(Artemisia dracunculus 'Russian')
Russian Tarragon is a perennial herb that is native to Eurasia but can be commonly found growing in the western United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 3-4' and features erect stems, 3-4” narrow, aromatic, lance-shaped, pale to medium green leaves, and tiny, greenish-white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, is resistant to deer and rabbits, the leaves are used to repel insects, makes detergents and essential oils, and is both edible and medicinal!
Genus: Artemisia
Species: dracunculus
Variety: Russian Tarragon
Native to: Afghanistan, Alberta, Altay, Amur, Arizona, Baltic States, Belarus, Borneo, British Columbia, Buryatiya, California, Central European Rus, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Colorado, East European Russia, East Himalaya, Gulf States, Hainan, Idaho, Illinois, India, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Japan, Jawa, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Magadan, Malaya, Manchuria, Manitoba, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Minnesota, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Myanmar, Nebraska, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Caucasus, North Dakota, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Northwest Territorie, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, Primorye, Qinghai, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, South Dakota, South European Russi, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Texas, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Ukraine, Utah, Uzbekistan, Vermont, Vietnam, Washington, West Himalaya, West Siberia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya, Yemen, Yukon.
Introduced into: Alaska, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Mauritius, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sardegna, Switzerland, Yugoslavia.
Ease of Growing: Moderate
Grown as: Annual/Tender Perennial
Maturity (Blooms): July to August
Growing Habit: Bush
Hardiness: Hardy. Russian Tarragon is hardier than French Tarragon.
Crops: Spring Transplant
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot. Tarragon is a pretty independent plant and doesn't need much attention.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 50°F - 85°F
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 50°F. Plant when the soil is at least 50˚F.
Start Indoors: Yes
Start Outdoors: No
Light: Full Sun. Min. 6 hours daily (Cold, Cool, Warm).
Water: Medium. Tarragon is an undemanding plant that requires little beyond an occasional watering.
Soil Moisture: Dry to medium. Well Drained.
Feeder: Moderate. Plant tarragon in moderately rich soil.
Suitability: Drought tolerant, Tolerates light frost, Tolerates hard frost, High heat
Small Gardens?: Yes
Attracts beneficial insects?: No
Containers?: Yes. Tarragon is perfectly suited for container growing, as long as the roots have at least 6" of growing space. Make sure to choose a container that drains well and fill with regular potting soil. Water when the soil becomes dry. Place in full sun. Trim regularly, and transfer to a larger pot before the roots become root-bound.
Plant Height: 36-48"
Spacing: 24-30"
Sow Depth: On soil surface
Hardiness Zone: 3-9
Produces: erect stems, 3-4” narrow, aromatic, lance-shaped, pale to medium green leaves, and tiny, greenish-white flowers.
Garden Uses: Wild tarragon is an aromatic herb that is primarily grown in herb gardens. It also may be effectively grown in containers or window boxes. It is generally not considered suitable for borders or other ornamental plantings.
Soil pH: 4.9-7.8, Ideal 6.5-7.0. Tarragon likes deep, well-drained, and fairly fertile soil.
Soil Preparation:
Compost (Nitrogen), 2 cups per plant, 1 time: Incorporate 2 cups of compost into the planting hole
Storage Req: Freezer
Storage Temp: 32°F
Storage Length: 1-180 days
Culinary
Sweet, anise flavor.
Culinary Use:
Use in soups, vegetables, mild cheeses, fish, and to flavor vinegar.
Leaves: raw or used as a flavoring in soups etc. Tarragon is a commonly used herbal flavoring that is used in many traditional recipes. It is particularly of value because of its beneficial effect upon the digestion and so is often used with oily foods. The leaves can also be harvested in late summer and dried for later use. The aromatic leaves have a very nice flavor that is somewhat licorice-like. They make an excellent flavoring in salads. The young shoots can also be cooked and used as a potherb. The leaves are used as a flavoring in vinegar. An essential oil from the leaves is used as a flavoring.
Medicinal
Other Uses
Companion Planting
Companions: Place a tarragon plant at the corners of raised beds, grow it in the herb garden, or interplant it among plots of eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and other vegetables. Tarragon also adapts well to life in a container, either outside or on a sunny windowsill.
Enemies: None known. Tarragon is a member of the same genus as wormwood, but it appears to lack the toxic qualities of that herb.
Problems
Tarragon Essential Oil helps with the first solution. It has good circulatory properties and increases circulation, which brings warmth to the affected parts of the body and it does not let uric acid accumulate in any one place. It also helps detoxification by stimulating urination and excretion, which both help to remove toxins.
