Tarragon is a perennial culinary herb, grown for the flavor it brings to the kitchen, ready to harvest about 60 days after planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 4 through 8, stands up to deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground.
Tarragon — the short answer
Tarragon: grown in zones 4–8, full sun, pH 4.9–7.5, about 60 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 4.9–7.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 60 days
- UMD-Herb
- Frost-kill temperature
- 23°F
- FAO ECOCROP
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Tarragon on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether tarragon actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score tarragon against your land's real conditions.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
What Tarragon is
Tarragon grows as a perennial and reaches around two feet at maturity. It blooms yellow in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Tarragon
Tarragon grows in USDA zones 4 through 8 and is ready to harvest about 60 days after planting. Tarragon does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.9 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 1,000 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
4-8
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.9 - 7.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
23°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
39.2°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Days to Maturity
60 days
French tarragon; sterile cultivar; propagated by division/cutting only (no seed).
UMD-Herb
GDD Required
1000+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
2 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
120+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant tarragon in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Tarragon prefers pH 4.9 to 7.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Tarragon is ready about 60 days after planting (UMD-Herb). Snip sprigs as you need them — regular cutting keeps the foliage tender and slows it bolting to flower.
Where Tarragon thrives
Tarragon is hardy across USDA zones 4 through 8. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 4–8 spans average winter lows from -30°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 25 outright and splits 26 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 4–8·Where Tarragon growsOpen map →
Where Tarragon stands, state by state
Tarragon is rated for zones 4–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -30 to -20°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 25 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 26 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 4–8
25 states
3 of 25 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Tarragon
Growing guides for tarragon
In rotation planning, tarragon counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — tarragon isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Tarragon isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data — pair it with high-value bloomers nearby to feed bees.
Before you harvest tarragon, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant tarragon for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Tarragon's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Tarragon will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether tarragon actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Tarragon
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Tarragon in my zone?
Tarragon grows in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 8 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Tarragon take to grow?
Tarragon is ready to harvest about 60 days after planting (UMD-Herb). Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Tarragon?
Tarragon is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Tarragon need?
Tarragon needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Tarragon need?
Tarragon prefers soil pH 4.9 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Tarragon attract pollinators?
Tarragon isn't classified as a notable pollinator plant in our data. Pairing it with high-value bloomers nearby keeps bees and butterflies fed.
Is Tarragon safe for pets?
Tarragon is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)