Growing Feverfew: A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Feverfew produces masses of small, white-and-yellow daisy blooms on a bushy plant, historically grown as a medicinal herb (the name is a corruption of “febrifuge”) and now grown mostly as a reliable, low-maintenance cut flower filler.
Sowing it
Transplanting is the preferred method: start seed indoors 5 to 7 weeks before your outdoor planting date, pressing seed gently into the mix without covering it, since it needs light to germinate. Direct-seeding once the soil is workable works too, sown the same shallow way. Germination takes 10 to 14 days at around 70°F. Space plants 8 to 12 inches apart; mature plants reach 28 to 36 inches tall.
It’s hardy in zones 5-9 as a short-lived perennial, but performs best treated as an annual when planted in spring.
Harvest timing depends on the use
For fresh-cut arrangements, harvest when the flower clusters are about three-quarters open. For drying, wait until they’re almost fully open. Regular cutting for arrangements also tends to keep the plant blooming longer than leaving spent flowers on the stem.
A filler flower, not a centerpiece
Feverfew’s small, uniform blooms work best as a supporting player in a mixed bouquet rather than the star of one, filling in around larger, showier flowers the way baby’s breath does. In the garden, its bushy habit and long bloom season make it a reliable border filler too.
Feverfew has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. At 2 plants per square foot, it works well tucked between larger flowers or vegetables in the Garden Designer rather than needing dedicated space of its own.
Source: Matricaria (Feverfew): Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Feverfew · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 5-9. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2.5-3 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant feverfew, by zone
Every zone feverfew grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5a & 5b | Mar 29–Apr 5 | May 10–May 17 | Jul 29–Aug 5 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 14–Mar 21 | Apr 25–May 2 | Jul 14–Jul 21 |
| 7a & 7b | Feb 27–Mar 6 | Apr 10–Apr 17 | Jun 29–Jul 6 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 11–Feb 18 | Mar 25–Apr 1 | Jun 13–Jun 20 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 4–Jan 11 | Feb 15–Feb 22 | May 6–May 13 |
Bloom dates are about 80 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Feverfew plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 2 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2.5-3 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Magic Single' feverfew (best for: prolific, easy cutting): Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as a prolific filler flower that is easy to grow and harvest, sold as Matricaria (a botanical synonym still used in the seed trade for feverfew). (source)
- 'Snow Ball' feverfew (best for: double, button-like blooms): Johnny's Selected Seeds lists this as a prolific producer of button-like blooms, a fuller double-flowered look than the plain daisy form of Magic Single. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy feverfew seeds
Botanical Interests · True Leaf Market (each supplier's feverfew seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing feverfew" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Feverfew: A daisy-flowered, historically medicinal perennial usually grown as an annual, and a reliable cut-flower filler wherever small white blooms are useful.
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