Sweet Mace or Mexican Mint French Marigold

I buy these seeds every year, because we don?t have tarragon here. Germination is sketchy, and the tiny plants just sit there and do nothing! I must be using wrong soil mix, or something..Or are they dayligt sensitive ( Southern hemisphere) .Wish the packet or the catalogue gave more detailed instructions... This is a plant I REALLY would like to have in my garden!

Got these about a month ago and already have small plants. Every seed I planted germinated. I do love this Mexican tarragon. Its very fragrant and the flowers are lovely.

I fell in love with these last year, but didn't save seeds. I ordered them again this year, but the germination rate was the pits! Only had 3 plants germinate with direct sow in the spring, MUCH fewer than I had in 2017. Maybe it was a bad batch! :-/ The plants that have come up, though, smelled great (even though they seemed to be blooming late as well) and the little yellow flowers were a lovely treasure added to the butterfly garden. I was also disappointed that so few seeds came in the package this time; I would love to see these available in a 1/4oz package, or something larger than what was available in 2018. I would grow a HUGE patch of this for tea, or possibly a tarragon substitute? (they smell very similar to me) If you order them, get a MINIMUM of 2 packages--you won't regret it!

I wish my family liked tarragon because this is the best substitute. It grew well under my tomatillos.

Note that is is not French tarragon, despite the title above. The Latin name is accurate. I live in a warm climate where Mexican tarragon grows as a perennial, and it has far outperformed the standard French tarragon that I've also grown. It has a nice anise-like flavor to the leaves, with a bit of sourness as well, and the flowers are almost candy-like with a strong punch of fennel flavor. It has been no trouble to grow and I've added more of it this year. The plant grew as a slender stalk for about 8 months before branching out. I trimmed it back hard and now have a bushy plant about 18" across. It's been in flower almost constantly, taking a break between November and February. I eat it dice up with fruits of greens, and have ground it in a mortar and pestle and used it in a vinaigrette. An easy and productive perennial in my climate, with an interesting flavor.