Glad I found this thread as I was strongly considering buying Russian Tarragon seeds, because they look to have larger leaves than the French and I figured it would be easier to work with. Guess if I see French Tarragon plants for sale this spring I'll buy one. And if not I'm sure I'll grow Genovese basil this year. Love that on salmon! Oh la la....

I bought a small container of "tarragon" at the nursery one year. It didn't have much aroma or flavor, but I thought it might develop some as it got bigger. It didn't. It just got bigger, about 3 ft. high. And the next spring, its rhizomes were invading my whole flower garden! So I dug it all up and put it in a 5-gallon container, still hoping it'd get better with warm weather. It never did. Must've been Russian tarragon.

Russian tarragon usually develops more aroma when plant is older. But I think it's easier to find a french tarragon than wait for five years or more.

French tarragon, and Russian tarragon are two VERY different plants. True French t. will blow the socks off of the Russian variety. What you buy in the supermarket labeled as "French T." may, or may NOT be the real Mc Coy (many commercial growers just add the word " French" to what they are selling to supermarkets because that is what the consumer wants, and the produce manager doesn't know the difference). I neither own, nor have any interest in any 'seed company', but I would strongly suggest you go to any [b]reputable[/b] seed company and buy "one offering" of real live plants ONCE of the real Mc Coy. Bring plants inside and put them in the kitchen window sill, or whatever you need to do to keep them alive through [I]your[/I] winter, and enjoy a fine herb forever. You may freely take cuttings of your "true" plant forever. You will never regret your initial outlay.