Herb · Asteraceae
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
Set it in full sun and lean, dry soil, and feverfew carries a border in white daisies all summer.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
90–120 days
USDA 5–9
Overview
Feverfew is the kind of easygoing perennial that gives a garden its relaxed, cottage character, drifting through the warm months in clouds of small white daisies. It grows fast and asks for little, which is why it long ago stepped out of old cottage borders and settled comfortably into beds, mixed plantings, and kitchen-garden corners across cooler climates. The aromatic, ferny foliage marks it as one of the Tanacetum clan, close company for tansy and the chrysanthemums.
Its appeal works on two levels for the way you actually live with a garden. The daisies are a generous supply of cut stems for the house and a steady draw for pollinators, while the plant's long folk-medicine past lends it a quiet sense of place and story. Left entirely alone it sows freely, so a composed clump can soften into an easy, informal sweep within a season or two.
None of that asks much of you. Give feverfew a sunny spot, free-draining ground, and a tidy cut once the flowers fade, and it returns each year and threads itself through the gaps besides. The only thing to keep in hand is the spread, which a little deadheading folds neatly into the season's routine.
Care
The short version: a sunny spot, lean and free-draining ground, and a deep drink only once the top half of the soil has dried. Deadhead as the season runs and cut it back after bloom, and it slips easily into a low-effort planting.
Light
Feverfew gives its fullest display in full sun and will accept a little light partial shade. Settle it into deeper shade and the daisies give way to soft, leggy growth that loses its poise, so reserve the brightest position in the planting for it.
Water
Once established, feverfew is drought-tolerant and dislikes standing in wet ground. Water deeply but only after the top half of the soil has dried, which tends to land around every 7 to 14 days, letting it dry out comfortably between drinks.
Soil
Ordinary well-drained garden soil keeps it looking its best, and it takes poor, dry ground in stride. Aim for a pH between 6.0 and 7.5 and make sure water moves through freely, since soggy ground is the one setting it will not abide.
Temperature
Feverfew is genuinely hardy, holding through cold to about -20°F (-29°C) and untroubled by summer heat to 90°F (32°C). That easy range lets it overwinter as a perennial across a wide sweep of temperate gardens.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all it asks, so there is no figure to chase. It settles happily into the 40% to 60% range most gardens already offer, where open air around the planting counts for far more than the reading.
Feeding
Feverfew is a light feeder that looks better on lean ground than rich. A single gentle dose of balanced fertilizer or a scatter of compost in spring is plenty, since heavy feeding only brings soft, flopping growth that draws aphids.
Pruning
Deadhead the spent daisies through the season to keep the display going and to temper its free seeding. Once flowering winds down, shear it back hard for fresh compact regrowth, then cut it to the ground in late fall or early spring.
Repotting
Grown in a container, feverfew wants repotting annually or whenever it outgrows the pot. Roots circling the soil, a quiet loss of vigor, or soil that dries almost as fast as you water are the cues it is ready to be moved up.
Size & spacing
Plants rise 18 to 35 inches (45 to 90 cm) tall and settle into clumps 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) across. Allow each that much breathing room so air drifts freely through the planting and the roots never sit in trapped damp.
When to plant
Feverfew keeps step with the seasons, which makes it easy to weave into the year. Start seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost or sow it straight into spring ground, move young plants out once the cold has gone, and the white daisies open from early summer right through fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6-8 weeks before last frost
- Plant: Spring after danger of frost has passed
- Harvest: White daisy-like flowers with yellow centers from early-mid summer through fall; long bloom period
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Feverfew rarely upsets the look of a border, and when something slips it usually comes down to too much water, too little sun, or its own free seeding. Match what you see below, then step in early while the planting still keeps its composure.
A flagging, yellowing planting on stubbornly wet ground
A border that flags and yellows while the ground stays wet is the classic sign of root rot, the result of drainage that simply cannot keep up. Down at the base, the roots have turned brown and soft and can no longer support the planting above. Ease off the watering, open up the drainage, clear away anything past saving, and reset healthy divisions in a spot where water never lingers.
Fix:
- Improve drainage and reduce watering
- Remove and discard severely affected plants
- Replant healthy divisions in well-drained soil
Volunteers drifting beyond their place in the bed
Feverfew is a prolific self-seeder, and a single planting can quietly scatter young volunteers across the bed the following season, blurring the lines of a carefully kept border. Deadheading before the flowers set seed keeps the planting where it was meant to be. The few that still appear lift away by hand while small, so the composition stays as planned.
