Topic: Tarragon - plant or seed?

[greyhound]

Last time I bought a French tarragon plant from the garden centre, which was fine.  Now I need some in a different place, and am wondering whether it's easy to grow from seed.

Grateful for any input - thanks!

[CityChick]

I understood that there were 2 sorts, French and Russian.  According to this link French has sterile seeds so you can't grow from seed.  French is supposed to have a better flavour.

[greyhound]

Just seen somewhere that French tarragon can't be grown from seed, darn it.  
OK, forget I asked!  That Russian stuff is quite literally a waste of space.

[Looby Loo]

I don't know if it's any help.  I bought a sorry-looking specimen of the French stuff last year, planted it, and forgot about it.  It's now sprouting so I think it must be pretty hardy stuff considering the winter we've had.

[Niamh]

About to ask silly question, as I have never seen or grown either French or Russian Tarragon, how do you know which is which? I would like to add it to my herb garden, but don't want to be a total dufus ::) and end up buying Russian! Many garden centres simply label plants as 'tarragon' so I am unsure whether it's the good stuff!

Niamh

[greyhound]

Just taste it!  The Russian doesn't really taste of anything, but the proper French stuff has a strong flavour, sort of aniseedy liquorishy .....and it has a spicy aroma when crushed, whereas the other stuff has no scent to speak of.

[Niamh]

Fair nuff! Will have great fun going around garden centres nibbling at the tarragon!

thanks for the reply.

Niamh

[Curryandchips]

From your description, greyhound, the russian variety doesnt really sound like its much use for anything ...

[CityChick]

Fair nuff! Will have great fun going around garden centres nibbling at the tarragon!

thanks for the reply.

Niamh

LOL!! Ah I can see it the newspapers now: 

"A gardener arrested for shop lifting on the grounds they had consumed a large amount of herbs while on the premises said 'the internet made me do it'...!" ;D

[Ceratonia]

Greyhound -  do you still have the original plant? French tarragon is very easy to propagate  from tip cuttings of the new growth that is appearing now.

[dingerbell]

I agree about hardiness, my 2 shop bought plants withered and disappeared over the Winter but are now putting up fresh new shoots. Chicken with Tarragon Butter....Bliss.

[greyhound]

Thanks, Ceratonia, I might try my luck with cuttings.  Any advice would be welcome.   :)

As for the Russian tarragon, my mother planted some to hide an unsightly corner by the drains.  It certainly did that, it was very vigorous, but from a culinary POV it was no use at all.

[Sprout]

Can't you just dig it up and re-plant it? That's what I did with my sage.

[Ceratonia]

You can certainly dig it up and re-plant it elsewhere. Or dig it up, divide the clump into two or more smaller pieces and replant at the same depth. Now is the time to do either of those things.

For cuttings, tarragon is pretty easy. For tip cuttings, in spring,  wait until you have some new growth, then cut a piece of a stem, including the tip, a few cm long. Strip off the leaves from the lower half of the cutting and make a clean, angled cut just below a leaf node (where leaves joined the stem). Dip the end in rooting hormone (if you have some - tarragon will probably do ok without it). Inset the cutting to about half of its length in a pot of compost. Firm gently to make sure there's good contact with the compost. Keep it humid and bright, but not in direct sunlight. A plastic bag or jam jar combined with regular misting is ideal for keeping the humidity up. (The cutting has no roots yet, so the idea is to stop too much moisture being lost from the leaves by making a very humid atmosphere around them). The compost should ideally be reasonably light and free draining - mix some sand or vermiculite/perlite with your usual seed compost.

With luck, I'd expect Tarragon to root in 3-4 weeks. I normally take a few cuttings at once - you can always give the spares away...

[greyhound]

Thanks!  I might have a go at that.