🌿 French tarragon

French tarragon has a delicate, aniseed-like flavour that is one of the great classics of French cooking, especially with chicken, fish and eggs. It never sets seed, so it must be bought as a plant or propagated by division or cuttings.

It likes a warm, sunny, sheltered position in well-drained soil, and dies down in winter. In cold or wet gardens, grow in a pot and bring under cover in winter. Avoid Russian tarragon, which is easier to grow but tastes bland and bitter.

Varieties to try

French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus ‘Sativa’, the best flavour)Russian tarragon (hardier, much weaker flavour)Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida, a tender substitute)

Buy a plant of French tarragon from a nursery (seed sold as tarragon is usually the inferior Russian type). Plant from April to June in full sun, in light, free-draining soil with added grit. Space 45–60 cm apart. In heavy soil, plant in a raised bed or pot.

In pots, use a loam-based compost with grit, at least 30 cm wide. Water in well until established. Tarragon can be propagated by dividing the roots in spring or taking cuttings in early summer.

Top tips

• Buy French tarragon as a plant.
• Provide excellent drainage.
• Plant in a sheltered, sunny site.
• Divide in spring.

Water moderately in summer, but avoid wet soil, which rots the roots, particularly in winter. Pinch out the flowering stems to keep the plant producing leaves. Cut stems back to ground level in autumn once they die back, and mulch the crown with dry bracken or straw in cold areas.

Divide plants every 3 years in spring to keep them vigorous, as old plants lose flavour. In pots, move to a sheltered spot and keep dry over winter. Tarragon is relatively pest-free, though rust and powdery mildew can occur.

Top tips

• Divide every 3 years.
• Protect the crown in winter.
• Keep the soil on the dry side.
• Pinch out flower stems.

Watch out for

Root rot in wet soilPowdery mildewRustFrost damage in exposed sites

Pick young shoots and leaves from May to September, snipping off the top 10–15 cm of stems regularly to encourage bushy growth. The flavour is best before the plant flowers in midsummer. Take more extensively in June and July, when the plant is growing fast.

For drying, which loses much of the flavour, cut stems in summer before flowering. It is better to preserve tarragon in vinegar or oil, or by freezing. Light picking in the first year allows the plant to establish.

Top tips

• Snip tips regularly.
• Best before flowering.
• Preserve in vinegar.
• Pick lightly in the first year.

Tarragon is a key part of béarnaise sauce, and it complements chicken, fish, eggs, mushrooms, asparagus and creamy sauces. Add fresh leaves at the end of cooking, since long heating dulls the flavour. It is one of the fines herbes, with chervil, chives and parsley.

Fresh tarragon keeps for a week in the fridge wrapped in damp paper. Make tarragon vinegar by steeping sprigs in white wine vinegar for a few weeks. Freeze leaves whole or chopped in oil, which holds the flavour far better than drying.

Top tips

• Add at the end of cooking.
• Make tarragon vinegar.
• Freeze rather than dry.
• Use in béarnaise and chicken dishes.