Did you know that there are three types of tarragon? There is French, Russian and Mexican tarragon. While I have only grown Russian tarragon, here are some of the differences that I know. While all three types have an anise flavor, the French tarragon has the strongest flavor. Russian and Mexican tarragon can be grown easily from seed. It is recommended that you purchase a French tarragon plant or get a cutting / division of the plant from friend. Mexican tarragon tolerates the summer heat the best and gets a yellow flower.
This year I grew Russian tarragon from seed which I purchased from Burpee at a local store. I didn’t realize that it was a hardy perennial which means it tolerates the cold and comes back year after year. I planted a small row underneath my tomato plants in a raised bed just like I did the parsley.  The tarragon is still growing under a cold frame this winter! This plant is zone 4 tolerant which means it will be a perennial down to – 20 degrees!
In the late Spring, I am going to move one of the tarragon plants to my perennial herb garden. In late Summer or Fall of next year, I will also take a division from an existing plant or grow more from seed so I have some in the cold frame for a winter harvest. Don’t forget that just because a plant is a perennial does not mean that you can harvest it after a frost that is why I protected it in a cold frame.
When I was preparing this blog, I took a look on Burpee’s website and I noticed that they did not sell any tarragon seeds. I called them and was informed that some of their retail seeds are not sold from the warehouse – how disappointing is that! I did a search of quite a few online seed companies and found out that it is difficult to find any tarragon seeds. Here is what I found. . .Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds carry Russian tarragon seeds and Botanical Interests and Johnny’s Selected Seeds carry Mexican tarragon seeds.
