Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus 'Sativa')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called True Tarragon, Estragon.

More about french tarragon

About French Tarragon

Artemisia dracunculus 'Sativa' · also called True Tarragon, Estragon · herb

French Tarragon is the prized culinary tarragon, a bushy perennial with narrow aromatic leaves carrying a distinctive sweet aniseed flavour essential to French cooking and béarnaise sauce. Unlike Russian tarragon, it rarely flowers or sets viable seed, so it is propagated vegetatively. It needs full sun, sharp drainage, and lean soil, resenting wet feet.

Cold limit: USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy) · RHS H5 (15-24°C)

Watch for — Root rot from overwatering: The most common killer; wet, heavy soil rots the roots, particularly over winter. Plant in sharply drained, gritty soil, water sparingly, and never leave pots in standing water.

What french tarragon's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — french tarragon is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H5 means: Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy) — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. French Tarragon is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for french tarragon as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °C once established.
Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root.
First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.

Can french tarragon go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy) and it overwinters with little or no help.
It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy.
The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when french tarragon can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

French Tarragon hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is french tarragon cold hardy?

Yes — french tarragon is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. French Tarragon is hardy across USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy); it belongs in the ground or a frost-proof container, not on a windowsill, and many types actively need a cold winter to perform.

What is the minimum temperature french tarragon can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. French Tarragon is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is french tarragon?

French Tarragon is rated USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy) and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can french tarragon survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-8 (needs a cool winter dormancy) and it overwinters with little or no help. It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy. The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

What happens to french tarragon below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °C once established. Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root. First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.