Growing Chamomile in Arizona: When to Sow, How to Harvest and Brew Your Own Tea
Every spring there is one corner of my garden that smells like a sweet green apple when the sun hits it. That corner is my chamomile patch, and it is one of the most cheerful things I grow all year. Hundreds of tiny white daisies with bright yellow centers bob around in the breeze from about February to April, and every few days I wander out with a little bowl and pick a handful of flowers for tea.
Chamomile is a cool-season plant in the Arizona low desert, and early November is a great time to sow it. Here is everything I have learned about growing chamomile in Arizona: which kind to plant, when and how to sow it, how to keep it happy, and how to harvest, dry and brew it.
German vs. Roman Chamomile: Which One to Grow
There are two plants that people call chamomile, and they behave very differently in our climate.
German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla, sometimes listed as Matricaria recutita) is an annual that grows about 12 to 24 inches tall. It is the one most people use for tea, and it produces loads of flowers. It sprouts in fall, grows through winter, blooms in late winter and spring, then sets seed and dies back when the heat arrives. That life cycle lines up perfectly with the low desert calendar.
Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a low, creeping perennial often used as a fragrant groundcover. It has a similar apple scent, but it makes fewer flowers, and it struggles badly in our summer heat. In Phoenix or Tucson it usually fries by June unless it gets afternoon shade and steady water. In the high desert, like Prescott or Flagstaff, it has a better shot.
For tea and for an easy win, I always recommend German chamomile. Everything below assumes that is the one you are growing.
When to Plant Chamomile in Arizona
In the low desert (Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Casa Grande and similar areas), sow German chamomile from about mid-October through December. You can push sowing into January or February, but later plantings have less time to grow before the heat shows up, so you will get a shorter harvest.
Early November is a sweet spot. The soil has cooled enough for good germination, the seedlings get a long, mild winter to build roots, and the plants start blooming as soon as the days lengthen in February.
In the high desert, frost changes the timing. Most gardeners there sow in early spring once the hardest freezes are over, or sow in late fall and let the seeds sit dormant until spring, which mimics what the plant does in nature.
If you are planning the whole cool season, chamomile pairs nicely with the other herbs I sow this time of year. My guides to growing dill in Arizona, cilantro and parsley all follow the same fall planting window.
Where to Plant: Sun, Soil and Containers
Sun: Give chamomile full sun through winter, at least six hours a day. In the low desert, winter sun is gentle enough that a south-facing bed is perfect. If you are planting in late winter, a little afternoon shade will help stretch out the bloom season once temperatures climb.
Soil: Chamomile is not fussy at all. In the wild it grows in poor, disturbed ground. It does want good drainage, though. Our native soil is often heavy and alkaline, so I loosen the top few inches and mix in an inch or two of compost. Skip the heavy fertilizer. Rich soil gives you lots of leafy growth and fewer flowers.
Containers: Chamomile grows beautifully in pots, which makes it great for patios and apartment balconies. Use a container at least 8 inches deep and 12 inches wide, fill it with a quality potting mix, and make sure it has drainage holes. One wide pot can hold five or six plants.
Spacing: In beds, thin plants to about 6 to 8 inches apart. They lean on each other a bit as they grow, which helps keep the stems upright in our spring wind.
How to Sow Chamomile Seeds
Chamomile seed is tiny, almost like dust, and it needs light to germinate. The number one reason people fail with chamomile is burying the seed too deep. Here is how I do it:
Rake the bed smooth and water it well the day before sowing.
Mix the seed with a spoonful of dry sand. This makes it easier to scatter evenly.
Sprinkle the seed mix right on top of the soil. Do not cover it with soil.
Press the surface gently with your palm or a flat board so the seeds make good contact.
Mist or water gently with a fine spray so you do not wash the seeds away.
Keep the surface evenly damp until sprouts appear, usually in 7 to 14 days when the soil is around 60 to 70 degrees.
When seedlings have a few sets of feathery leaves, thin them to their final spacing. Snip the extras at soil level with scissors.
Watering and Care Through Winter
Once chamomile is established, it is a low-maintenance plant. In November and December, watering in-ground plants every four to six days is usually plenty, less after a good rain. Containers dry out faster, so check them with a finger every couple of days. You want the soil lightly moist, never soggy.
Overwatering is the main thing that goes wrong in winter. Cold, wet soil invites root rot and damping off in young seedlings. Let the top inch of soil dry slightly between waterings once plants have a few inches of growth.
