Chamomile, German

German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
Also known as: Wild Chamomile, Blue Chamomile

German Chamomile is a classic annual herb beloved for its soothing, apple-scented flowers and gentle medicinal properties. This upright, self-seeding plant is a staple in herbal traditions worldwide, particularly for calming teas and digestive remedies. With feathery foliage and abundant daisy-like blooms, it also makes a charming addition to any garden border, herb spiral, or medicinal bed. It grows quickly and easily, thriving in average soils and full sun, while offering beauty, fragrance, and wellness support.

Key Characteristics

• Traditional Medicinal Use – Flower Heads
  Chamomile is renowned for its calming, anti-inflammatory, and digestive-supportive properties. The dried flower heads are used to make herbal tea, tinctures, and topical applications to soothe stress, promote sleep, relieve gastrointestinal upset, and ease irritated skin. Its essential oil (especially high in azulene) gives it anti-inflammatory power for skincare.

• Gentle Calming Herb for All Ages
  Chamomile is one of the few herbs safe and effective for infants, children, and elders. It’s used in warm infusions for colic, teething, and restlessness in babies and for nervous system support and sleep disorders in adults. It also supports the healing of ulcers and gut lining when taken over time.

• Pollinator-Friendly with Extended Bloom
  The small white blooms with yellow centers are highly attractive to bees, hoverflies, and other beneficial insects. Blooming from May through August, chamomile supports a diverse insect population while offering its harvest to herbalists throughout the summer.

• Versatile Garden and Landscape Use
  German Chamomile fits beautifully into herb gardens, vegetable rows, pollinator plantings, and borders. It is also a valuable addition to permaculture systems as a calming companion plant that attracts beneficials and suppresses weeds with its dense, low foliage. It often self-sows for future seasons.

Product Details

• Native range: Europe and Western Asia (naturalized widely)

• Plant life cycle: Annual (readily self-seeds)

• Sun requirements: Full sun

• Soil requirements: Medium, well-drained

• Mature height: 12–24 inches

• Bloom time: May to August

• Bloom color: White with yellow centers

• USDA Hardiness zones: 2–9 (grown as annual)

German Chamomile is the herbalist’s choice for calming tea, digestive comfort, and skin care. Its cheerful flowers, gentle effects, and pollinator appeal make it a must-have in every medicinal or permaculture garden.