I'm having trouble with my tarragon, which is one of my all -time favorite herbs. This year, the tarragon didn't really come back in the garden, even though the plant had come back bushy and strong for two years prior. I replaced it, putting one plant in the ground next to the older one and one in a pot. Neither is doing much. well, the one in the pot is turning brown, but the one in the ground hasn't gotten much bigger. What could have changed so much from one year to the next, and any advice for keeping it happy in a pot?
Becky, I'm growing it for the first time this year. Only because I got it for 50 cents. It is readily growing in the ground. I don't even know if it winters over here, we'll see.
Everything that blooms and grows, the garden angel scatters and sows...in the land of corn and pigs...gardensandquiltsatyahoodotcom
Posts: 2176 | Location: Zone 4-5, North Central Iowa | Registered: April 12, 2002
Assuming it's French... It needs excellent drainage to thrive. Try repotting it--not totally lost I hope--in rich soil but with more perlite. For the in ground plant, try moving it to another location. Mine did not flourish last year (WNW location) so I moved it (ENE one) and it's doing quite well.
Posts: 123 | Location: Western PA | Registered: June 25, 2008
French Tarragon can be rather temperamental. I've always had trouble with it, yet keep on trying because I love cooking with it so much & it's so expensive to buy at the supermarket.
A few things I've found is that it does prefer well-draining soil rich in organic matter, along with a full-sun location with good air circulation. I had much better luck growing it in NY than I've had here in VA with the extremely high humidity.
Posts: 406 | Location: Culpeper, VA - Zone 6/7 | Registered: June 18, 2008
Originally posted by Matt-choo: Did you grow other herbs near to it? I've heard dill and fennel can suppress the growth of other plants.
Actually, I did plant dill in this bed for the first time ever (previously I kept it in another herb bed). Everything else in the garden is growing fairly well, except for the eggplant that is right next to the dill. Hmmm...? Anyone else experience dill (or fennel) as a plant growth inhibitor?
I would divide the tarragon now, and relocate it. While it did well previously, other factors may be in place. Shade, nearby herbs, soil. ect. I usually relocate a clump a year and replace with good rotted compost, for the remaining plant.
good gardening, good luck, DD
Posts: 115 | Location: NE KS Zone 5 | Registered: November 06, 2007
I have never had trouble growing tarragon - one of those things like mint and chives that just pops up every year, and I never bother with it! I even have some in a windowsill box, which freezes solid in the winter, and it is two years old now, and almost solid in there - I may have to thin it and plant some elsewhere. Even when that pot dries out, the tarragon shows no signs of wilting.
I have heard that high humidity is bad - a fellow in SF told me that this, and several other herbs he tried to grow just will not grow there - got fungus or some sort of mildew every time.
Dave
Posts: 961 | Location: Zone 6b Woodbury, NJ | Registered: December 10, 2003
Originally posted by Matt-choo: Did you grow other herbs near to it? I've heard dill and fennel can suppress the growth of other plants.
Actually, I did plant dill in this bed for the first time ever (previously I kept it in another herb bed). Everything else in the garden is growing fairly well, except for the eggplant that is right next to the dill. Hmmm...? Anyone else experience dill (or fennel) as a plant growth inhibitor?
Last year my dill got completely out of control and I ended up with dill seed all over the place. In the process of moving some of my beds around, the soil in the vicinity of the dill ended up scattered about.
I've noticed several "dead zones" where my beans are really slow. Same with my peas. Sickly little seedlings or none at all. Today I notice that where the beans and peas are sparse there are hundreds of little weeds coming up. Close examination revealed...DILL!
Until reading this thread, I'd never heard of dill as an enemy of any other plant, but now I have some suspicions!
Mulch where you can Weed when you have to Till if you must It's all part of the plan (apologies to Dan Fogelberg).
Posts: 745 | Location: Zone 4b, Del Norte, Colorado | Registered: September 16, 2006
I have a pretty good stand of tarragon this year...the problem is that went I cut some the other day it tasted nothing like tarragon....more like something growing in the wild..I believe it probably is the russian variety as I did grow it from seed...when it was very young it had a definite tarragon flavor..but it's changed...any suggestions...
Definitely sounds like Russian Tarragon. The fact that you grew it from seed clinches it, plus the "tarragon flavor" when young. That slight tarragon flavor & scent when young is what, unfortunately, dupes a lot of people at the few nurseries that bother to sell it. Both seeds & young plants are usually just dubiously marked "Tarragon". The real McCoy should always say "French Tarragon", & you'll never find seeds for it.
Unless you find the plant particularly attractive, I'd get rid of it. It's weedy, reseeds, & has literally zero culinary value.
Posts: 406 | Location: Culpeper, VA - Zone 6/7 | Registered: June 18, 2008
Originally posted by BreezyGardener: Definitely sounds like Russian Tarragon. The fact that you grew it from seed clinches it, plus the "tarragon flavor" when young. That slight tarragon flavor & scent when young is what, unfortunately, dupes a lot of people at the few nurseries that bother to sell it. Both seeds & young plants are usually just dubiously marked "Tarragon". The real McCoy should always say "French Tarragon", & you'll never find seeds for it.
Unless you find the plant particularly attractive, I'd get rid of it. It's weedy, reseeds, & has literally zero culinary value.
Thanks for the info. I was wondering why the tarragon I planted last year had no flavor. Now I know to look for the French kind.
To everything there is a season... a time to plant... a time to dance...
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Posts: 23 | Location: Massachusetts | Registered: July 16, 2008
