Grub, is it Russian or French tarragon? I'm growing both and the Russian grows 10 times better but is worthless for cooking! It's frustrating to say the least. My Russian tarragon flowered (insignificant greenish white flowers) and set seed some of which self seeded, so that suggests to me that they grow well from seed. Unfortunately the superior French tarragon didn't flower. I have two plants of what is sometimes called Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida) which is a beautiful herb. I use its leaves as a substitute for Tarragon in french recipes. That plant also flowers readily, but I've never tried to collect seed nor have I noticed seedlings.

Hi Jamus,
It is, or was, French Tarragon with yellow flowers. I tilled the seeds back in the patch and will see what gives. On the subject of herbs I am delighted to find three coriander plants growing in the grass strip on my driveway and some parsely self sown on the lawn.

It may have been aquired by you as French Tarragon but if it flowered it definitely isn't. French Tarragon is a sterile variety that can only be propagated by division. That sounds a tad dogmatic, but that's the way it is.
Cheers, Penny.

Grub, if it had yellow flowers it's probably Tagetes or Mexican tarragon. It isn't actually tarragon at all but closely related to marigolds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tagetes lucida

Hi,
That's it! So, will it self sow or is it best to get another one. And if I were to get another one I would like to get French tarragon if that is iin fact a superior culinary herb. I like the taste of tarragon. Thanks.

Tarragon has very narrow leaves, about 2" long, but in winter the stems should have died off by now. Here our plants are just showing the new growth. For postage I can send you some from a divided plant. It survives winter here for us in pots, but sometimes I lose it in the garden cause it doesn't like being too wet & boggy over winter when its dormant, and sometimes it's smothered by the rampant weed growth in spring.
Penny

Hi Penny,
I'll see if I can find some French tarragon. And I do like the idea of the pots as those herbs I have in pots are doing no worse than those that border the vegie patch. And If I remove the herbs around the patch then I can make more space for other things. And I think a border of betteroot, carrots and things could be fun.

Hi Grub, should have said in my last posting that it is French Tarragon I'm offering, for postage or exchange, possibly OP tom seeds??

Cheers, Penny.

I have a lot of OP tom seeds. What kind of tomato are you dreaming of?

I'm so relieved to hear a few people mention that french tarragon dies back in winter. Gardening books don't always list this amongst the characteristics of a perennial plant, so I was getting somewhat panicky about its bedraggled and very sorry-looking state! Thanks!

No wonder there is so much confusion about Tarragon. Today, at a local nursery, there were pots of herbs bearing the label TARRAGON, just that, no botanical name or common names. The description on the back of the label merely stated 'Spreading perennial herb producing tall stems of green pointed leaves with spicy flavour and fragrance'. Now what am I going on about you are wondering. Well, the plant is the Mexican Tarragon (Tagetes lucida)!! When I mentioned to the sales person, I hesitate to call her a garden expert, how naughty it was for growers to provide such misleading information, I was dumbfounded when she said 'why, is there a difference'. Now, this isn't a large chain where the sales people are simply that. To give them their due, no doubt they have knowledge in other areas but it does give one pause for thought when asking for advice.

Anna_B - I've had the same thing. I see Mexican marigold labelled as "Tarragon" and I agree it's false advertising! Even worse is the Russian variety which tastes dreadful. At least with Tagetes you get something that's pleasant to eat. On the other hand people who are really interested will find uot the truth and telling all these plants appart is not difficult armed with a little knowledge.

I've been giving all my attention to ebaying upgrades for my computer system, so didn't visit for a while. OP toms - any chance of Giant Syrian, Striped German, Druzba, Sudduth's Brandywine, Hillbilly or Kotlas?That's what comes off the top of my head at this time of night. If not, I'll happily send you the tarragon and you can send me some postage stamps to cover the cost.
Cheers, Penny.

Email me with your order. I can do: Druzba, Sudduth, surprises.

Ummm... surprises sounds good. I'd like a helping of that. :)

please tell me what does OP Tomatoes stand for

karn

OP stands for open-pollinated, generally this means heirloom varieties. OP tomatoes are not commercially bred to be as hard as rocks and completely tasteless 'fruit' that are designed to travel and stack in supermarkets for people to poke and prod while they nostagically ponder about what ever happened to REAL tomatoes.

Therefore OP tomatoes = REAL tomatoes (there are dozens and dozens of varieties to choose from!!!)

check out the cornucopia forum for more scintillating discussions on OP tomatoes.....

cheers, mudlark

Just got back, thank you mudlark for informing me what OP stands for, I am just starting off growing my heirloom veggies, yummmm, just bottled 13 jars of beetroot today, whacko.

karn

All heirlooms are OP but not all OPs are heirlooms. The term OP, when applied to tomatoes, is usually taken to mean that if you save seed, you will get the same variety, no surprises, barring spontaneous genetic mutations of course. This doesn't happen with seed saved from hybrid tomatoes. When you grow seed saved from hybrids, you have no way of knowing what you'll get.
Heirloom really should mean something that has been handed down from generation to generation in a family or community. Many of the tomatoes discussed on this forum are just that. Others are of much more recent origin and have not been "handed dow", but rather "handed out" to other tomatophiles, so they really don't deserve the title "heirloom". Of course, many of us also grow hybrids, and why not if it's a good tasting one. They do exist.
Most, but by no means all, supermarket varieties are hybrids. They are bred for long shelf life, and to withstand transport. Taste does not figure in this scenario. We have only ourselves to blame for this. If enough people complained to Coles or whoever that their tomatoes were tasteless and something better should be provided, I think we would see real tomato flavour back on supermarket shelves.
Sorry, got a little carried away. Hope you found it it at least mildly interesting.

Hi, I am from Singapore. I really wanted to get French Tarragon but have a hard time getting the plant. Can I get it from u. I heard that in the US, people mistook Mexician Tarragon as French Tarragon. Are yours the French Tarragon? There are Mexician Tarragon, Russian Tarragon and French Tarragon whereby the French type offers the best flavour. I needed French Tarragon for my cooking. I am willing to pay for all expenses incurred and the plant itself for shipping, by air or by Federal Express or UPS for quick delivery. Pls advice. Pls help me. Thanks. My present email address is Francis_Chia@hotmail.com
Pls email me this address as the yahoo email is my younger brother. Pls help............

Francis, what are the regulations in Singapore for importing live plants? It would have to be a live plant because French Tarragon does not produce any seeds. I ask because when sent from here, such a package would have to have a customs declaration on which the contents must be declared. Would your customs service confiscate such a parcel? The other problem is that I'm not sure French Tarragon would survive your climate. It may do, but I don't know.

I love the flavour of mexican tarragon too. It's stronger more aniseedy than Artemisia dracunculus, and without the interesting numbing aftertaste. I usually use french tarragon in cooking, for instance tarragon chicken (YUM!) and mexican tarragon fresh in salads, garnishes etc.