Tarragon is a quiet herb with a distinctive aniseed flavour, and its harvest is a gentle one — snip the slender sprigs in late spring and early summer, before the plant flowers, and it will keep producing through the season. It is a hardy perennial with low water needs that prefers lean soil and good drainage, and it is at its best when picked regularly and used fresh. The leaves are most aromatic in the morning, after the dew has dried and before the sun warms them.
Tarragon takes 60–90 days to mature, according to the Garden Grove crop data. It is a hardy herb in the Asteraceae family with low water needs. For the full growing picture, see our growing guide for tarragon, and use the Harvest Date Calculator to work out your picking window from your sowing date. Browse the full guides hub and the tools hub for more harvest timing advice, and check your local extension service for dates suited to your climate.
Tarragon at a glance
| Growing factor | What tarragon needs |
|---|---|
| Days to maturity | 60–90 |
| Category | herb |
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Cold tolerance | hardy |
| Water needs | low |
Signs tarragon is ready to pick
Tarragon is ready to pick when the plant is about twelve to eighteen inches tall and has plenty of slender, leafy stems with narrow, dark-green leaves. The leaves should be soft and aromatic, with a clear aniseed scent when you rub them. The best picking window is just before flowering, when the plant is putting all its energy into leaves and the flavour is at its peak.
Watch for the small, greenish-yellow flower buds at the stem tips. Once the flowers open, the leaves become slightly bitter and less aromatic, so take the main harvest before flowering starts. Avoid picking from stems that are woody at the base or from leaves that are yellowed or spotted — remove those and compost them.
How to pick tarragon
Snip tarragon sprigs with clean scissors, cutting the top four to six inches of each stem just above a leaf node. Work across the whole plant, taking a little from many stems rather than stripping one area bare, and take no more than about a third of the plant at any one picking. The cut stems will branch and regrow, keeping the plant bushy.
Harvest in the morning after the dew has dried, when the leaves are dry and the oils are concentrated. To use the leaves, strip them off the stem by running your fingers down it — the small leaves come away easily. Use whole sprigs in cooking and remove them before serving, or chop the leaves finely for sauces and dressings. For the full growing picture, see our growing guide for tarragon.
The best time of day to harvest
Harvest tarragon in the morning, after the dew has dried but before the sun gets hot. That is when the leaves are dry, crisp and most aromatic, because the essential oils are at their most concentrated after a cool night. Leaves picked in the afternoon heat are often limp and less flavourful, and wet leaves picked while the dew is still on them dry slowly and can go mouldy in storage.
Choose a dry day for harvesting if you can, and avoid picking after rain, when the foliage is wet and heavy. If you must pick on a damp day, spread the cuttings out in a single layer in a ventilated spot for an hour before you bundle or bag them. And get the harvest out of the sun straight away — a basket of cut herbs left in the sun for an hour will wilt and lose much of its aroma. Morning picking is a small habit that makes a real difference to flavour and keeping quality.
How often to pick
Tarragon is a pick-little-and-often crop, and regular picking is part of good plant care, not just a way to get a harvest. Once the plant is established, you can take a small picking every week or two through the growing season, always leaving enough growth for the plant to recover. Each cut encourages the plant to branch and push out fresh, tender growth, so a plant that is picked regularly stays bushy and productive far longer than one that is left alone.
Do not wait for a single big harvest unless the plant is one you cut whole for drying — for most herbs, steady, small pickings give you better flavour and a healthier plant. Take a few sprigs from several plants rather than a large handful from one, and always leave at least two-thirds of the plant intact. If you go away for a few weeks, ask someone to pick the herbs, or cut the plant back before you leave so it regrows while you are gone.
What happens if tarragon is left too long
Tarragon left unpicked flowers, sets seed and becomes woody and sparse. The leaves grow smaller and less aromatic, the stems turn brown and tough at the base, and the plant's growth slows. An uncut plant also spreads by seed, and you may find tarragon seedlings in unexpected places around the bed.
If your tarragon has flowered and gone woody, cut the whole plant back to a few inches above the ground after flowering — it will usually regrow with fresh, leafy stems. Use the cut stems for drying, because the leaves are still usable in cooking. The best prevention is regular picking through the season, which keeps the plant young, leafy and flavoursome.
How to store tarragon
Tarragon keeps its flavour reasonably well when dried, though freezing preserves it better. To dry it, tie small bunches and hang them upside down in a warm, dark, ventilated spot for one to two weeks until crisp, then strip the leaves into a jar. Use the Herb Drying Calculator for timing. Dried tarragon keeps for six months or more in a dark cupboard.
Fresh tarragon keeps for one to two weeks in the fridge, wrapped loosely in a damp tea towel inside a bag. To freeze it, chop the leaves and freeze them in ice-cube trays with water or oil, or freeze whole sprigs in bags. Frozen tarragon is excellent in cooked dishes. Because tarragon is so aromatic, store it away from other herbs so its aniseed scent does not transfer.
Succession and continuous harvest tips
Tarragon is a hardy perennial, so there is no annual sowing to plan — a single plant can live for several years. The plant dies back in winter and regrows from its roots in spring, and it slowly spreads by runners. Every three to four years, divide the plant in spring to keep it vigorous, and replant the divisions in fresh, well-drained soil.
The harvest rhythm is simple: light pickings in spring, a main cutting just before flowering in early summer, and lighter pickings through late summer. Do not harvest heavily in autumn — the plant needs time to harden off before winter. In wet winters tarragon can rot, so make sure the soil drains sharply and avoid watering in winter. A plant grown in lean, well-drained soil has a far stronger flavour than one grown in rich, wet soil.
If you are also growing other herbs and vegetables, our guides to harvesting marjoram and harvesting strawberries follow the same picking principles, and check your local extension service for advice suited to your area.
Frequently asked questions
When is tarragon ready to harvest?
When the plant is twelve to eighteen inches tall with plenty of slender, leafy stems, typically 60–90 days from spring growth. Pick before flowering.
How do I pick tarragon?
Snip the top four to six inches of each stem just above a leaf node, take no more than a third of the plant, and harvest in the morning.
Is French tarragon different from Russian tarragon?
Yes — French tarragon has a much stronger aniseed flavour and is the one to grow for cooking. Russian tarragon is hardier but weaker flavoured.
Should I dry or freeze tarragon?
Both work. Drying is easy and keeps well, but freezing preserves the fresh aniseed flavour better.
Will tarragon come back next year?
Yes, it is a hardy perennial that dies back in winter and regrows from its roots in spring, provided the soil drains well.