🌿 When to Plant Tarragon
French tarragon is best — propagate by division, not seed
📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone
Tarragon is a cool-season crop — plant it around your last spring frost, and you can often start it earlier indoors or sow again for a fall harvest. Find the exact start-indoors, transplant, and direct-sow dates for your USDA zone in the table below.
Select your zone to highlight your dates. All dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates — see how we calculate them.
| Zone | Last Frost | Start Indoors | Transplant | Direct Sow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2A | May 30 | Apr 4 | May 30 | — |
| Zone 3B | May 15 | Mar 20 | May 15 | — |
| Zone 4A | May 8 | Mar 13 | May 8 | — |
| Zone 4B | May 1 | Mar 6 | May 1 | — |
| Zone 5A | Apr 25 | Feb 28 | Apr 25 | — |
| Zone 5B | Apr 18 | Feb 21 | Apr 18 | — |
| Zone 6A | Apr 21 | Feb 24 | Apr 21 | — |
| Zone 6B | Apr 10 | Feb 13 | Apr 10 | — |
| Zone 7A | Apr 5 | Feb 8 | Apr 5 | — |
| Zone 7B | Mar 28 | Jan 31 | Mar 28 | — |
| Zone 8A | Mar 20 | Jan 23 | Mar 20 | — |
| Zone 8B | Mar 12 | Jan 15 | Mar 12 | — |
| Zone 9A | Feb 28 | Jan 3 | Feb 28 | — |
| Zone 9B | Feb 15 | Dec 21 | Feb 15 | — |
| Zone 10A | Feb 1 | Dec 7 | Feb 1 | — |
| Zone 10B | Jan 15 | Nov 20 | Jan 15 | — |
| Zone 11A | Jan 1 | Nov 6 | Jan 1 | — |
French tarragon is a classic culinary herb with anise-like flavor. Essential for béarnaise sauce.
Top Growing Tips
- French tarragon doesn’t grow from seed — buy plants or divide existing ones
- Perennial in zones 4-8
- Needs well-drained soil — hates wet roots
- Divide every 2-3 years to maintain vigor
- Cut back in late fall and mulch for winter protection
Companion Planting
Good companions: most vegetables — a good general companion
Avoid planting near: none in particular
Harvest Timeline
Snip stems once plants are established; use fresh for best flavor
Growing tarragon in your region?
These dates come from your zone's frost windows. For the full month-by-month plan — succession sowing, variety picks, and timing tuned to your climate, not just your zone — our regional vegetable-gardening guides cover your area start to finish.
Find your regional growing guide