French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a herb found widely across the Eurasian and North American continents. Tarragon has hints of anise in its fragrance. It is most well known as a culinary herb, especially in French cuisine. It is also used as a popular soda flavoring in eastern Asia. Curiously, the French cultivar with the strongest flavor is sterile, making it much harder to propagate than the other popular variants.

I. Appearance and Characteristics

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes.

One subspecies, Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa, is cultivated to use the leaves as an aromatic culinary herb. In some other subspecies, the characteristic aroma is largely absent. Informal names for distinguishing the variations include “French tarragon” (best for culinary use), “Russian tarragon,” and “wild tarragon” (covers various states).

The plant is commonly known as dragon in Swedish and Dutch. The use of Dragon for the herb or plant in German is outdated. The species name, dracunculus, means “little dragon,” and the plant seems to be so named due to its coiled roots. See Artemisia for the genus name derivative.

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Deutscher Estragon Artemisia dracunculus 01 Hajotthu CC BY-SA 3.0

Tarragon grows to 120–150 centimeters (4–5 feet) tall, with slender branches. The leaves are lanceolate, 2–8 cm (1–3 in) long and 2–10 mm (1⁄8–3⁄8 in) broad, glossy green, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in small capitula 2–4 mm (1⁄16–3⁄16 in) diameter, each capitulum containing up to 40 yellow or greenish-yellow florets. French tarragon, however, seldom produces any flowers (or seeds). Some tarragon plants produce seeds that are generally sterile. Others produce viable seeds. Tarragon has rhizomatous roots that it uses to spread and readily reproduce.

II. How to Grow and Care

Sunlight

French Tarragon, unlike many other herbs, isn’t a fan of direct sun in hot climates. Full sun is fine if you don’t live somewhere too hot, but otherwise, select somewhere that will provide dappled or early morning sun only. Warm, rather than intense heat, conditions are what this plant does best with.

Temperature and Humidity

This hardy plant is not too fussy about temperatures. It can still grow if a cold snap hits. The main thing is that Tarragon doesn’t like intense heat and sun and it doesn’t do well in high humidity.

In very cold conditions, you would be best to put mulch around the plant in winter to help protect the roots when it dies back and goes into dormancy.

Watering

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Artemisia dracunculus HRM Cillas CC BY-SA 4.0

How much you water your Tarragon will depend on the weather conditions and the maturity of the plant.

Young Tarragon will benefit from watering on alternate days if you’re experiencing prolonged hot, dry spells. Mature Tarragon, however, should be fine with a light watering every few days. Check the top inch of soil before watering. If it’s moist, no need to water, If it’s dry, give it a drink.

These plants can cope in dry ground, and care should be taken not to overwater as this will diminish growth and flavor intensity. Although Tarragon will survive with little water, if it’s left too dry, it can impact on the growth of the leaves.

Soil

Tarragon does not have any specific requirements when it comes to soil structure and pH, but they will not develop well in very rich and heavy soils. It is best if the soil is poor to moderately fertile and well-drained with a small to moderate amount of moisture.

Fertilizing

Tarragon doesn’t need fertilizer to do well. The best flavor is achieved when it’s planted in low-nutrient soil. If you’re going to use some, an all-purpose variety should only be applied in the initial planting stage.

Pruning

Pruning method is quite different for different species and cultivars. Generally, you can cut your Artemisia plants back to the base in fall or spring to encourage growth in the following year. While with evergreen or late-flowering species such as tree wormwood (Artemisia arborescens) and sweet wormwood (A. vallesiaca), pruning should be performed in early spring, when there is no danger of frost, but before the new growth starts. Remove wilt flowers as well as dead branches, and leave only new shoots.

If the plant is not pruned, it can get really tall (1.5 to 1.8 m). Trimming some terminal leaves and branches in summer, can return the plants that grow wild into a more favorable shape. If the plants get very bushy and thick, the air between the leaves will become more humid – favorable for powdery and downy mildew to develop. Thinning out the plants a little bit to improve the airflow and prevent these diseases. More intensive thinning is necessary if the plants are grown in very humid climates.

Besides, it is very important to wear gloves while pruning tarragon because its repelling chemicals can also irritate the skin.

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Artemisia dracunculus (5021064018) Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA CC BY-SA 2.0

Propagation

French Tarragon can only be grown by propagation or by buying an established plant. This herb doesn’t flower much and, when it does, the flowers are sterile. If you can get a stem cutting from an existing plant in late spring or early summer, you should have good success in propagating the plant.

For best results, select a young stem and cut a length of around five or six inches. Remove the leaves from the bottom third. The stem can then be placed in moist potting soil after being dipped in rooting hormone.

It’s also possible to use root division techniques. This is best done in late fall or early spring. You could cut the root ball in half and plant the division in fresh soil in containers or directly into the ground. Because tarragon is a short-lived perennial, root division every three years helps continue your tarragon production in the garden.

Grown in Containers

Tarragon can be grown in containers, but it usually only does well for around two or three years, as the serpentine roots grow quickly, and it will then need to be replanted into the ground or potted up into a larger container. Make sure the container you select is generous enough in size to accommodate the spreading roots.

You should wait until after the danger of frost has passed in spring before transferring any potted Tarragon outside.

Letting the potted plants become overly root bound before dividing and replanting will diminish the flavor, so don’t wait until it’s too far gone.

III. Uses and Benefits

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Artemisia dracunculus Matt Lavin CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Ornamental uses

Grassy green tarragon works as an attractive, aromatic border or bed plant in cottage or herb gardens. You can also grow this edible, herbaceous plant in pots within reach of the kitchen. It’s especially decorative in gardens when its yellow flowers bloom in the summer. Although grassy, it’s resistant to deer and rabbits.

  • Culinary uses

In Syria, Syrians eat fresh tarragon with white Syrian cheese. Syrians also use it with Syrian dishes such as shish barak and kibbeh labaniyeh.

In Iran, tarragon is used as a side dish in sabzi khordan (fresh herbs), or in stews and Persian-style pickles, particularly khiar shoor (pickled cucumbers).

Tarragon is one of the four fines herbes of French cooking and is particularly suitable for chicken, fish, and egg dishes. Tarragon is the main flavoring component of Béarnaise sauce. Fresh, lightly bruised tarragon sprigs are steeped in vinegar to produce tarragon vinegar. Pounded with butter, it produces an excellent topping for grilled salmon or beef.

Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (where it originally comes from), and, by extension, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The drink, named Tarkhun, is made out of sugar, carbonated water, and, most importantly, tarragon leaves which give it its signature green color.

Tarragon is one of the main ingredients in Chakapuli, a Georgian national dish.

In Slovenia, tarragon is used in a variation of the traditional nut roll sweet cake, called potica. In Hungary, a popular chicken soup is flavored with tarragon.

IV. Harvesting and Storage

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
龍蒿 Artemisia dracunculus [香港公園 Hong Kong Park] 阿橋花譜 KHQ Flower Guide CC BY-SA 2.0

Being a perennial herb, French Tarragon can be harvested up until the end of the summer (usually May through to the end of August).

You can start harvesting once the stems reach about six inches tall. By keeping the flower buds trimmed back during the peak growing season, this will help ensure that any leaves harvested will retain their best flavor, and it’ll promote the most generous and bushy growth.

The leaves are best used fresh, but they also work well when dried or frozen providing they are not left for too long.

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