Our Herb Garden & Favorite Culinary Herbs

Growing Tansy

(Tanacetum vulgare, Linn.)

tansy flowers

Origins:

Native of Europe.
 

Natural Order:

Compositæ
 

Tansy Growing Cycle:

Perennial Herb
 

Height:

Tansy will grow up to 3 feet tall
 

Characteristics:

Unbranched stems that bear much-divided, oval, oblong leaves.
 

Tansy Flowers:

Numerous, small yellow fower-heads in usually crowded corymbs.

How to Grow Tansy

Tansy Propagation.

Tansy does well in any moderately fertile garden soil.

Tansy plants are easily propagated by division of the clumps or by seed sowns in a hotbed.

Care should be given to tansy placement as it spreads easily and is considered an invasive weed in much of the world.

Before planting tansy in your herb garden, check out our Tansy Companion Planting Guide.

Tansy Uses.

Tansy is most frequently grown as an ornamental garden plant, for its ability to add potassium into the soil, as a biologic insect repellent/attractant and as a companion plant. It is used by textile artists as a natural dye and dried for floral arrangements.

Tansy leaves have a bitter taste that were once used to flavor puddings, omelettes, salads, stews and other dishes but it is rarely used for that purpose today. Tansy should only be used in small amounts otherwise it may cause stomach upset. Pets and livestock should not be allowed to ingest tansy.