The present invention relates to a celery plant (Apium graveolens L. dulce) carrying a genetic trait that leads to a shorter petiole and a shorter total plant length at mature harvest stage as compared to a celery plant not carrying the said genetic trait, wherein said genetic trait is as present in the genome of plants grown from seed of which a representative sample was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41902.