Aperitif: This essential oil stimulates the secretion of digestive juices into the stomach, which increases appetite. This starts right from the mouth, where the production of saliva is stimulated. Down below, gastric juices and bile are secreted into the stomach, which speeds up digestion of the food that is already present, if any, in the stomach. This helps to empty the stomach, which then increases appetite.
Circulatory: The Essential Oil of Tarragon improves the circulation of blood and lymph and helps in the proper distribution of nutrients, oxygen, hormones, and enzymes throughout the body. Furthermore, it does not let toxins accumulate at particular places, such as the joints.
Digestive: This oil speeds up digestion by stimulating the secretion of digestive juices (gastric juices such as acids and bile) into the stomach, which helps break down food into various nutrients and stimulates peristaltic motion in the intestines. This facilitates the motion of food through the whole digestive system.
Deodorant: The spicy smell of tarragon is used to keep body odour away. It also inhibits the growth of microbes on the skin, which further reduces body odour.
Emenagogue: This essential oil eases menstruation, clears obstructions in menses, and regulates periods. Furthermore, it also gives relief from the problems like abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, and annoyance.
Stimulant: It stimulates the brain, nervous, digestive, circulatory, and endocrinal systems. This means that it stimulates the whole metabolic system and as a result, growth and immunity are stimulated.
Vermifuge: The toxicity of this oil kills any worms in the body. These include roundworms and tapeworms that are found in the intestines, hookworms that can live in any part of the body, and even maggots on wounds. It is alright to use this essential oil externally, but extreme care should be taken when taking it orally, since it is a toxic substance.
Other Benefits: It increases the appetite and treats anorexia, dyspepsia, flatulence, gas, and infections in the urinary system.
A Few Words of Caution: This oil is poisonous due to the presence of estragole, which is another name for methyl chavicol. Hence, it should not be given to young children and pregnant women.
Blending: This essential oil blends well with carrot seed, lavender, lime, and rosewood.
Suggested Varieties
(Solanum melongena 'Black Beauty')
Black Beauty Eggplant is a heirloom, very tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but was introduced into the United States by Burpee Seed Company in 1902. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features 8” pear shaped, dark purple eggplant. This plant can be grown in a container, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum Melongena 'Golden Egg')
Golden Egg Eggplant is a very tender, warm weather annual ornamental vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but can be found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24” and features nearly two dozen 3-4" egg-shaped fruits that turn from white to golden. This ornamental plant can be grown in a container and tolerates drought!!
(Solanum melongena 'Long Purple')
Long Purple Eggplant is a heirloom, very tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features 9” cylindrical, smooth, dark purple eggplants. This plant can be grown in a container, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum lycopersicum 'Amana Orange')
Amana Orange Tomato is a heirloom, tender, warm weather perennial vegetable that is native to Iowa, where it was named by Gary Staley after the Amana Colonies of Amana, Iowa. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 60-84” and features globe shaped, reddish orange beefsteak indeterminate tomatoes that average 1-2 lbs. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, is used to make cosmetics, insecticides, and soap, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum lycopersicum 'Beefsteak')
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Beefsteak Tomato is a heirloom, tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to New York, where it was bred by Peter Henderson in 1894. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 36-60” and features indeterminate, globe shaped, slightly ribbed red tomatoes that average 1-2 pounds. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, is used to make cosmetics, insecticides, and soap, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum lycopersicum 'Green Zebra')
Green Zebra Tomato is a heirloom, tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to Washington, where it was bred by Tom Wagner in 1983. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 60-84” and features indeterminate, globe shaped greenish yellow tomatoes striped with green, averaging 3-5 ounces. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, is used to make cosmetics, insecticides, and soap, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum lycopersicum 'Sweetie Cherry')
Sweetie Cherry Tomato is a heirloom, tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to the United States, where it was first introduced by the Petoseed Company in 1980. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 72-96” and features indeterminate, clusters of round red cherry tomatoes that average 1" in diameter. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, is used to make cosmetics, insecticides, and soap, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum lycopersicum 'Yellow Pear')
Yellow Pear Tomato is a heirloom, tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to Europe, but was first introduced to North America by the Hudson Bay Company of Vancouver, Canada. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 60-84” and features indeterminate, pear shaped, low acid yellow tomatoes that average 1 ounce. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, is used to make cosmetics, insecticides, and soap, and is both edible and medicinal!