PlantFiles: German Chamomile, Scented Mayweed
Matricaria recutita

Very easy to grow from seed with pretty flowers like small daisies, which smell like pineapple (to me). Attracts pollintators.

An herbal medicine cabinet must. We grow it with yarrow in a wide, bricked off area where it can be evasive, but this one is the least offensive. About a dozen plants are barely enough to dry for the winter for tummy tea.

It is said this plant is also known as the Physician Plant as it will enhance the growth of those plants growing next to it.
This was my first year with German Chamomile, has grown to about 3 feet tall in sandy loam full sun, and the blooms keep coming if flowers are routinely harvested. I have 6 plants and have harvested at least 4 times. Ferny foliage is quite attractive and the blooms eye catching....at first my neighbor thought I was growing pineapple weed (which by the way is a nice tea!) as it resembles the weed when not in flower and is also a prolific weed in our area.

Chamomile is related to ragweed, so people who are very allergic should be cautious in consuming it.

If you’re interested in a tea garden this is a favorite and easy to grow. Chamomile tea soothes tummy upsets and calms the nerves. Isn’t it what Peter Rabbit’s mother gave him? Plants have nice feathery foliage and flowers resemble tiny white daisies with large yellow centers. They have an apple like fragrance and taste. If you diligently harvest the flowers they’ll continue producing. They can be directly seeded in the garden in a lean, dry sunny spot. They’ll reseed on their own and you’ll have volunteers coming the following spring.