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How to Grow Tarragon: French or Russian Makes the Difference

French tarragon has the flavour and cannot be grown from seed. If a packet offers tarragon seed, it is Russian — and Russian is close to tasteless.

By Salma 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
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One fact decides whether growing tarragon is worth it: French tarragon cannot be grown from seed. So a seed packet labelled “tarragon” is Russian tarragon — a vigorous, hardy, nearly flavourless plant.

French or Russian

Same common name, different plants
French tarragonRussian tarragon
FlavourSweet aniseed — the point of the herbFaint, grassy, slightly bitter
From seedNo — rarely viableYes, readily
VigourModerateVery vigorous
Hardiness~Zone 5Hardier
Sold asPlants onlySeed packets, cheaply

The seed-packet trap is worth spelling out because it is so common. Russian tarragon seed is cheap, germinates easily, and grows into a big healthy plant. Everything about it is satisfying until you taste it.

Buy a named French tarragon plant. If you can, crush a leaf at the nursery — the aniseed should be unmistakable.

Growing it

Sun and drainage. Six hours minimum, and genuinely free-draining soil. It is Mediterranean, and the thing that kills it is sitting wet through winter rather than cold itself.

On clay: work in grit, use a raised bed, or simply grow it in a pot of gritty compost. In wet ground the pot is more reliable than trying to fix the bed.

Space 18–24 inches. It spreads by underground runners and takes more room than it looks like it needs.

Water sparingly once established, letting the surface dry between waterings.

Do not feed it

This feels wrong and it is the right call. The essential oils carrying tarragon’s flavour — estragole chief among them — are concentrated by lean, poor soil.

Feed it and you get a big, lush, green plant that tastes of very little. Same rule as rosemary, thyme and oregano, and the same disappointment when ignored.

Through the year

  • Spring: plant, or divide an existing clump
  • Summer: pinch tips regularly. Keeps it bushy and delays flowering, which coarsens the leaves and drops the flavour
  • Late autumn: cut top growth to a few inches once it dies back. It is herbaceous and regrows from the roots
  • Winter: a loose, airy dry mulch over the crown in cold or wet regions. Keep it open — the risk is rot, not frost

Divide every three years

This is maintenance, not an option. French tarragon loses vigour and flavour as the clump ages, and three years is roughly when it becomes noticeable.

In spring: lift the clump, split the root mass into sections each with shoots and roots, replant the strongest and discard the tired centre.

It is also the only practical way to make more plants, since seed is off the table and cuttings are less reliable — though softwood cuttings in early summer do root reasonably in gritty compost.

If yours has no flavour

  1. It is probably Russian. Nothing will fix that
  2. It has been fed, or is in rich soil. Stop feeding; consider moving it somewhere leaner
  3. The clump is old. Divide it this spring
  4. It has flowered. Cut back and pinch harder next season

Step by step

Time
P365D
Cost
12
You need
A French tarragon plant, bought as a plant not seed, Gritty free-draining compost, Horticultural grit or perlite
Tools
Spade or hand fork, Secateurs

  1. Buy a plant, never a seed packet

    French tarragon rarely sets viable seed, so any packet sold as tarragon seed is Russian tarragon, which is a different and far blander plant. Buy a named French tarragon plant and taste a leaf before you leave if you can.

  2. Choose a sunny spot with sharp drainage

    Six hours of sun and genuinely free-draining soil. Tarragon is a Mediterranean plant whose commonest cause of death is a wet winter rather than cold itself.

  3. Improve heavy soil or use a pot

    Work in grit on clay, or plant in a raised bed. In wet ground a container of gritty compost is more reliable than trying to amend the bed.

  4. Plant in spring after the last frost

    Space plants about 18 to 24 inches apart. They spread by underground runners and a single plant fills more room than it first appears to need.

  5. Water sparingly once established

    Let the surface dry between waterings. Tarragon tolerates drought far better than wet roots, and constant moisture is what rots it.

  6. Do not feed it

    Poor lean soil concentrates the essential oils that carry the flavour. A fed plant grows lush and tastes of noticeably less.

  7. Pinch the tips through the season

    Regular pinching keeps the plant bushy and delays flowering. Flowering coarsens the leaves and reduces the aniseed flavour.

  8. Cut back hard in late autumn

    Take the top growth down to a few inches once it dies back. The plant is herbaceous and regrows from the roots in spring.

  9. Mulch for winter in cold or wet regions

    A dry mulch protects the crown, but keep it loose and airy. The risk in winter is rot from sitting wet, not frost alone.

  10. Divide every three years in spring

    French tarragon loses vigour and flavour as the clump ages. Lift it, split the root mass into sections each with shoots and roots, and replant the strongest.

Common questions

What is the difference between French and Russian tarragon?

Flavour, almost entirely. French tarragon has the sweet aniseed character the herb is grown for, carried by essential oils including estragole. Russian tarragon is a coarser, more vigorous and much hardier plant with little flavour, often described as faintly bitter or grassy. The practical distinction is propagation: French tarragon rarely sets viable seed and is sold only as plants, so any seed packet labelled tarragon is Russian.

Can you grow tarragon from seed?

Only Russian tarragon, which is not the herb most people want. French tarragon very rarely produces viable seed and is propagated by division or cuttings, so it is sold as a plant. This is the single most useful thing to know before buying, because seed packets labelled simply tarragon are common, cheap, germinate readily, and produce a vigorous plant that disappoints completely at the table.

Why is my tarragon tasteless?

Three possibilities, and the first is much the most likely. It is Russian tarragon rather than French, which no amount of good care will improve. It has been fed or grown in rich soil, since lean conditions concentrate the essential oils and a well-fed plant grows lush and bland. Or the clump is old — French tarragon loses vigour and flavour after about three years and needs dividing to restore it.

How do you propagate French tarragon?

By division or cuttings, since seed is not an option. Division is easiest: in spring, lift the clump, pull or cut the root mass into sections each carrying shoots and roots, and replant the strongest pieces. Softwood cuttings taken in early summer also root reasonably well in gritty compost. Dividing every three years is maintenance rather than an optional extra, because it is what keeps both vigour and flavour up.

Is tarragon hardy?

French tarragon is reasonably hardy, generally to around zone 5, but what kills it is wet rather than cold. It is a Mediterranean plant with no tolerance for sitting in waterlogged winter soil, so sharp drainage matters more than frost protection. Russian tarragon is considerably hardier and will survive conditions that would kill the French type, which is part of why it is so widely sold.

Should you let tarragon flower?

No, if you are growing it for the leaves. Flowering diverts the plant's energy and coarsens the foliage, and the aniseed flavour declines noticeably once flower buds form. Pinch the growing tips regularly through the season, which both delays flowering and keeps the plant bushy rather than sprawling. French tarragon flowers sparsely in any case and almost never sets usable seed.

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