How to Grow French Tarragon

French Tarragon will always be one of our best selling herbs and also one of our favourites to use in the kitchen. ‘Artemisia dracunculus’ might sound like the name of a James Bond villain, but it is also delicious and versatile with a strong aniseed flavour that I could just eat all day.
Ideally French Tarragon will enjoy being grown in free draining and sunny conditions. We don’t have a space in our garden that is free draining enough so we keep our Tarragon in a planter. It is frost tender so will require protection during a ‘normal’ British winter. It cannot be grown from seed and is instead propagated from cuttings.
Really important to note that this plant is different and distinctive to Russian Tarragon which lacks the flavour associated with this variety. Annoyingly Russian Tarragon is much easier to grow - why is that always the case!?
Tarragon is a supremely popular herb. It is one that we find is called for in recipes and you rarely seem to have access to it when you need it! It is traditionally used as a seasoning with chicken or fish dishes but we have recently seen it used as a flavouring in salad dressing and it blew our minds. The flavour of homegrown French Tarragon tends to take many by surprise so be aware, less can be more!