Fix:
- Deadhead before seed set
- Remove unwanted seedlings by hand while young
Tacky, curling foliage hosting clusters of tiny insects
When the new growth turns tacky and the leaves start to curl, an aphid colony has usually moved in along the tender shoots and leaf undersides, leaving a sticky film behind. A firm rinse with the hose sends most of them packing and tidies the planting back up. Save insecticidal soap for a heavy outbreak, and let the ladybugs that arrive on their own keep the picture looking calm.
Fix:
- Spray with a strong jet of water to dislodge aphids
- Apply insecticidal soap if infestation is heavy
- Encourage beneficial predators such as ladybugs
A thin, fleeting show of flowers
A sparse, fleeting display usually traces to too little sun or a few skipped deadheads, both easy to set right. A planting tucked in shade simply sets fewer buds, and one left to seed quietly winds down its own season. Give it a sunny position and lift away the faded daisies as you pass, and the display carries from early summer well into fall.
Fix:
- Relocate to a full-sun position
- Deadhead spent flowers regularly to encourage continued bloom
Toxicity
Feverfew earns its place in a garden, but it is one to admire rather than eat or graze. The foliage holds sesquiterpene lactones that irritate the mouth and gut of cats, dogs, and horses, and the same compounds can give sensitive people contact dermatitis and mouth ulcers. Wear gloves when you handle it and site it where pets and children are not tempted to chew the leaves.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that helps itself to the leaves tends to drool and be sick, and the upset can carry on to diarrhea, so a household cat is reason enough to set the planting out of reach. The sap can also leave the mouth sore or raise a rash where it meets skin.
Dogs Mild
A dog that samples the foliage usually drools and turns queasy, at times with loose stools, which makes a courtyard or raised setting the more relaxed choice. Where the sap lands it can redden the mouth or bother the skin.
Horses Mild
Around paddocks the bitter foliage can leave a grazing horse with a sore mouth, some drooling, and a mild bout of colic or loose manure. Most, given the run of better grazing, will simply pass it by.
Rabbits Caution
The same sesquiterpene lactones that trouble other animals make feverfew a poor neighbor for rabbits, so keep it well clear of the hutch and off any list of greens on offer.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, sheep, and goats tend to leave the bitter leaves alone, yet the plant's compounds can upset the gut if grazing is forced, so it has no place in a working pasture as fodder.
Birds Caution
Little supports feverfew as safe around pet or backyard birds, and the irritant oils argue against it, so the planting belongs well away from cages and aviaries.
People Caution
Working the foliage can bring on contact dermatitis in sensitive hands, and chewing fresh leaves often leaves mouth ulcers and irritation. Reach for gloves when you cut it back and rinse your hands once the tidying is done.
Wear gloves when handling foliage; sesquiterpene lactones can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive people, and chewing fresh leaves can cause mouth irritation and ulcers.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Beyond the simple white daisy, a few selections are worth folding into a scheme, chosen for double flowers or for the lift of colored leaves.
'Aureum' (Golden Feather)
Prized for its bright chartreuse-gold leaves rather than its flowers, it works as a foliage plant that lifts and lightens a planting scheme.
'Flore Pleno'
It swaps the simple daisy for fully double, button-like white flowers packed with petals, a dressier note for a refined border.
'Snowball'
Its rounded white pompon blooms form a tidy double that reads almost like a small chrysanthemum, polished enough for a cutting bed.
How to propagate
Feverfew increases with almost no effort, whether you sow seed or divide a settled clump, and it sows itself freely into the bargain.
SeedEasy
Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost or direct sow in spring; surface sow as seeds need light to germinate · Germination in 1-2 weeks; flowering plants within the first season
Raising feverfew from seed is an effortless way to fill out a scheme, sown indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost or scattered straight into spring ground. Rest the seed on the surface rather than burying it, since it needs light to wake, and the first signs appear in 1 to 2 weeks. Plants raised this way flower in their opening season, and the way it self-sows lets you lift and rearrange volunteers wherever the planting wants them.
DivisionEasy
Spring or early fall · Several weeks to re-establish in the season of division
Lifting and splitting an established clump in spring or early fall both refreshes a tired planting and gives you matching pieces to repeat through a border. Ease the clump up, part it into rooted sections, and set each one back. The divisions need only a few weeks to settle before they pick up the season again.
Myths
Feverfew gets its name because it reliably cures fevers.
The name does trace to the Latin febrifugia, meaning fever reducer, a nod to how it was once regarded. Both the traditional and the modern studied uses, though, gather around headache and migraine rather than fever. It was never a dependable fever remedy, and the name lingers only as an echo of old folk medicine.