When can I grow chamomile in the tropics?

Only in the cool, dry window of August and September. Sown then, it flowers in 60–90 days before wet-season heat and humidity cause it to bolt or rot.

Do I cover chamomile seed when sowing?

Barely. The fine seed needs light to germinate, so press it onto the surface or cover with no more than 1 mm of soil, then keep it gently misted so downpours do not wash it away.

What grows well next to chamomile?

Chamomile pairs well with onions, whose growth and flavour it is said to improve, and with basil, boosting its essential-oil content. Near cabbages it draws hoverflies that prey on aphids.

Why did my chamomile flower on tiny stems?

Heat stress makes chamomile bolt early on short stems. In the tropics keep it to the coolest dry-season weeks, grow it in full sun with good drainage, and do not try to push it into summer.

When to plant Chamomile in Tropical Australia

Sow chamomile in tropical Australia from August to September. Method: raise seedlings,sow direct. Seeds germinate in 14-21 days, with harvest roughly 60-90 days after sowing.

Tropical zone — applies to Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Broome, Mackay and similar areas. Growing elsewhere? Temperate · Cool · Subtropical · Arid.

In the tropics, sow chamomile direct only in the cooler dry-season window of August and September, scattering the fine seed barely 1 mm deep or simply pressed onto the surface, as it needs light to germinate. Seedlings appear in 14–21 days. Thin plants to 10–40 cm apart in rows 15–20 cm apart. Chamomile flowers in 60–90 days, which just fits the tail of the Darwin and Cairns dry season before the humidity and rain of the wet shut it down.

Sowing calendar — tropical zone

Green months are your sowing window: August to September.

Growing notes

Chamomile is a cool-season annual that copes with tropical growing only in the driest, mildest weeks of the year. Sown in late winter it will form a low mat of ferny foliage and a scatter of small white daisies you can dry for tea. Chamomile is also a useful companion — it is said to improve the growth and flavour of onions and the essential-oil content of nearby basil, and its flowers draw hoverflies whose larvae eat aphids on cabbages.

The main failure mode is heat and humidity causing plants to bolt straight to flower on tiny stems, or to melt with fungal rot once the wet season nears. Because the seed is sown on the surface, a heavy tropical downpour can also wash it away before it germinates, so water with a fine mist and keep the seedbed gently damp rather than flooded.

Grow chamomile in full sun on a free-draining bed, and do not bother trying to carry it through summer — it will collapse. Harvest the flowers on a dry morning once the white petals begin to reflex back, and spread them to dry in shade. In Mackay and Cairns a pot lets you move it out of the first heavy rains.

Chamomile at a glance

Sowing depth	1 mm
Plant spacing	10-40 cm
Row spacing	15-20 cm
Germination	14-21 days
Days to maturity	60-90 days
Frost tolerance	Hardy
Method	Raise Seedlings,Sow Direct

Companion planting

Grows well with

Basil Onion Basil Onion Cabbage

Basil: Enhances essential oil content in basil

Onion: Improves onion growth and flavour

Basil: Enhances essential oil production in basil

Common questions

When can I grow chamomile in the tropics?: Only in the cool, dry window of August and September. Sown then, it flowers in 60–90 days before wet-season heat and humidity cause it to bolt or rot.
Do I cover chamomile seed when sowing?: Barely. The fine seed needs light to germinate, so press it onto the surface or cover with no more than 1 mm of soil, then keep it gently misted so downpours do not wash it away.
What grows well next to chamomile?: Chamomile pairs well with onions, whose growth and flavour it is said to improve, and with basil, boosting its essential-oil content. Near cabbages it draws hoverflies that prey on aphids.
Why did my chamomile flower on tiny stems?: Heat stress makes chamomile bolt early on short stems. In the tropics keep it to the coolest dry-season weeks, grow it in full sun with good drainage, and do not try to push it into summer.

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