Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

herb

German chamomile is a cheerful, daisy-flowered annual herb whose small, apple-scented white-and-gold blooms make the classic soothing tea. An easygoing, self-seeding plant, it grows fast in lean soil, draws bees and beneficial insects, and once established returns on its own from dropped seed year after year.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Cabbage family — Said to improve growth and draws wasps that hunt cabbage worms
• Onions — Companionable and may improve flavor
• Cucumbers — Flowers draw pollinators that improve fruit set
• Sweet Alyssum — Together they pull in hoverflies and parasitic wasps

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Chamomile itself draws hoverflies and ladybugs; rinse any heavy colonies

• Thrips →

  Encourage minute pirate bugs and lacewings; remove spent blooms

• Damping off →

  Sow thinly in well-drained soil and avoid overwatering seedlings

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pick the flower heads when the white petals are fully open and just beginning to bend back from the raised gold center, which is when their aroma peaks. Harvest frequently, which keeps the plant blooming, and dry the little flowers thoroughly for tea.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Chamomile is brewed as a calming herbal tea rather than eaten, and its flowers contain apigenin and other antioxidant compounds that are traditionally used and studied for relaxation and sleep. Because it is in the daisy family, people with ragweed allergies can occasionally react to it.