Chamomile (German)

How to grow Chamomile (German)

Matricaria chamomilla

🌿 Herb🌸 Flower 🌱 Grown each year

Masses of little apple-scented daisies for calming tea. An easy annual that often self-seeds.

At a glance: Sow early April to late May, harvest from late May.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Sow outdoors
Harvest

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Chamomile (German): what it needs

Light
Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering
Keep evenly moist; water pots daily in hot weather
Soil
Fertile, well-drained soil
Spacing
20 cm
Height
45 cm
In pots
Grows well in containers
Feeding
A liquid feed every two weeks for pot-grown plants
Harvest
About 60 days from sowing
Hardiness
USDA zones 4–10
Difficulty
Easy

Step by step

  1. Early April – late May · 2 weeks before the last spring frost

    Sow Seeds Outdoors

    Sow thinly in shallow drills where they are to grow. Surface-sow — the tiny seed needs light.

  2. 7–14 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Early April – mid April

    Check Germination

    Seedlings should appear in 7–14 days. Keep the compost moist. If sown outdoors, thin to 20 cm apart.

  3. 46–67 days after “Check Germination” · Late May – mid June

    Start Harvesting

    Pick flower heads when fully open, on a dry morning, and dry them for tea. Take a photo for the journal.

  4. Mid October – early November · around the first autumn frost

    End of Season

    When plants run to seed or the frost gets them, pull them up for compost — leave a few to self-seed if you like.

More herbs to grow

Photo: Kızıl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)