How to grow tarragon, its most popular varieties
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Tarragon or tarragon is a perennial plant growing in a bush. Its leaves have a lot of essential oils and taste good. Tarragon leaves are used both fresh and dried. Add it to refreshing drinks, or brew tea.
The most popular tarragon varieties
Aztec - a dense bush up to 1.5 meters high, has a very strong aroma, most often it is used as a seasoning. It can grow in one place for 5-7 years, after which it needs to be transplanted.
Tarragon: grass photo
Valkovsky - the bush is green, matte. Has great frost resistance. It is used not only in cooking, but also in perfumery.
Tarragon: grass photo
Goodwin - has a strong smell, grows no more than 1 meter. This variety can be grown not only outdoors, but also at home, in a pot on a windowsill.
Tarragon: grass photo
Gribovsky - it has a very strong frost resistance, it grows in one place up to 15 years. Good for fresh salads, meat and fish.
Tarragon: grass photo
Dobrynya - grows up to 1 meter in height. It has a lot of ascorbic acid and trace elements. Does not require transplanting until 10 years old, tolerates drought and frost well.
Tarragon: grass photo
Zhulebinsky Semko - a compact, frost-resistant variety that grows in one place for up to 7 years, grows up to 1.5 meters in height. Good for baked goods and refreshing drinks.
Tarragon: grass photo
King of herbs - grows up to 1.5 meters and has a strong aroma similar to anise.
Tarragon: grass photo
Monarch - used for drinks and pickles, fresh well suited for salads. It grows in height up to ё1.5 meters.
Tarragon: grass photo
Emerald - a dense bush up to 80 cm high, often used for decorative planting. Also suitable for preservation.
Tarragon: grass photo
French - resistant to frost and various diseases. In cooking, it is well suited as an addition to main dishes.
Tarragon: grass photo
Tarragon: planting and care
Growing tarragon on your site is not difficult, given a few simple rules.
You can plant tarragon as seeds directly into the open ground, as well as seedlings, as well as cuttings or dividing a bush.
Initially, it is best to prepare the land in the fall, remove all weeds and dig it to a depth of at least 30 cm. Be sure to add fertilizer.
Sowing seeds into the ground: this is done either in early spring, or even in autumn due to its frost resistance. Due to the fact that the seeds are very small, it is better to mix them with sand, for even sowing. In the dug up bed, grooves are made and shed. After sowing, the seeds begin to sprout in two weeks. And when they grow up, and the second leaf appears, the seedlings need to be thinned out, leaving a distance between the seedlings of 10-15 cm.
Seedlings: at the beginning of March, containers with soil are prepared, and seeds are sown in moist soil. Then they put the container either in the greenhouse or on the windowsill. The place should be a little cool. Before germination, the soil needs to be always moist, so it is important to regularly spray it with a spray bottle. When the seedlings have two leaves, it must be thinned out, leaving the strongest plants, which should grow no more than 5 cm apart. Already at the beginning of June, seedlings can be planted in open ground, two seedlings per hole. The distance between the holes should be at least 30 cm, and between the rows 60 cm.
Cuttings: in mid-May, cuttings are cut and placed in water or a solution to form roots, and the next day the cuttings are planted in a mixture of sand, earth and humus.Cover with a film, regularly airing and watering the seedling, and after a month, the rooted cuttings must be transplanted to a permanent, pre-prepared and fertilized place.
Division of the bush: Tarragon grows best in the first five years, therefore, the bush for planting should not be older. The bush needs to be dug out, damaged and old roots removed. The remaining rhizome is divided into several parts, so that each has at least two buds, and planted in a pre-prepared place.
Rarely, but still pests appear in tarragon. These are Aphids, Wireworms, Bedbugs and Cobweb mites, if suddenly these pests appear on your bushes, then the plants need to be sprinkled with a decoction of yarrow, chamomile or calendula and sprinkled with ash. The use of tarragon chemistry is not recommended.
It is better to plant tarragon in a lighted area, or a small partial shade, where there is no dampness. It can also be planted along a fence or a house, if they do not cast too much shadow on it. Watering is rare, because He does not really like moisture, and it is important to regularly loosen the soil so that oxygen flows to the roots.