How to Grow Chamomile from Seed in South Africa

Want fragrant chamomile flowers for the garden or a carefully identified home tea harvest? Learn how to surface-sow the tiny seed, establish sturdy plants and keep the two growth forms separate: upright annual German or Mayweed chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla, also sold as M. recutita) and low, spreading perennial Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile, formerly Anthemis nobilis).

Quick Grow Facts

How to Surface-Sow Chamomile

1. Choose a fine, clean medium. Fill a tray or small cells with free-draining seedling mix. Level and pre-moisten it, then let surplus water drain.
2. Spread the tiny seed thinly. Mix a small quantity with dry fine sand if that helps distribution. Do not add sand to a wet packet or return mixed seed to storage.
3. Press, do not bury. Tamp the seed onto the damp surface with a clean board or the back of a spoon. Leave it visible. A transparent dusting of fine vermiculite is the maximum useful cover.
4. Keep the surface evenly moist. Mist gently or bottom-water so seed is not washed into clumps. A clear cover can reduce drying, but vent daily and remove it as soon as seedlings appear.
5. Give light from day one. Place the tray in bright filtered light. Use 18-24°C for Mayweed and 15-21°C for Roman. Avoid a hot, closed propagator.
6. Thin early. Good airflow starts at germination. Remove crowded seedlings rather than letting the surface become a damp mat.

Direct Sowing or Trays?

German/Mayweed: direct sowing works well in a finely prepared, weed-free bed when temperatures are mild. Broadcast in a narrow band, press in and keep the top few millimetres moist. Trays are safer where ants, birds, hard rain, hot wind or drying soil make surface sowing unreliable. If tray-sown, move seedlings while small, at about 3-4 true leaves; older German chamomile dislikes root disturbance.

Roman: trays or small plug cells are recommended so the slow-spreading young plants can be weeded and watered accurately. Transplant at 2-4 true leaves, keeping each plug intact. Direct sow only into a very clean, level patch that can stay evenly moist.

Hardening Off and Planting Out

Once seedlings are sturdy, move them outdoors into bright shade for a few hours, then increase sun and wind exposure over 7-10 days. Plant at the same depth as the plug and water in gently. German plants need 20-25 cm in beds; intensive flower rows can use about 20 cm between clusters and 45 cm between rows. Give Roman plants 20-30 cm so creeping stems can root without becoming airless.

Neither type needs staking or routine pinching. Harvesting and deadheading keep German chamomile flowering. Light clipping after flowering helps Roman chamomile stay compact, but regular mowing sacrifices flowers and turns the planting into a ground-cover project rather than a tea-flower crop.

When to Sow in South Africa

Chamomile establishes best in mild conditions. The packet's broad spring/summer instruction is less useful than matching the sowing date to your rainfall, frost and summer heat.

Winter-rainfall Western Cape

Sow both types from early autumn into winter after strong summer heat has eased. Use raised or open soil so winter rain cannot waterlog the crown. German chamomile should flower from late winter into spring. Roman chamomile can remain perennial where drainage is sharp; protect it from complete drying during the first summer.

Frost-prone interior

German chamomile can tolerate cold once established, but the simplest home method is to start trays in late winter and plant out around the end of severe frost. An autumn direct sow is possible in a sheltered, well-drained bed if seedlings establish before hard freezes. Start Roman in trays in late winter, plant in spring and protect young crowns through their first winter; established plants are hardier than fresh transplants.

Humid coast and KZN Midlands

Sow from late autumn through winter into early spring to avoid the most humid summer period. Use morning sun, free-draining soil, wide spacing and moving air. Water early in the day and never leave a covered tray wet overnight. Roman chamomile may thin or rot in hot, saturated sites; a container or raised bed gives better control.

Hot-dry or subtropical interior

Use the coolest practical window, usually late autumn through winter. Give seedlings bright light and protection from desiccating wind, then plant where afternoon shade softens extreme heat. Keep Mayweed flowering with steady water but no waterlogging. Treat Roman as a trial perennial: prolonged heat may make it short-lived, so a movable container can be more reliable than a permanent lawn.

Ongoing Care

• Sun: Full sun in mild climates. Use light afternoon shade where summer sun and reflected heat are severe.
• Water: Keep the sowing surface continuously damp, never flooded. Once rooted, water when the upper soil begins to dry. Roman crowns and German shallow roots both fail in stagnant soil.
• Soil: Use light, free-draining soil. Improve heavy clay with a raised bed rather than creating a water-holding planting hole.
• Feeding: Feed lightly, if at all. Rich nitrogen feeding produces soft leaves and fewer useful flowers.
• Weeds: Hand-weed while plants are small. Roman chamomile is easily overwhelmed before the mat closes.
• Pests and disease: Watch for aphids, slugs, snails, spider mites, thrips and damping-off. Start with spacing, airflow, clean trays, hand removal and careful watering. If harvesting flowers, use only a control registered in South Africa for that crop and problem, and obey its label and harvest interval.

Flower Harvest and Drying

Pick on a dry morning after dew has lifted. For German chamomile, take flower heads when the white rays have opened and the yellow centre is raised but still fresh. Regular picking can produce several flushes. For Roman, pick newly opened flowers before they brown; the low plants normally yield less.

Snip clean flower heads, check for insects and spread them in a single layer in warm shade with good airflow. Turn gently until fully crisp-dry, then store in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard. Discard any flowers that become musty or mouldy.

Tea Use, Identity and Seed Safety

German and Roman chamomile flowers are both used in tea, but they are not interchangeable plants: German is the more common, milder tea crop; Roman is generally more bitter. Never brew from a daisy-like volunteer, roadside plant or a plant identified only from a photo. Some lookalikes are unsuitable or poisonous.

Use only flowers from plants grown from a correctly labelled lot whose supplier treatment status and intended culinary use have been confirmed. The current labels say raw seed but do not separately state untreated or food-grade. Do not eat the sowing seed. Keep it away from children and pets and follow every warning on the physical packet.

Chamomile can cause allergic reactions, especially in people sensitive to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies. It may interact with medicines including warfarin and sedatives, and pregnancy or breastfeeding safety is uncertain. Tea is not a treatment claim; ask a qualified health professional before regular use if you have allergies, take medicine, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a hormone-sensitive condition.

Why Germination or Establishment Fails

• No seedlings: seed was buried, the surface dried, temperature was outside the useful range, or the lot lost viability. Re-sow on the surface, press in and maintain gentle moisture and light.
• Seed washes into clumps: overhead watering was too forceful. Pre-moisten the mix and use a mister or bottom watering.
• Seedlings stretch: light is too weak or the tray is too warm. Increase light and move to a bright, airy place after emergence.
• Seedlings collapse: saturated mix, crowding and stagnant humidity caused damping-off. Remove affected plants, vent, thin and correct watering.
• Seedlings stall after moving: roots were disturbed or plants were not hardened off. Transplant small intact plugs and acclimatise gradually.
• German plants make leaves but few flowers: shade, excess nitrogen or heat is delaying bloom. Increase light, stop rich feeding and keep moisture steady.
• Roman mats develop bare patches: the site is too wet, too dry, too shaded, heavily walked on or weed-competitive. Correct the cause before replanting.
• Plants do not match the expected species: German should be upright and annual; Roman should creep and root at the stems. Stop any tea use and ask the supplier or a qualified botanist to confirm identity.

Grow the Chamomile in This Guide

Choose Chamomile - Mayweed Seeds for an upright annual flower crop, or Chamomile Roman Seeds for a low spreading perennial patch in a suitable climate.