How to Grow Chamomile: A Complete Guide to German Chamomile From Seed to Harvest
Chamomile is one of the most forgiving herbs a new grower can plant. It asks for little more than sun, well-drained soil, and a light hand at sowing, and it rewards you with weeks of small apple-scented flowers you can dry for tea. At La Ferme À Ciel Sur Mer we sow German chamomile fresh each spring, and a few volunteers always find their own way back the following year. This guide covers everything from seed to harvest for the cold Quebec seasons we grow in.
German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is an annual, which means it grows, flowers, and sets seed all in one season. That is the chamomile most people want for tea. Its low-growing cousin, Roman chamomile, is a perennial used more often as a fragrant ground cover. If you are not sure which one you have or want, our guide to German vs Roman chamomile walks through the difference. Everything below is written for German chamomile.
When to Plant Chamomile
German chamomile is hardy and widely adapted, and in most climates it can be direct-sown outdoors after the last hard frost, once the soil has begun to warm. In our Quebec zone that usually means late May, when overnight temperatures are reliably above freezing. Chamomile germinates best in cool-to-warm soil, so there is no advantage to rushing it into cold ground.
You can also get a head start indoors. Sow seeds in trays about four to six weeks before your last expected frost, then harden the seedlings off and transplant them out once the danger of frost has passed. We do a little of both: a spring sowing in the field plus a small transplant batch to stagger the bloom and extend the harvest window.
How to Sow Chamomile Seeds
Chamomile seed is tiny, and it needs light to germinate. That single fact drives the whole sowing method: surface-sow the seed and do not bury it. Scatter it thinly over firmed, moist soil and press it in gently so it makes good contact, but leave it uncovered or barely dusted. Kept evenly moist and in soil around 18 to 24°C, it typically sprouts within seven to fourteen days.
Because the seed is so fine, sowing evenly takes a little patience. Mixing the seed with a pinch of dry sand helps you spread it more thinly. Once the seedlings are up and large enough to handle, thin them so the mature plants stand roughly 15 to 20 cm apart. Crowded chamomile still flowers, but good spacing means better airflow and fewer disease problems later in a humid summer.
Soil, Sun, and Spacing
Give chamomile full sun where you can. It will tolerate a little afternoon shade, but the strongest, most floriferous plants grow in an open, sunny spot. It is not fussy about fertility and in fact prefers lean, well-drained soil to a rich one. Heavy, wet ground is the main thing to avoid; if your soil holds water, a raised bed or a lightened, sandier mix will serve it better.
Final spacing of about 15 to 20 cm between plants gives each one room to branch and mound. If you are growing rows for a steady tea harvest, leave enough space between rows to walk and pick comfortably. Chamomile is a light feeder, so once it is established you can largely leave it to get on with the season.
Watering and Care
Water young seedlings regularly to keep them from drying out, since the shallow-sown seed and small roots are vulnerable early on. Once the plants are established, chamomile becomes quite drought-tolerant and generally needs watering only in extended dry spells. Overwatering does more harm than under-watering here.
Chamomile has a long-standing reputation among gardeners as a good companion plant, often grown near brassicas, onions, and other herbs. Much of that is traditional garden wisdom rather than settled research, so we would treat it as a pleasant bonus rather than a guarantee. What is reliably true is that a patch of flowering chamomile draws pollinators and beneficial insects, which is welcome anywhere in the garden.
When and How to Harvest
Harvest chamomile when the flowers are fully open, with the white petals held out flat or just beginning to bend back and the yellow centre rounded and raised. That is when the flowers are at their most fragrant. Pick in the morning after the dew has dried, which is when the essential oils are highest and the flowers are dry enough to handle and store.
The best way to gather is to pinch or comb the flower heads off, leaving the plant to keep producing. Chamomile flowers over a long stretch of summer, and regular picking encourages it to keep setting new buds, so a single planting can give three or four cuttings across a season. The fresh flowers you gather can go straight into a pot; for how we brew them, see our guide to making chamomile tea.
Drying and Storing
To keep chamomile for the year, dry the flowers soon after picking. Spread them in a single layer somewhere warm, airy, and out of direct sun, or use a dehydrator on low heat. Gentle, low-temperature drying protects the aromatic oils that give chamomile its scent and flavour; high heat drives them off. The flowers are ready when they feel papery and crumble easily.
Once fully dry, store the flowers whole in an airtight jar away from light and heat. Kept that way they hold their quality for roughly a year. Whole flowers keep their aroma better than crushed ones, so crumble them only as you brew.
How We Grow Chamomile at La Ferme À Ciel Sur Mer
On our certified Organic farm in Quebec we spring-sow German chamomile each year, supported by a small transplant batch and the volunteers that reseed themselves from the previous crop. We hand-harvest the flowers at peak bloom, in the morning, and dry them at low temperature to hold their colour and scent. If you would rather not grow your own, you can find our farm-dried Organic chamomile ready to brew.
Common Pests and Problems
Chamomile is largely trouble-free. The most common issues are aphids, which rarely reach damaging numbers and can be knocked back with a spray of water, and powdery mildew in humid summers, which good spacing and airflow help prevent. Seedlings can be lost to damping-off if sown too thickly in soil that stays too wet, another reason for thin sowing and well-drained ground.
Because it is grown as an annual, most disease problems simply end with the season. Rotating where you plant it from year to year keeps things clean and gives volunteers a fresh patch to colonize.
Saving Chamomile Seed
German chamomile self-seeds readily, and if you leave some flowers to mature and dry on the plant, it will often reappear on its own the next spring. To save seed deliberately, let a portion of the flowers fully ripen and brown on the stem, then collect the heads and rub them apart over a bowl to release the fine seed. Store it dry, cool, and dark, and it will be ready to sow next season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is chamomile an annual or a perennial?
German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), the type grown for tea, is an annual that completes its life cycle in one season, though it often self-seeds and returns. Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a low-growing perennial.
How long does chamomile take to grow from seed?
Seeds usually germinate in seven to fourteen days, and plants generally begin flowering about two to three months after sowing, giving you flowers to harvest through much of the summer.
Does chamomile seed need light to germinate?
Yes. Chamomile seed is light-dependent, so surface-sow it and press it gently into the soil rather than covering it. Keep it evenly moist until it sprouts.
How do you harvest chamomile for tea?
Pick the flower heads when they are fully open, ideally in the morning after the dew dries. Pinch or comb them off and leave the plant to keep producing. Dry the flowers at low heat before storing.
Does chamomile grow back every year?
German chamomile is an annual and does not regrow from the same roots, but it self-seeds so freely that a patch often reappears each spring if you let some flowers set seed.
Can you grow chamomile in a container?
Yes. Chamomile grows well in a pot with good drainage and full sun. Surface-sow as you would in the ground, keep it watered while young, and give the mature plant room to mound.
Want to learn more? Check out our other guides on chamomile:
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