Gardening question
-
This is my second-year tarragon plant. It is about 18” tall already. Should I trim it back to encourage branching?
![alt text] https://i.postimg.cc/VLJ9XGfg/IMG-1993.jpg(image url)
-
If so, by how much should I trim it back?
-
Healthy looking specimen!
Spring is the time of maximum growth, so that puppy is rarin' to go. Pruning it now encourages new growth and keeps the plant from getting top heavy and spindly. I would start cutting back and using the fresh tarragon now for cooking. Snip above a leaf node and in pretty short order you should see two little branches forming.
You don't want it flopping over, keep it under 18 to 24 inches. If it gets rolling and you haven't nipped enough back for kitchen use by mid-summer, you can cut back to a more uniform height and dry the leaves.
Plants tend to die back after they flower and set seed, so if you see any flowers forming, pinch them back right away. The leaves will taste better and you'll extend the season. Tarragon flowers do attract bees, but I think if you want it for that reason I'd do two plants, one for culinary use and one that lives out a normal cycle and produces flowers.
-
Thanks, everyone. It is all new growth, as it died back to the ground over the winter. I will start cutting back. Also, tarragon tends to get floppy, another good reason to cut back.
I made a French potato salad with it the other day. Including Dijon mustard, wine vinegar and olive oil. It was terrific.
-
Thanks, everyone. It is all new growth, as it died back to the ground over the winter. I will start cutting back. Also, tarragon tends to get floppy, another good reason to cut back.
I made a French potato salad with it the other day. Including Dijon mustard, wine vinegar and olive oil. It was terrific.
@RealPlayer That French potato salad sounds great. Did you wing it, or do you have a recipe you can share?
-
Here is The NY Times recipe I used. I hope you can see it for free. I used fairly small potatoes; they cook fast. I didn’t have chives so used some scallion greens. I had white wine vinegar, not red, but white’s better here anyway.
Also, I made only about a third of the amount called for; we’re only 2 people.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025380-french-potato-salad?q=French potato
-
Here is The NY Times recipe I used. I hope you can see it for free. I used fairly small potatoes; they cook fast. I didn’t have chives so used some scallion greens. I had white wine vinegar, not red, but white’s better here anyway.
Also, I made only about a third of the amount called for; we’re only 2 people.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025380-french-potato-salad?q=French potato
Thanks, that looks great! I was able to access it via the archive.is back door.
-
Thanks, everyone. It is all new growth, as it died back to the ground over the winter. I will start cutting back. Also, tarragon tends to get floppy, another good reason to cut back.
I made a French potato salad with it the other day. Including Dijon mustard, wine vinegar and olive oil. It was terrific.
That sounds great!
