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Achillea millefolium

Common Yarrow

(Asteraceae [also known as Compositae] - Daisy Family)

Form

• medium-sized to large herbaceous perennial
• 1' to 3' tall with a similar width, with cultivars usually being 1.5' to 2' tall and wide
• upright clump, radiating clump, or sprawling and lodging clump growth habit

Culture

• full sun to partial sun
• prefers full sun in moist, well-drained soils, but is prized for its ability to flourish in poor, dry, and sterile soils that may be compacted, rocky, or sandy, in neglected sites that may also have abundant reflected heat and light
• cultivars are propagated by clump division, but the various cultivars will readily cross-pollinate and self-sow to yield seedlings of various floral shades
• Daisy Family, with no serious pest problems, but powdery mildew of the foliage and especially rot of the stems and crown are occasional diseases that are often accentuated by the density of the vigorous crown
• abundantly available in container form
• shear back the stubble and any persistent semi-evergreen foliage to the crowns in late winter or early spring, and divide at this point if necessary, to discourage crown rot and lodging during the growing season
• planting in poor soils will slow the growth rate, reduce the inflorescence height, and result in a more compact and attractive plant

Foliage

• green leaves of two types, either comprising the basal rosette or attached to the flowering stalks; both types of foliage are simple, deeply and repeatedly divided (appearing bipinnately compound), for a fern-like, fine-textured appearance, and aromatic when bruised
• basal leaf blades occur on long petioles, up to 1 foot long overall, and arch outward from the dense clump
• basal foliage may be semi-evergreen in mild Winters, but is not ornamentally attractive in Winter
• upper leaves alternate along the flowering stalks, being sessile and increasingly shorter towards the apex

Flowers

• wide, flat-topped inflorescences are composed of many small, composite flowers for a fine-textured appeal
• flowers of the species form and its cultivars are white, pink, or red, but hybrids of other species with this species (especially the Galaxy Hybrids) expand the floral palette to include cream, yellow, salmon, orange, and mauve, in addition to white, pink, and red
• flowers may lodge easily, but if planted at the rear of the perennial bed, around taller perennials, or in naturalized areas, this is not as serious of a problem
• one of the best cut flowers, the periodic harvest of which will take care of the lodging problem and also promote rebloom throughout the summer
• primary bloom period is mid-summer, with sporadic rebloom after the initial flush, especially if regular deadheading is practiced

Fruits

• small dried fruits will accumulate throughout the summer, and should be removed before they reach this state to promote tidyness and rebloom

ID Summary

• perennial with a large clump of dense, fine-textured, cut leaf, basal foliage, with summer-blooming, flat-topped inflorescences on long stalks that make excellent cut flowers, in a wide range of warm and cool floral colors (no blues or purples, but virtually every other color)

Function

• rear of perennial beds, borders, embankments, meadows, fields, or any naturalized area in full sun

Texture

• fine texture in foliage, but medium texture overall when in bloom (due to size and growth habit)
• thick density overall, although lodging floral stalks often create an open center

Assets

• excellent cut flower
• long summer bloom period, often with the potential for rebloom if regularly deadheaded
• thrives in poor soils (sterile, sandy, clay, compacted, and/or rocky) under hot, dry conditions
• many warm and cool inflorescence colors to choose from
• cut leaf and ferny-looking basal foliage

Liabilities

• many selections lodge (fall over) when in bloom, due to the height of the flowering stalks, and may become entangled in nearby plants
• disease potential of stem and crown rot
• crown often needs division every two to three years

Habitat

• zones 4 to 8
• native to Western Asia and Europe

Variants

• some of the listed cultivars of Common Yarrow below are actually hybrids with other species, especially the popular Galaxy Hybrids (whose other parent is Achillea taygetea):
• Achillea millefolium 'Apple Blossom' - soft rosy-pink inflorescences, to 3 feet tall
• Achillea millefolium 'Fireland' - orange-red inflorescences with yellow centers, fading to orange and gold, to 2 feet tall
• Achillea millefolium 'Heidi' - salmon-pink inflorescences with light yellow centers, to 1.5 feet tall
• Achillea millefolium 'Paprika' - cherry-red inflorescences with gold centers, 1.5 to 2 feet tall
• Achillea millefolium 'Red Beauty' - carmine-red inflorescences, to 2 feet tall
• Achillea millefolium 'Summer Pastels' - a series that includes inflorescences with cream, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, red, mauve, orange, and white floral colors, to 2 feet tall.
• Achillea millefolium 'Terra Cotta' - orange-gold, earth-tone inflorescences, to 2.5 feet tall
• other popular Yarrows include:
  • Achillea 'Anthea' - light lemon-yellow inflorescences, to 2.5 feet tall
  • Achillea 'Moonshine' - golden-yellow inflorescences, to 1.5 feet tall, with silvery-gray foliage; perhaps the standard among the Yarrows
  • Achillea ptarmica 'The Pearl' - double-white, Baby's Breath type of inflorescences, to 2' tall

Purpose

• Common Yarrow is an excellent perennial for naturalized areas, rear of the bed placement, or cut flowers.

Summary

• Achillea is a medium- to large sized, vigorous perennial that loves poor, dry soils, has an extended summer bloom period of long-stemmed inflorescences in a wide variety of colors, but is prone to lodging; these traits make it an excellent cut flower from plantings at the rear of the perennial bed or in naturalized situations.

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