🌱✗ Tested and false“Tarragon is tarragon: any plant sold under the name will survive a Scottish winter outdoors”
French tarragon, the more flavourful of the two main types, can struggle in UK winters and may not survive outside at all. Russian tarragon copes far better and generally survives outside.
What to do: Check which type you're buying before planting it in open ground. Grow Russian tarragon in the ground for a reliable outdoor perennial, and treat French tarragon as a container plant moved somewhere sheltered, or under cover, for winter.
In Scotland: This matters more here than in milder parts of the UK: the wet-and-cold combination RHS names as French tarragon's weakness describes an ordinary Scottish winter fairly well.
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- RHSFrench tarragon can struggle in UK winters from wet and cold and may not survive outside; Russian tarragon copes far better
- Gardener's WorldFrench Tarragon is borderline hardy
“French and Russian tarragon taste basically the same, so it doesn't matter which one you buy for cooking”
French tarragon's flavour is peppery with a hint of liquorice and of superior culinary quality, against Russian tarragon's grassy, slightly bitter and inferior flavour.
What to do: If cooking is the priority, French tarragon is the better flavour, worth growing in a container specifically to manage the winter risk rather than switching to Russian tarragon purely for hardiness. If a reliable outdoor perennial matters more than peak flavour, Russian tarragon is the honest trade-off.
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- RHSFrench: peppery with a hint of liquorice, superior culinary quality. Russian: grassy with a slight bitterness, inferior to French
“You can grow French tarragon from seed, the same as most herbs”
French tarragon seed is generally unavailable, since the plant rarely flowers or sets seed reliably. Only Russian tarragon is realistically grown from seed.
What to do: Buy a young French tarragon plant, or propagate one from a cutting or by dividing an established clump. Save seed-sowing for Russian tarragon, where it's a genuine, workable option.
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- RHSFrench tarragon seed is generally unavailable
- Gardener's WorldFrench tarragon does not flower or produce seed reliably and is propagated by cuttings or root division
“Letting tarragon flower doesn't affect the leaf harvest”
Once a tarragon plant flowers, leaf production slows. Pinching out flower buds as they appear keeps the plant producing fresh leaves for longer.
What to do: Pinch out any flower buds you spot through the growing season rather than leaving them, and pick leaves frequently, since regular harvesting also encourages fresh new growth.
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- RHSPinch out any stems with flower buds to prolong harvests
- Gardener's WorldAs long as your plant doesn't flower, the leaves will keep coming; nip out any buds that appear
“Tarragon needs regular watering like most other kitchen herbs”
French tarragon performs best when the soil is allowed to dry out between waterings, rather than being kept consistently moist — it's more like a Mediterranean herb than a leafy salad crop in this respect.
What to do: Water thoroughly, then leave it until the topsoil is dry before watering again, especially in containers, where the risk of overwatering (and resulting root problems) is highest.
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