Culinary French tarragon has sterile flowers and sets no viable seed
Culinary French tarragon has sterile flowers and sets no viable seed, so it is grown only from division, cuttings, or a bought started plant, never from a seed packet. Seed sold as "tarragon" is Russian tarragon, a taller, coarser plant whose flavor is far inferior. Sow that seed and you get the near-flavorless plant.
Promising A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, it still grows, just less well. The planner suggests it.
How it works
French tarragon's flowers are sterile and it seldom sets viable seed, so the only way to keep the true culinary plant is to propagate it vegetatively, by division or cuttings from an existing plant. The "tarragon" seed on the market is a different, seed-fertile type, Russian tarragon, which lacks the odor and flavor that make French tarragon worth growing.
What to do about it
Buy a started French tarragon plant, or propagate by division or cuttings taken from a known French tarragon plant. Do not sow a seed packet labeled "tarragon" expecting the culinary French herb.
How much it matters: No figure is stated. Sowing seed does not kill anything; it yields Russian tarragon, a coarse and near-flavorless herb. Because the propagation method is entirely the gardener's choice, the rule only advises.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 2 sources in the research-based literature.
The 2 sources
True French tarragon is only available as plants grown from cuttings or root divisions
French tarragon should be propagated through cuttings or root divisions from an existing plant. It does not produce viable seed, and growing from seed typically results in the less flavorful Russian tarragon
Plants it applies to
How this rule has changed
Every change is dated, newest first. The full record, with each reason, is in the data download.
- Details updated
- Wording made clearer
- Added to the rules
Cite this page
Milpa Gardens. "Culinary French tarragon has sterile flowers and sets no viable seed, so it is grown only from division, cuttings, or a bought started plant, never from a seed packet. Seed sold as "tarragon" is Russian tarragon, a taller, coarser plant whose flavor is far inferior. Sow that seed and you get the near-flavorless plant." Evidence grade: Promising. https://milpa.garden/rules/culinary-french-tarragon-has-sterile-flowers-sets/
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