Tarragon, French Tarragon, Common Kitchen Tarragon

Make sure you don't get the Russian Tarragon, False Tarragon, (Artemisia dracunculoides)
...Read More/go/54936/" target="_dgnew">http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54936/
which is invasive and has no flavor.

Nurseries often substitute the Russian Tarragon because it is a vigorous grower and so much easier to propagate.

Tarragon grows very well here in Central CA but I have to keep it in a pot -- it dies in the ground no matter how I place it. But all tar...Read Moreragon plants are not equal!

Look in the Image section under "tarragon" and compare the plant I got from Lazy S's mailorder nursery (a DG top 30 and I found them here) -- huge, aromatic, beautiful-- with the one I got from a local nursery. Both small plants in 3 1/2" pots, planted into the same 18" pot filled with Supersoil pepped up with water crystals and perlite, on the same day. Tarragon showed up in local nurseries just as the Lazy S's plant arrived. I (as I thought) straightened out the roots of each as I planted -- note that nursery plant has girdling root near top. Both are clearly the true French A. dracunculus tarragon but the Lazy S's plant was more aromatic from day 1 and still is.

Lesson I learned (again)? A good MO nursery beats any brick&mortar nursery in my area hands down, and I've proved it again & again with plants from all plant groups.

We have sandy loam soil with a fair number of diseases, and nematodes here and there. Can't keep tarragon or lavender alive in the ground, can't kill 'em if I grow them in pots: they survive drying out and drowning equally well. No explanation, but if a particular herb won't "do" for you, try a pot?

mm/ Central CA zone schizo: Bay Area air warms our Central Valley location in winter, cools the nights (and some days) in summer. Hard frosts (below 28 degrees) for more than minutes unusual except some years, summer days above 100 routine.

Several sites say that you cannot grow Tarragon from seed because it doesn't produce any. Yet here I sit with a Burpee packet of Tarrago...Read Moren Artemisia Dracunculus. So, does it produce seeds? If not, what do I have here?

According to Golden Harvest Organics on their site, ghorganics.com, it is an excellent companion plant. Check out their entire companion...Read More planting guide and excellent organic neem and garlic products. "TARRAGON: Plant throughout the garden, not many pests like this one. Recommended to enhance growth and flavor of vegetables."