Yarrow can come in a bright yellow variety, but it can also be red or pink.
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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Yarrow Plants
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a native North American plant that is popular with pollinators and practically carefree, making it perfect for borders, ground covers, and open meadows. Here’s how to grow yarrow flowers in your garden!
About Yarrow
Sold as a hardy and versatile perennial, yarrow has showy flower heads composed of many tiny, tightly-packed flowers rising above clusters of ferny foliage. The flowers may be yellow, red, pink, or any shade in between. Yarrow is pest-resistant, drought-resistant, attracts butterflies, and is excellent for cutting and drying.
The plant is also an aromatic herb that has many healing properties! See this wonderful article, Yarrow and Its Medicinal Uses.
Planting
When to Plant Yarrow
- Plant in the spring or early summer after the danger of frost has passed. See local frost dates.
- If you plant yarrow from tip cuttings, plant them in spring or early summer.
Choosing a Preparing a Planting Site
- Plant in an area that receives full sun to encourage compact growth and many flowers. In partial sun or shade, yarrow tends to grow leggy.
- Yarrow performs best in well-drained soil. It thrives in hot, dry conditions; it will not tolerate constantly wet soil. Loamy soil is recommended, but yarrow can also be grown in clay soil as long as it does not always stay saturated with water.
- Use a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil in your garden to about 12 to 15 inches deep, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.
- If you grow yarrow in soil that is too rich, the plants may require staking due to overenthusiastic growth. To keep it from growing too tall, choose a site with average to poor soil and supplement it with some compost to give the plants a good start.
How to Plant Yarrow
- Space the plants 1 to 2 feet apart.
- They are quick to establish and spread, though some species, like Achillea millefolium, are extra-aggressive growers, so be careful when choosing your plants. Most kinds grow to be about 2 to 4 feet tall.
Growing
How to Grow Yarrow
- Add a thin layer of compost around your plants each spring to keep them fed.
- Yarrow is very drought tolerant, but if you receive less than 1 inch of rain a week in the summer, remember to water your plants to keep them looking their best.
- Cut off “deadhead” flowers when they start to fade in mid-summer; this encourages most varieties to produce another round of flowers.
- Divide yarrow plants every 3 to 5 years to sustain vigorous, healthy plants. Lift the clumps in early spring or fall and remove any dead stems from the center of the clump. You can replant the divisions elsewhere in the garden or share with a friend!
Catherine Boeckmann
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My yarrow began as yellow this year but faded to a light tan color very quickly. My pink yarrow did the same. Any ideas why that might have happened?
With many yarrow varieties, the colors do tend to fade over time. If you want cut flowers, pick them before they brown. To extend their color and bloom, pinch off the fading blossoms. Also, you could severely cut back the foliage.
I put in yellow yarrow (and blanket flowers) on a small slope. I want to keep them and hoping I can get away with a lack of dividing them since the slope is a retaining wall kinda.if I don't divide them will they die? I assume so but my fingers are crossed..............
Yarrow is a vigorous grower. It's recommended that you divide every few years just to keep it looking healthy. It won't die but it may not look as good. You'll just have to see how it looks and play it by ear.
Some of my yarrow flower heads are hanging upside down. I know that the ground is moist since we had recent rain and I don't see any noticeable insects. What can this be? Is there anything I can do about it?
My yarrow is growing all over garden can I gently tie it back without hurting it ?
Hi, Amanda: Sure. Gently. Thanks for caring!
Is yarrow a good butterfly perennial? Or stick with milkweed?
Yes, Yarrow does attract butterflies. Here is a list of more plants which attract butterflies:
http://www.almanac.com/content/plants-attract-butterflies
My yarrow has been planted for several years, and has done good, not real well. This year the the flower stems seem to be long and spindly and are having a hard time holding the tops of the flower heads upright. They are all bending over. Am I watering it too much? Why won't these stems stand up this year?
