Herb · Asteraceae
French Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus
Give it full sun and sharp drainage, and French tarragon hands you that warm anise note all summer.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 4–8
24–35 in · 60–90 cm
Overview
French tarragon earns its place in the kitchen for one reason: a clean, warm anise flavor that no other herb quite matches. It belongs to the same family as daisies and sagebrush, and it grows as a hardy perennial that dies back each winter and pushes up fresh shoots in spring. One healthy plant gives you years of harvest.
The catch is that the true French herb is a sterile clone. It sets no viable seed, so you can only get it by buying a plant or taking a piece of one. Anything sold as tarragon seed is the Russian kind, which grows fast and large but tastes of almost nothing. Buy the real thing once and you can divide it for free from then on.
Tarragon is fussy about its feet more than anything else. It wants full sun, lean soil, and very sharp drainage, and it sulks or rots in heavy, wet ground. Get the drainage right and the rest is easy, with light watering, almost no feeding, and a quick cutback before winter.
Care
The short version: full sun and lean, fast-draining soil, with water only once the top half has dried out. Feed it lightly if at all, harvest the shoot tips through summer, and divide the clump every few years to keep the flavor strong.
Light
Give tarragon full sun for the strongest flavor, though it puts up with a little afternoon shade. Too much shade thins the growth and waters down the taste that makes the herb worth growing.
Water
Let the top half of the soil dry out between drinks rather than keeping it damp. Tarragon resents wet feet, and the fastest way to kill it is to overwater in winter, which rots the roots.
Soil
Plant in light, sandy, well-drained loam, because sharp drainage matters more to this herb than richness. A pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5 suits it, and heavy, soggy ground is the one thing it won't tolerate.
Temperature
Tarragon is tough, hardy down to about -20°F (-29°C) and happy up to roughly 84°F (29°C). It actually needs a cold winter rest to perform well, so the dormancy isn't a problem to fix.
Humidity
Keep it on the dry side, around 30% to 50% humidity, and give it room to breathe. Damp, still air is what invites the mildew and rust that spot the leaves.
Feeding
This is a light feeder, so go easy. A single spring helping of balanced fertilizer or compost is plenty, and piling on nitrogen only grows soft leaves that taste of less.
Pruning
Pinch and harvest the shoot tips through the season to keep the plant bushy rather than leggy. Cut the stems back in late summer and clear away the dead top growth before the plant settles into winter.
Repotting
Refresh a potted plant every 2 to 3 years before the crown turns woody and crowded. Declining flavor, fewer new shoots, and a hard center are the plant's way of asking for fresh soil or division.
Size & spacing
A mature plant reaches 24 to 35 inches (60 to 90 cm) tall and spreads 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) across. Give each one that much room so air moves freely and the leaves stay dry.
When to plant
Tarragon is hardy from zones 4 through 8 and runs on the seasons. Set out divisions or rooted cuttings in spring once the last frost has passed, harvest the leaves through summer, and let the plant go dormant over winter, since that cold rest is what brings it back strong the next year.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring, after the last frost, from divisions or rooted stem cuttings
- Harvest: Rarely flowers and sets no viable seed; harvest leaves through summer. Benefits from a period of winter dormancy and chilling to perform well the following season.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most tarragon trouble starts underground or comes down to crowding. Watch the roots and the airflow and you head off nearly every problem. Match what you see below, then act before it spreads.
Wilting plant with black, mushy roots and a rotted crown
This is root and crown rot, and it almost always traces back to soil that stays too wet. Tarragon hates having soggy feet, especially over winter, so lift a struggling plant and check for brown, foul-smelling roots. If the rot has taken hold, discard the worst of it and replant healthy divisions in raised, sandy ground with sharp drainage.
Fix:
- Improve drainage and reduce watering
- Remove and discard severely rotted plants
- Replant healthy divisions in raised or sandy, well-drained beds
Yellow or stippled leaves with powdery patches or tiny insects
Crowded, humid plants invite downy mildew or rust, which leave pale or rust-colored patches, while aphids cluster on soft new growth and distort the leaves. Check the undersides to tell them apart. Open the plant up for better airflow, strip off the worst foliage, and rinse or treat any aphids you find.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation and spacing
- Remove and destroy infected foliage
- Rinse off or treat aphids as needed
An old clump turning woody, sparse, and short on flavor
After three or four years a tarragon plant outgrows itself, building a hollow, woody center that pushes out little fresh growth and tastes flat. This is age, not disease. Dig the clump in early spring, replant the vigorous outer pieces, and throw away the spent middle.
Fix:
- Divide the clump in early spring
- Replant vigorous outer divisions
- Discard the spent woody center
Toxicity
Tarragon is a culinary herb, safe to eat and easy to keep around a home kitchen. People can use it freely in cooking, and it poses no poisoning risk to pets. The one thing to know is that a large helping of the strongly scented leaves can give a cat, dog, or other animal a passing bout of stomach upset, so it's a mild caution for pets rather than a hazard.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A nibble does no harm, but a cat that eats a good amount of the aromatic leaves may drool a little or have a brief bout of an upset stomach.
Dogs Mild
Tarragon isn't a poisoning risk, though a dog that gulps a large helping of the strong-smelling foliage might get loose stools or a touch of nausea that soon passes.
Horses Mild
Small tastes are nothing to worry about. Eating a lot of the leaves can leave a horse with mild digestive upset for a short while.
Rabbits Mild
Offer only the odd sprig. The pungent oils can loosen a rabbit's sensitive gut if it works through more than a small taste.
Livestock Mild
Grazing animals tend to leave the strongly scented plant alone, and a casual mouthful causes no real trouble beyond passing stomach upset.
Birds Mild
A few leaves won't hurt a backyard bird, but the concentrated aromatic oils mean it's best kept as a rare treat rather than a regular feed.
People Safe
Tarragon is a kitchen staple and safe to eat in the amounts a recipe calls for. Its estragole is a concern only in very large medicinal doses, far beyond normal cooking.
No special handling precautions are needed for the intact plant; use the leaves as a culinary herb.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
There are really only two tarragons you'll meet, and the difference between them decides whether you get flavor or just leaves. Know which one you're buying before you plant.
French tarragon ('Sativa' clone)
This is the true culinary tarragon, a sterile clone with a strong anise flavor that has to be grown from divisions or cuttings because it never sets viable seed.
Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculoides)
Grown easily from seed but coarser, larger, and almost flavorless, which is why it often turns up in seed packets yet disappoints in the kitchen.
How to propagate
Because true French tarragon never sets seed, you multiply it the same way nurseries do, by splitting a plant or rooting a cutting. Both keep the flavor true.
DivisionEasy
Early spring as growth resumes, or early fall · 4 to 8 weeks
Division is the most reliable way to multiply the true French clone. Lift an established plant in early spring as growth resumes, or in early fall, split off the vigorous outer sections, and replant them, doing this every 3 to 4 years to keep the clump young. The new divisions settle in and take hold within 4 to 8 weeks.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late spring to early summer from softwood growth · 4 to 6 weeks
Take cuttings from non-flowering softwood shoots in late spring or early summer and root them in a sharp, well-drained medium, where they establish in about 4 to 6 weeks. This keeps the prized French flavor true, since only the inferior Russian tarragon comes from seed.
Myths
You can grow true French tarragon from seed.
True French tarragon is a sterile clone that sets no viable seed, so the only way to keep its flavor is to divide a plant or root a cutting. Any tarragon offered as seed is the inferior, nearly flavorless Russian type, not the real culinary herb.