a good idea to snip off the flower heads before they go to seed. The plants can also be dug out by their taproots before they go to seed.

Common Names	Queen Anne's lace, wild carrot
Botanical Name	Daucus carota
Family	Apiaceae
Plant Type	Biennial
Mature Size	1-4 ft. tall
Sun Exposure	Full to partial sun
Soil Type	Adapts to many soils, dry, sandy
Soil pH	Neutralto alkaline
Bloom Time	Summer
Flower Color	White
Hardiness Zones	4a-11b (USDA)
Native Areas	Asia, Europe
Toxicity	Mildly toxic to some people

Queen Anne's Lace Care

Being a very vigorous plant, Queen Anne lace needs very little care to thrive and will do just fine if left alone. To control the spread, snip off the flower heads before they go to seed in late summer.

Light

Queen Anne's lace tends to like dry sunny spots, like meadows and roadsides, but will also spring up in partial shade areas.

Soil

This plant is not at all fussy about soil and can be found growing in poor soil conditions such as vacant lots, curbsides, and parking lots.

Water

Queen Anne's lace tends to be very drought-tolerant and will thrive during a hot summer, standing tall in the meadow even when it hasn't rained for weeks.

Temperature and Humidity

Very hardy in extreme temperatures, Queen Anne's lace will survive in the scorching summer sun and will reseed even after a very cold winter. It doesn't seek out damp places and usually reseeds itself in places with plenty of sunlight and air circulation, suggesting it would not adapt well to humid conditions.

Propagating Queen Anne's Lace

You can dig up Queen Anne's lace when it's young and plant the carrot-like tubers in your garden, but this plant propagates most effectively by seed. The seeds can be gathered by gently brushing your hand over the flower umbels in late summer as they go to seed. Scatter them in the desired place and gently press the seeds into the soil. They will eventually take root and come up the following year.

Queen Anne's Lace vs. Poison Hemlock

Though foragers are fond of Queen Anne's lace as a wild source of food, it is very important to be able to distinguish it from its lookalike, poison hemlock (Conium maculatum). Poison hemlock is extremely toxic to humans and animals. These two plants can often be found growing in similar areas, and both are quite invasive in much of North America. Some differences can help avoid confusion.

• While Queen Anne's lace won't usually grow taller than 4 feet, poison hemlock grows to between 3 and 8 feet tall.
• Poison hemlock has umbels of tiny white flowers like Queen Anne's lace, but the flowers tend to grow in separate branched clumps instead of all in one flat flowerhead as they do on Queen Anne's lace.
• Poison hemlock's stems are smooth, hollow, and have small purple spots; Queen Anne's lace has slightly hairy stems.
• The two plants have very different scents. Queen Anne's lace root smells like a carrot, and poison hemlock has an acrid, musty odor, which some say smells like mouse urine.

Common Problems with Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's lace is not bothered by any common pests or diseases, but they do often hide an insect that is quite problematic to humans: chiggers. These tiny red insects are almost invisible to the naked eye and can cause an irritating rash that itches terribly. The rash can be treated with ice or over-the-counter anti-itch creams. It's a good idea to shower or bathe after spending time in a field where Queen Anne's lace is abundant so you can avoid contact with chiggers.

From: thespruce