Russian Tarragon

[Mark Anderson]

This spring my Russian Tarragon came back and it's already 3 feet high which I didn't expect (both how big and it coming back period). I googled to find out if I could split the plant because it's getting huge and it's in a rather small pot for its size now. I'd like to get this growing in a bigger pot but not disturb the original plant too much.

Anyway, I went to

which said these plants can't survive a hard freeze in winter. I'm in zone 5 Chicago and we definitely had hard freezes here last winter and I thought that you had to subtract a zone for plants growing in pots since the roots freeze easier. This is pretty weird.

Has anyone grown these and split them?

[Doug Kanter]

In a pot, they won't survive the winter unless you bring the pot indoors, or at least into a garage. In the ground is another story. I'm in Rochester NY, zone 5/6 depending on luck and which side of the house, and my tarragon has been coming back for many years. This year, at my new house, it was under 5 feet of snow for 2 months. It is now taking over a flower bed.

It's not too late to split your plant. But, remember that if it were in the ground and you split it, it would be going back into relatively cool, moist soil at this time of year. Try to duplicate that with your pot(s). Keep the pots shaded for a few weeks if you can, or the soil will heat up too much. Oh....maybe I'll change "will" to "might", so nobody here gets apoplectic. :-)

[William W. Plummer]

I have to ask whether you really want Russian tarragon which is a decorative plant or French tarragon for culinary use. The latter is harder to keep growing.

[Mark Anderson]

Somehow this one survived in a relatively small pot, a 12" high and wide and 6' long. It's planted at one end of the pot. Even mint has problems coming back in this container.

Next winter I'll try bringing some of these perennials into my basement to see if they come back. Do you have to keep them watered while they're inside like that? Having these things come back is extremely convenient in that it's one less thing to plant in the Spring.

[Mark Anderson]

Last year I ran across it at the nursery and gave it a try. I need something that provides nice foliage and gets big. The label on the Russian Tarragon said that it gets big.

[Doug Kanter]

No idea about keeping them watered. Or, more correctly, I *think* I could poke my finger into the soil (of in-the-cellar pots) and know what's too dry or damp, but I can't explain it very well.

Is there any reason you couldn't sink the pots into the ground outdoors, in an used flower bed?

[Mark Anderson]

I do that all the time to determine soil moistness. If I just have to make sure the soil stays a little moist while overwintering I can manage that.

I have absolutely zero yard to garden in. My entire garden is on a rooftop and this year it will be on two different rooftops.

[Doug Kanter]

Use your nose, too. If something smells like it's rotting, it probably is. If you wanted to get really gutsy, you could wait till late fall when the plant is already looking like it's ready to hibernate, knock off the soil, and bury the roots in damp peat moss. It's slightly acidic and has a tendency to quell the growth of nasties that would rot the plant. Another preventitive step is to buy a container of sulfur powder, one of the few things you'd ever want to buy from Ortho, the chemical slobs. Dust the roots with sulfur as you would dust a chicken breast with flour before cooking. Then, the peat moss. Store in a plastic bag, but not sealed. Too damp and you'll have problems. At the other extreme, if the peat moss dries out, it'll suck the life out of the roots. Keeping a misting bottle nearby is a good idea.