Perennial
How to grow tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus (French)
French tarragon cannot be grown from seed, so buy a plant and set it out in April or May in full sun, shelter and light, free-draining soil, or in a 30 cm pot of gritty compost. Winter wet kills more plants than cold, so drainage decides whether it survives. Pick shoot tips from June to September, cut it down in November, and divide it every two or three years to keep it vigorous.
- Hardiness
- Frost-hardy; protect the crown from winter wet
- Position
- Full sun, sheltered
- Soil
- Free-draining, light
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low, dislikes wet roots
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting tarragon
WhenPlant Apr to May; harvest Jun to Sep; cut down and mulch in Nov
Starting off
Plant pot-grown French tarragon Apr to May; it sets no viable seed, and any seed sold is coarse Russian tarragon. Divide crowns in Mar to Apr every two or three years, replanting 10 cm pieces of rhizome 5 cm deep. Basal softwood cuttings 8 cm long in May to Jun root in 3 to 4 weeks.
Spacing and planting
Plant 45 to 60 cm apart (spread 60 cm, height 90 cm) with the crown just below the surface and grit in the planting hole. Fine in a 30 cm pot, which also lets it be moved under cover for winter.
Varieties worth growing
- French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus, French form)
- The one to grow: smooth, glossy, narrow leaves with a strong, sweet anise flavour. It sets no viable seed, so it is only ever sold as a plant raised from cuttings or division.
- Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus, Russian form)
- Taller, coarser and much hardier, and the only tarragon that comes from a seed packet. The flavour is faint and grassy. Worth knowing mainly so you can avoid buying it by mistake.
- Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida)
- A tender marigold relative with a similar anise flavour, grown from seed as an annual. A useful stand-in where French tarragon will not overwinter, and it copes better with a hot greenhouse.
Tarragon month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do. Keep the crown mulch dry and in place.
- February
Nothing to do. Check pots under cover are barely moist, not wet.
- March
Pull the mulch back as growth starts. Lift and divide crowns two or three years old.
- April
Plant pot-grown French tarragon. Finish dividing. Give pots their light feed. Fleece new shoots on frosty nights.
- May
Last month for planting. Take basal softwood cuttings.
- June
Start picking shoot tips once the plant is 20 cm tall. More cuttings can be taken.
- July
Main harvest; flavour is at its best. Freeze sprigs or make tarragon vinegar.
- August
Keep picking to hold back flowering. Cut rusted stems to the ground.
- September
Last pickings. Pot up a piece to bring indoors for winter leaf.
- October
Stems yellow and die back. Stop watering pots except in a dry spell.
- November
Cut stems down and cover the crown with a dry mulch. Move pots to shelter.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding tarragon
French tarragon wants lean, warm, dry soil and needs no feeding in the ground. Overfeeding gives lush growth with weak flavour that rots more easily in winter. A pot-grown plant takes one light balanced feed in April.
Low, French tarragon (the good one) wants a warm, dry, poor spot.
Feeding plan
In the ground, every year
No feed
Nothing. Replanting divisions in fresh soil every two or three years does more than any fertiliser.
April, pots only
2 g per litre of compost, the low end of the label top-dress rate, scattered on the surface and watered in: about 24 g for a 30 cm pot holding about 12 litres. Once a year.
June to August, pots that have been cut hard
1 g per litre of water as a drench, once after a heavy harvest and not more often than every 3 weeks. Nothing after August.
Signs to watch
Mild, grassy flavour
Overfeeding, shade or Russian stock
Stop feeding or replace
Thin, bare centre with weak shoots
Congested crown
Divide in Mar
Older leaves yellow between green veins in a pot
Magnesium short
Epsom salts
Pests, diseases and problems
No shoots in spring, or the crown is soft and brown when dug up
Crown and root rot from winter wet
Grow in a raised bed or pot with plenty of grit. In November cut down, then cover the crown with a dry mulch of straw or bracken, and move pots to the foot of a wall or into a cold greenhouse.
Orange-brown pustules on the undersides of leaves in summer, leaves yellowing and dropping
Tarragon rust
Cut all stems to the ground and bin them; pick from the clean regrowth. Thin congested clumps for air flow, and replace badly affected stock with a clean plant in fresh soil.
New shoots blackened in April
Late frost on young growth
Throw fleece over emerging shoots when frost is forecast. The crown usually sends up more.
Plant weaker and less flavoursome each year, with a bare centre
An ageing, congested crown; French tarragon runs out of vigour after two or three years in one place
Lift in March or April, replant 10 cm pieces of young rhizome from the outside of the clump in fresh soil, and discard the middle.
White powdery coating on leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew on crowded plants
Cut affected stems back, clear them away and thin the clump next spring. Water at the base only if the soil is truly dry.
Pot plant stops growing and yellows in midsummer
Rhizomes have filled the pot and are circling the edge
Knock it out, split it and repot a few young pieces in fresh, gritty compost. Do this every second spring as routine.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Pick 10 cm shoot tips from Jun once plants are 20 cm tall, cutting three or four times a season for 100 to 200 g. Flavour peaks in midsummer before flowering. Freeze sprigs in bags or chopped in ice cubes, or steep in white wine vinegar; drying loses the anise flavour. Pot a plant in Sep for winter leaf indoors.
Rotation and companions
No rotation needed. Grow with rosemary, thyme and sage in the dry herb bed, and near aubergines and peppers, which share its warm, sheltered spot. Keep it away from mint and lemon balm, whose runners and self-seeding overrun it, and from rich, wet beds.
Good to knowBuy French tarragon as a plant, not seed; protect from winter wet and lift and divide every two or three years.
Growing tarragon in pots
A pot suits French tarragon well, because you control the drainage and can move it out of the rain in winter. Use a 30 cm pot with loam-based compost and a third grit by volume. Water when the compost is dry a few centimetres down, and let it go nearly dry in winter. From November stand the pot in a cold greenhouse, a porch or tight against a house wall under the eaves. The rhizomes fill a pot quickly: split and repot in fresh compost every second spring or the plant fades out.
Tarragon: common questions
Can I grow French tarragon from seed?
No, French tarragon rarely flowers and does not set viable seed. Any tarragon seed on sale is Russian tarragon, which is hardier but has little flavour. Buy a pot-grown French plant and increase it by division in March or April or by basal cuttings in May and June.
Will French tarragon survive winter outside in the UK?
Yes in most of England, provided the soil drains well, since it is the wet rather than the cold that kills it. Cut it down in November and cover the crown with a dry mulch. On heavy clay or in cold, wet districts grow it in a pot and overwinter it in a cold greenhouse or against a house wall.
Why has my tarragon got no flavour?
The most likely reason is that it is Russian tarragon, not French. Crush a leaf: French tarragon smells strongly of aniseed and slightly numbs the tongue, while Russian is grassy. Too much feed, too much water or shade also dilute the flavour of a true French plant.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.