GrowingHQ
Herbperennial herbStraightforward

Chamomile

Chamaemelum nobile

A low aromatic perennial grown for tea and, in the non-flowering 'Treneague' form, as a fragrant lawn substitute for a small area that is not walked on much. The annual German chamomile is a different plant sold under the same name and is what most tea is actually made from.

Position
Full sun
Water
low demand
Drainage
Free-draining
Grows to
10–30 cm × 30–45 cm
Hardiness
H6
Harvest
June to August
Difficulty
Straightforward

August

Harvest

Chamomile’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
Sow under coverMarch. April.
PlantApril. May.
HarvestJune. July. August.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

What kind of herb this is

Herbs are a kitchen grouping rather than a botanical one, and the plants in it want opposite things. This is the one distinction that decides how to treat it.

Mediterranean woody herb

Growing regime
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — growing

Checked 2026-08-13

Wants sun, poor free-draining ground and very little water once established. Far more of these die from winter wet at the roots than from cold air, so drainage matters more than hardiness ratings suggest.

Treated the same way: bay, borage, hyssop, lemon thyme, marjoram, oregano and 7 more in the same group. The herb bed, split by regime

Why winter wet kills a Mediterranean herbTwo soil cross-sections side by side. On the left, a well-drained planting: the crown of a rosemary sits slightly proud of the surrounding soil on a low mound, the root zone is open gritty soil with air between the particles, and arrows show winter rain moving down and away past the roots. The plant above is dense and well furnished. On the right, the same herb in heavy soil in a hollow: the crown sits level with or below the surface, the root zone is dense soil over a compacted pan, and winter rain has nowhere to go so a water table stands in the root zone from November to March. The roots there are drawn broken and dashed to show they have died, and the plant above is sparse and thin. The point is that the plant looks unharmed all winter because an evergreen with a full canopy asks almost nothing of its roots in January, so the loss only shows the following spring when it fails to grow.Sharp drainagecrown proud, water moves throughroots stay firm and paleair between the particles all winterWinter wetcrown in a hollow, water standswater table, Nov–Marcompacted pan — nowhere to goroots dark, soft and sourand the plant above still looks fineopen gritty soilheavy soilstanding waterliving rootsPlanting on a low mound, adding grit, or standing a pot on feet all do the same job: get the crown above the water.
The damage happens in January and shows in May. An evergreen herb asks almost nothing of its roots in winter, so a drowned root system stays invisible until the plant is asked to grow and cannot.
Indoors
Not worth growing indoors
Where the indoor assessment comes from
IndoorsSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — growing indoors

Checked 2026-08-13

Almost any herb will sit on a windowsill in July. This is about whether it is still there in March, which is the part a pot on a supermarket shelf does not tell you.

What happens when it flowers

On a herb this is rarely a problem and rarely nothing. It is the point at which the plant stops being what you grew it for — by a lot, a little, or not at all.

Flowering is part of the point
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

Nothing to do about it. Flowering does not change what chamomile is worth picking, so there is no reason to prevent it.

What it is worth to pollinators

Recorded only where the evidence is specific to this plant, because “good for bees” attached to everything means nothing attached to anything.

Nectar value
moderate
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Plants for pollinators

Checked 2026-08-13

In flower
June, July, August

Conditions it needs

Light
Full sun
Frost
Very hardy
Hardiness rating
H6 (RHS)
Grows best at
12–24 °C
Germinates at
10–25 °C
Soil
Sandy, Loam
Soil pH
5.5–7.5
Drainage
Free-draining
Water needs
low
Drought
good tolerance
Waterlogging
poor tolerance
Heat
good tolerance
Wind and exposure
good tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

Germinates atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Seed germination temperatures

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Chamaemelum nobile — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayWorks, with one conditionChamomile will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
SandyPrefers this soilSandy suits Chamomile as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Sandy soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Chalky and alkalineGrows well hereChamomile grows perfectly well on chalky and alkaline without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
LoamPrefers this soilLoam suits Chamomile as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SiltyPrefers this soilSilty suits Chamomile as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acidWorks, with one conditionChamomile will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rockPrefers this soilShallow over rock suits Chamomile as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Made ground and urban soilWorks, with one conditionChamomile will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
10–30 cm
Mature spread
30–45 cm
Rooting depth
15 cm
Spacing
20–30 cm apart
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — spacing

Checked 2026-08-13

How far apart to plant chamomileThree chamomile plants drawn in a row at their recorded spacing of 20–30 cm between plants. The spacing is drawn to scale against a one metre rule; the plants themselves are symbols rather than scale drawings, so the distance between them is the part to read.20–30 cm
Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume
5 litres or more
Minimum depth
15 cm
Where the container figures come from
Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Suits a wide shallow pot, and a pot keeps the lawn form 'Treneague' where you can smell it without walking on it. Gritty compost and full sun; it rots in anything that stays damp.

