Exposure Full-sun to partial shade
Season Warm season
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CERTIFIED ORGANIC! Tagetes lucida. AKA Winter Tarragon. This cousin of the marigold is a heat loving plant that may survive as a perennial in Zone 8, but it’s just as well treated as a half-hardy annual. Start Mexican Tarragon seeds indoors and transplant the seedlings out in May. The toothed, strap-like leaves have a pleasant anise scent, and the petite yellow flowers are edible. Try adding some leaves to a salad mix, or chop some and add it to tuna salad, potato salad, or pasta. The flavour balances beautifully with black pepper, lemon, and pear. We became fans of this herb during our field trials, where it grew with enthusiasm. (1185 s/g)
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Latin
Latin
Tagetes lucida
Family: Asteraceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Warm season
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Timing
Timing
Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost, or direct sow 2 weeks after last frost. If starting indoors, just cover the seeds with vermiculite and provide a soil temperature of 21-25°C (70-75°F). Seeds should sprout in 4-14 days at that temperature.
Starting
Starting
The seedlings are somewhat prone to damping off. As a precaution, just cover the small seeds with vermiculite, water from below, and provide ventilation in the room. Space plants in the garden 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Growing
Growing
Pinch the growing tips to encourage branching. Edible flowers are borne in abundance once the summer heats up. This fast growing herb requires little care, but it does appreciate good drainage.
Harvest
Harvest
Pick leaves and flowers to steep as tea or as a substitute for traditional tarragon at any time during the summer. A yellow dye can be created from the flowers of this plant. The dried plant was traditionally burned to repel insects.
More on Companion Planting.
West Coast Seeds is a family-owned company that embraces an organic lifestyle. A group of imagination catalysts and passionate educators, dedicated to producing products and services that better the environment. As part of our mission to repair the earth, we aim to inspire and empower people to take responsibility for the state of the planet. For us, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future.
For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
We’re a values-based business that has blossomed into a lifestyle ethos, with products that support seeders, feeders, keepers, and the tiniest of creepers. Our mission? To mobilize the next generation of gardeners with products that nourish soil and grow vigorous, sustainable gardens. We believe all plants should be grown without the use of chemicals, and that the seeds we supply are an important component of regenerative gardening.
We don’t just offer seeds, we offer experience, insight, and understanding. From timeless garden wisdom to new tech know-how, this is learning on the job: knowledge gleaned not from the pages of a book but from burying our fingers in the soil. We test, experiment, observe and adapt, never happier than when we get to share what we’ve learned with others.
Gardens don’t just grow seeds. They grow minds and imaginations, people and communities. Our vision encompasses both the micro and the macro. We eat locally, protect pollinators, teach people to grow from seed, and support regional biodiversity. We think big but act small and deliver unexpected impact — always with community and purpose.
At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost, or direct sow 2 weeks after last frost. If starting indoors, just cover the seeds with vermiculite and provide a soil temperature of 21-25°C (70-75°F). Seeds should sprout in 4-14 days at that temperature.
The seedlings are somewhat prone to damping off. As a precaution, just cover the small seeds with vermiculite, water from below, and provide ventilation in the room. Space plants in the garden 30-45cm (12-18″) apart.
Pinch the growing tips to encourage branching. Edible flowers are borne in abundance once the summer heats up. This fast growing herb requires little care, but it does appreciate good drainage.
Pick leaves and flowers to steep as tea or as a substitute for traditional tarragon at any time during the summer. A yellow dye can be created from the flowers of this plant. The dried plant was traditionally burned to repel insects.
