How to Grow Feverfew in a Short Growing Season

Feverfew is one of my favourite flowers that bloom from late spring into early summer. The classic variety looks like a tiny daisy with a cheerful yellow centre, and all kinds of feverfew bring a charming touch to floral arrangements.

Here are my quick tips for growing this delightful flower in a cold climate!

Clusters of small, white daisy-like feverfew flowers with yellow centers bloom among green, serrated leaves outdoors, making a bright and cheerful addition to any cut flower garden. Hardy in Zone 3. — Magic Single feverfew

How I Grow Feverfew in Zone 3

Feverfew is considered a tender perennial, but in Zone 3, it often behaves more like a hardy annual. Some plants overwinter, while others don’t survive the cold. I find that about 50% of my feverfew plants return the next year, but this can vary widely.

Because of this inconsistency, I always recommend starting feverfew from seed each year, even if you’re hoping it will come back. The years I count on it returning are always the years it doesn’t! So if you really love it, start a few plants annually just to be safe.

Feverfew has a small amount of cold tolerance, which means you can transplant it into the garden a little earlier than some of your other cut flowers. Week 8 is a good time to start seeds indoors. You can also experiment with fall sowing—I’m trying that this year and will report back on how it goes!

It’s also very easy to save feverfew seed.

Once the seed head is dry, pull it apart and you’ll find plenty of viable seeds inside. Or, let the seed heads overwinter naturally and allow the plants to self-sow as you clean up in spring. To improve my odds, I let some of the flower heads go to seed in the garden, scrunch them up, and sprinkle the seeds around the area where I want them to grow.

Feverfew is a one-and-done flower, but it does have a branching habit. The first cut is the best, but later side shoots can still be useful in arrangements. It’s one of those plants that adds a lot of texture and brightness without stealing the show.

Small, white, daisy-like feverfew flowers with yellow centers bloom against a blurred green background, clustered together on delicate stems—perfect for a Zone 3 cut flower garden. — Tetra White feverfew

My Favourite Feverfew Varieties

I like planting at least three different varieties of feverfew in my cutting garden:

Tetra White – my go-to favourite for arranging
Magic Lime – a bit harder to use in arrangements, but stunning
Magic Single – the classic, daisy-like variety, perfect as a cheerful filler

In my experience, the Magic varieties tend to be a little more cold-hardy than the Tetra types, but all three bring something special to a bouquet.

NOTE: While many people know feverfew for its medicinal properties, not all varieties are suitable for herbal use. If you’re growing feverfew for its health benefits (like to help with migraines), look for the classic medicinal type with white petals and a yellow centre. Some cut flower cultivars (like the one pictured below) have been bred more for appearance than function.

White feverfew flowers with round petals bloom on green bushes in a cut flower garden, with more blossoms and greenery blurred in the background along a winding path, perfect for Zone 3 gardens. — Virgo feverfew

Have any more questions about growing feverfew in Zone 3? Let me know in the comments!

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