Fertilising guide
How to fertilise Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)— schedule & NPK
Also called German chamomile, wild chamomile, Hungarian chamomile.
About Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla · also called German chamomile, wild chamomile · flowering
German chamomile is a self-seeding annual herb with feathery foliage and small daisy-like flowers used in herbal teas. Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a closely related perennial used for fragrant lawns. Both thrive in sun and free-draining soil. Mildly toxic to pets in quantity.
Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile) is an annual in the daisy family native to southern and eastern Europe and western Asia, naturalized in disturbed meadows and fields.
Needs little to no fertilizer — rich, heavily manured soil produces more leaf than flower and lowers essential-oil content.
Growth habit: Upright self-seeding annual
Sources: hort.extension.wisc.edu, plants.ces.ncsu.edu
What fertiliser chamomile actually wants — and why
Chamomile flowers best on poor soil — feed it and you get a lush leafy plant with very few blooms, the exact opposite of what you want.
Little or nothing. Rich, especially nitrogen-rich, soil pushes foliage at the expense of flowers in this plant — lean ground is the technique, not a deficiency.
For the language behind the three numbers on the bottle — what nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium each do — see the NPK ratio explained entry. The short version for chamomile: match the feed to the job the plant is doing right now, not to a generic “plant food” on the shelf.
How often to feed chamomile, and which months
Feeding only earns its keep while the plant is in active growth and can use the nutrients — pour feed into a dormant or low-light plant and it simply builds up as root-burning salt. For chamomile:
None required in average garden soil. In practice: no routine feeding at all for chamomile — at most a thin compost mulch for soil structure, never a flowering or nitrogen feed.
The dormant-season rule matters more than the exact interval: skip feeding entirely when chamomile is resting. For the wider context on indoor feeding rhythms across the seasons, the houseplant fertiliser schedule walks through the year month by month.
What strength to mix for chamomile
None is the correct answer for chamomile. The flower-versus-foliage trade-off is the whole point: hold back and you get the display.
Feeding always goes onto already-damp soil, never dry roots — water chamomile first if the soil is dry, then apply the diluted feed. The companion question is when to water at all, covered in the chamomile watering schedule.
Signs you are over-feeding chamomile
Over-feeding is far more common — and more damaging — than under-feeding for most plants. The classic tells for chamomile:
- Abundant leafy growth and very few flowers (the classic over-rich symptom).
- Soft, floppy stems and a sprawling, leafy habit.
- Scorched edges and salt crust if it has been fed in a container.
Signs you are under-feeding chamomile
- Effectively never an issue — these plants flower on poverty.
- Only on genuinely dead soil: weak, thin growth and few blooms.
- A short-lived plant in completely spent container compost.
If the symptoms point at watering, light or roots rather than nutrition, the full chamomile care brief covers soil, humidity and the common problems for this species.
Flushing and leaching the salts
If chamomile has accidentally been fed and is all leaf, a plain-water flush plus a move to leaner soil resets it; otherwise no flushing is needed because you are not feeding it.
Organic vs synthetic feeds for chamomile
Organic options
A thin compost mulch for soil structure is the absolute most; mostly, give it nothing. UK/US: leave it lean — no manure, no liquid feed. Poor soil is the active ingredient here.
Synthetic / liquid feeds
None. Synthetic feeds, particularly anything with appreciable nitrogen, directly suppress flowering in chamomile.
Brand names are examples, not endorsements, and UK and US ranges differ — check the label’s own NPK and dilution rate, since formulations change.
Fertilising chamomile — frequently asked questions
What fertiliser does chamomile need?
Little or nothing. Rich, especially nitrogen-rich, soil pushes foliage at the expense of flowers in this plant — lean ground is the technique, not a deficiency. Chamomile flowers best on poor soil — feed it and you get a lush leafy plant with very few blooms, the exact opposite of what you want.
How often should I feed chamomile?
None required in average garden soil. None required in average garden soil. In practice: no routine feeding at all for chamomile — at most a thin compost mulch for soil structure, never a flowering or nitrogen feed.
What strength of feed for chamomile?
None is the correct answer for chamomile. The flower-versus-foliage trade-off is the whole point: hold back and you get the display.
What does over-feeding chamomile look like?
Abundant leafy growth and very few flowers (the classic over-rich symptom). Soft, floppy stems and a sprawling, leafy habit. Scorched edges and salt crust if it has been fed in a container. Feeding chamomile at all — especially "to help it flower" — is the defining mistake. Rich soil gives you a big green plant and almost no blooms; restraint is what produces the flowers.
Should I flush the soil of chamomile?
If chamomile has accidentally been fed and is all leaf, a plain-water flush plus a move to leaner soil resets it; otherwise no flushing is needed because you are not feeding it.
Keep reading
- Chamomile care — the full brief (light, soil, humidity, problems, pet safety)
- How often to water chamomile — the watering schedule
- The houseplant fertiliser schedule — feeding through the year
- NPK ratio explained — what the three numbers on the bottle mean
- How to fertilise peace lily
- How to fertilise bird of paradise
- How to fertilise hoya
- All 200 fertilising guides in the Growli library