Value to wildlife

Recorded only where the evidence names a resource and the months it is available. Most plants flower; that on its own is not what this section is about.

Nectar
Useful, among other plants
In flower
Jun, Jul, Aug
Where these figures come from
NectarSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Plants for pollinators

Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Open groundWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Traditional dug bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Raised bedWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

ContainerWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

5 litres; Free-draining compost
GreenhouseWorkable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection

Checked 2026-08-13

PolytunnelWorkable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board — AHDB: Herbs under protection

Checked 2026-08-13

HydroponicsMarginal
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Grown for flowers, which need more light than a domestic system supplies, and happiest in poor dry ground — the opposite of what it would get.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

WindowsillMarginal
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing herbs and salads indoors

Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

  • HarvestingPick the flowers when fully open and dry them quickly somewhere warm and dark. Picking every few days through the season produces far more than a single harvest at the end.
  • ProtectionA chamomile lawn needs weeding by hand and will not take regular foot traffic. It works as a small fragrant patch beside a seat and does not work as a replacement for grass in a garden that is used.
  • WateringWater new plants until they take, then leave them; chamomile is a dry-meadow plant and rots in ground that stays wet. In a pot it will need occasional soaking in summer, but let the compost dry down well first — the fine feathery foliage hides the crown, and a crown kept damp blackens without warning.
  • FeedingDo not feed. Chamomile flowers best in poor ground and a fed plant makes soft foliage and fewer flowers, which is the wrong result for a plant grown almost entirely for its flowers. The lawn form 'Treneague' likewise wants nothing. The one piece of upkeep it does want is shearing over after flowering, with shears rather than a mower, to tidy it and stop it seeding about.
  • PropagationDivide established clumps in spring, or take small rooted offsets from the edge of a mat and pot them on — this is the only way to increase the non-flowering 'Treneague' lawn form, which sets no seed. Roman chamomile also comes readily from seed sown in spring, but seedlings vary and some will flower where you wanted a lawn.
Where this guidance comes from
HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile lawns

Checked 2026-08-13

WateringSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — cultivation

Checked 2026-08-13

PropagationSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — propagation

Checked 2026-08-13

Four ways to make more plantsFour propagation operations compared, each showing where the separation is made and what must be present on both sides of it. Division: a clump cut between crowns, with roots and at least one growing point on every piece. Stem cutting: a shoot cut just below a leaf node, because the node is where roots form, with the lower leaves removed. Runner: a plantlet already rooting where it touches the ground, severed from the parent only after its own roots have taken. Offset: a young shoot at the base of the parent, separated with its own roots attached. In each case the cut is marked and the part that must be retained is labelled.Divisioncut between crownsroots on every piececut below a nodeStem cuttingroots form at the nodestrip the lower leavesRunnerlet it root firstthen sever the linkOffseta shoot at the basetake its roots with it
The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

StructureWhat protection is worthWhat decides it
GreenhouseNo real benefit
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Nothing much. Chamomile is hardy, low and happiest in poor dry soil in full sun, all of which it can have outdoors.
PolytunnelNo real benefit
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Nothing much.

On a windowsill

Does not work indoors
source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

 Not a windowsill crop. The reason is given — usually light, root volume or sheer size. Light and spread. It wants full sun and room to sprawl, and indoors it makes thin drawn stems and almost no flowers, which are the part used.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Not worth it

It can be made to grow, but a soilless system is the wrong tool — usually because of rooting volume, running cost, or a result no better than a pot of compost.

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

Grown for flowers, which need more light than a domestic system supplies, and happiest in poor dry ground — the opposite of what it would get.

  • GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Roman and German chamomile behave the same way here, and neither is worth a channel.

Techniques that suit it

  • Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Horticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence

Applies when: Possible; the flowers will be few.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space
Small, but it sprawls.
pH band
5.5–6.5
Where these figures come from
Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence

Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.

  • Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH

Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

  • When it is readyPick the flowers when the white petals have opened flat and before they begin to reflex backwards over the stem — a flower whose petals have folded back is past its best and the tea is bitter. Pick on a dry morning once the dew has lifted, which is when the oils are highest.
  • How to pick itPinch or snip the flower heads off just below the head, leaving the stem. Spread them in a single layer somewhere warm, dry and shaded until they are papery, then store airtight out of the light.
Where the harvest guidance comes from
When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Chamomile — harvesting

Checked 2026-08-13

How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

ProblemHow oftenNotes
Aphidsoccasional
source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Safety and edibility

  • AllergenChamomile is in the daisy family, and people allergic to other Asteraceae — ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold — can react to it, both on the skin when handling the plant and when drinking the tea.
    source

    Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

    • Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Chamaemelum nobile

    Checked 2026-08-13

    Anyone with a known daisy-family allergy should handle the plant with gloves and try the tea cautiously if at all.

Sources for this page

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Plants of the World Online · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.