In article ,
(Judith in France) wrote:

How tender is Tarragon

By repute, quite. However, I have some planted in dry sandy soil in the shelter of a massive wall
on the eastern boundary of my garden at it's lasted 4 years so far.

Another interesting "survival" is some self seeded mesembryanthemum plants. They never flower - I
suspect the original pot was an F! hybrid. Dug them up this year and will try some more "useful"
over wintering plants.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

In article ,
(Steve Harris) writes:
| In article ,
| (Judith in France) wrote:
|
| How tender is Tarragon
|
| By repute, quite. However, I have some planted in dry sandy soil
| in the shelter of a massive wall on the eastern boundary of my
| garden at it's lasted 4 years so far.

That's another example of most gardening writers dumbing down what
they say to the point that it becomes incorrect! Not that they are
any worse than, say, IT writers :-(

Tarragon is extremely hardy, by UK standards, provided that the soil
doesn't freeze down to all of its rhizomes. Or, rather, that is my
estimate of its hardiness criterion - but I am pretty sure that I am
right. So, like so many other plants, it may well be hardier in
light soils than heavy ones.

I have never lost it all in Cambridge, even when the soil froze down
2" - but it was pretty badly hit by winters like that. A mere 1/2"
doesn't worry it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
(Steve Harris) writes:
| In article
,
| (Judith in France) wrote:
|
| How tender is Tarragon
|
| By repute, quite. However, I have some planted in dry sandy soil
| in the shelter of a massive wall on the eastern boundary of my
| garden at it's lasted 4 years so far.

That's another example of most gardening writers dumbing down what
they say to the point that it becomes incorrect! Not that they are
any worse than, say, IT writers :-(

Tarragon is extremely hardy, by UK standards, provided that the soil
doesn't freeze down to all of its rhizomes. Or, rather, that is my
estimate of its hardiness criterion - but I am pretty sure that I am
right. So, like so many other plants, it may well be hardier in
light soils than heavy ones.

I have never lost it all in Cambridge, even when the soil froze down
2" - but it was pretty badly hit by winters like that. A mere 1/2"
doesn't worry it.

FWIW, mine survives Canadian winters where it normally freezes down well
beyond 2' and we have cold spells where the temperature drops below -30C.
The trouble is, chicken roasted with fresh tarragon would be great in the
middle of winter rather than heating up the kitchen in the summer months.
Tarragon doen't seem to like living in pots inside over winter.
Graham

I'm MD for a company that supplies ASDA, Morrisons and Co-Op with growing herbs - the ones mentioned in the thread.

We know from customer research that people buy our herbs to plant out in their gardens although we grow them to be ready for use - so they are tall or 'floppy' in some cases. Our sales are also very high in May - the best time to plant out herbs. May is the peak sales month for outdoor herbs too so its easy to believe that many people plant supermarket herbs in the Spring

You can plant out our herbs outside but you need to pick the right time and some herbs will never plant out well (corainder) and some herbs won't survive cold nights (Basil).

We've developed some information on our website Lincolnshire Herbs about how to care for your herbs after you've brought them.

Rather than break up the herbs into smaller units we recommend you cut the herbs back - they are grown to be eaten - so they are very mature. So use the herbs for cooking and then trimm down, allowing growth to come from side shoots and then plant out.

The best time to plant out is after the frosts have gone but remember Basil dies below 12 degrees. I plant out my herbs succesfully - parsley is fine but it will need cutting back in late winter/ early spring. Thyme will normally die in the winter - the thyme you buy in a supermarket is softer and less hardy than a traditional English outdoor Thyme.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.