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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If the yarrow has grown spindly, you need to cut them back and they will re-bloom. Also, it is probably time to "divide" your yarrow. Wait until after bloom to divide them. Dig up the clump. Divide it in half with a sharp spade and then divide in half again. Replant each division and water often and deeply to re-establish your yarrow.
My yellow yarrow has white blooms this year, why?
Our guess is that your yarrow was bred for color. Now the hybrid is naturalizing and returning to its original color--white.
In legend, yarrow was indeed white and used for traditional medicines.
when is a good time to cut your yarrow flowers for drying and will i get a second round of flowers? also how far back can i cut the plant? thank you
Yes, yarrow may benefit from aggressively cutting back to the leaves at the bottom of the plant after flowering.
If you wish to harvest yarrow, then cut the stalks when half the flowers have opened and before any flowers have started to fade. Then strip leaves from stems. For drying, let them sit in the vase without water until they are completely dry. Or, hang the stripped stems upside down in a cool, well-ventilated place until dry.
Hi, I planted my yarrow last summer in zone 3 (Calgary, AB). It seemed to be doing fine, and it popped up this spring, but then it stopped growing and the leaves started dying before it got very high. They just kind of turned brown and wilted away. Any idea what's causing this? I see no sign of bugs.
If you don't see any bugs you may have a rust fungus that causes the leaves to turn brown. Powdery mildew will also turn foliage brown.
OK...plant has been healthy and happy in her spot. Giving me Fall color even. Do I need to do anything for her before the temperature drops. We have a rather wet Fall right now but we do get some dumps of snow and colder winds. Campbell River, Vancouver Island.
can the seeds be but in the ground in the fall and covered with cloth for winter? also is this plant good for oil extraction? thanks
Hi Denise,
Yarrow is best planted in the spring. See our planting instructions on this page. And yes, you can extract oil from the yarrow flowers.