German chamomile handles light frost without much fuss. On the rare night that dips into the low 20s, cover young plants with frost cloth, especially in the first month.
Pests and Problems
Chamomile is a pretty tough plant, but a few things can show up:
Aphids: They love tender stem tips in late winter. Blast them off with a hard spray of water or use insecticidal soap. Ladybugs usually arrive soon after to finish the job.
Powdery mildew: Crowded plants with poor airflow can get white, dusty leaves in spring. Thin your plants and water the soil, not the foliage.
Bolting and fading in heat: Once days are consistently in the 90s, German chamomile finishes its life cycle. That is normal. Let a few flowers go to seed and it will often come back on its own next fall.
On the bright side, chamomile flowers attract hoverflies, small native bees and other beneficial insects. I like tucking a few plants near my brassicas and lettuce to bring in the good bugs.
When and How to Harvest Chamomile Flowers
The flowers are the part you harvest for tea, and timing makes a big difference in flavor.
The best moment is when a flower is fully open, with the white petals spread flat or just starting to bend back toward the stem. At that stage the yellow center is plump and full of aromatic oils. Older flowers with petals drooping way down still work, but they taste a bit more bitter and dusty.
Pick on a dry morning after the dew has burned off. You can pinch the flower heads off with your fingers, pulling them up between your fingers like a comb, or snip them with small scissors.
Here is the fun part: the more you pick, the more the plant blooms. During peak season I harvest every two to four days. A dozen healthy plants can easily give you enough flowers for a cup of tea every day through spring, plus extra to dry.
Drying and Storing Chamomile
Fresh chamomile tea is lovely, but drying lets you enjoy your harvest all year. Thankfully, our dry Arizona air makes this easy.
Air drying: Spread the flowers in a single layer on a mesh screen, a clean towel or a paper bag, somewhere out of direct sun with good airflow. Indoors, they usually dry in one to two weeks. If you want a simple setup, my DIY herb drying rack works great for chamomile.
Dehydrator: Use the lowest herb setting, around 95 degrees, for a few hours until the flower centers feel dry and crumbly.
The flowers are ready when the centers crumble easily between your fingers. Store them in a glass jar with a tight lid, away from light and heat. They keep good flavor for about a year.
How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Chamomile Tea
This is the reward for all your work. My basic recipe:
Use about 1 tablespoon of dried flowers or 2 to 3 tablespoons of fresh flowers per cup of water.
Heat the water until it is just off the boil.
Pour it over the flowers in a mug, teapot or infuser.
Cover the cup while it steeps. This keeps the fragrant oils from escaping with the steam.
Steep for 5 minutes, or up to 10 if you like it stronger.
Strain, then add a little honey or a slice of lemon if you like.
Other Ways to Use Chamomile
Tea is the classic, but here are a few other ideas I enjoy:
Chamomile with mint or lemongrass: Blend dried chamomile with mint or homegrown lemongrass for your own herbal tea mix.
Baking: Steep chamomile in warm milk or cream, then strain and use it in custards, panna cotta or shortbread for a soft floral flavor.
Sachets and gifts: Dried chamomile smells lovely tucked into small cloth bags. Try it in my DIY dried herb sachets, or fill small jars with your homegrown tea for holiday gifts.
A Quick Safety Note
Chamomile is in the daisy family, the same family as ragweed. If you have ragweed or daisy allergies, try a small amount first or skip it. People who are pregnant, nursing or taking blood thinners or other medications should check with their doctor before drinking a lot of herbal tea. For everyone else, enjoy a cup or two a day.
Saving Seeds for Next Year
When the weather heats up in April and May, let a few flower heads stay on the plant until the centers turn brown and dry. Snip them into a paper bag and let them finish drying for a week, then crumble them and store the tiny seeds in a labeled envelope.
You can also just let the patch go. German chamomile self-sows freely, and seeds that drop in spring often sprout on their own when the weather cools again in fall. Some years I barely have to plant at all.
My Chamomile Growing Checklist
Grow German chamomile and sow it from mid-October through December.
Scatter seeds on the surface. Do not bury them.
Full sun, well-drained soil, little or no fertilizer.
Harvest fully open flowers every few days from February to April, and dry them in the shade.
Chamomile is one of those plants that gives back far more than it asks for. A packet of seed costs a few dollars, the plants mostly take care of themselves, and you get months of flowers, happy pollinators and your own calming tea. If you sow a patch this week, I would love to hear how it does for you. Pour a cup for me in March!
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