Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
organic_kitten

Question, Do you use yarrow in your garden?

organic_kitten
10 years ago

I was looking at Thinman's new bed, and wondered how many of you use yarrow in your garden. I used to have white yarrow, but found it invasive and confine it to a pot, but I really like Paprika yarrow. It is easy to pull out anywhere it grows that you don't like, and it blooms most of the spring, summer and fall with little time off.

I have it around the birdbath.


{{gwi:673284}}

{{gwi:673286}}

So, do you use any yarrow in your garden, and if so which color(s)?

kay

Comments (34)

  • girlgroupgirl
    10 years ago

    Right now I have some sort of dwarf purpleish blooming yarrow gifted to me in a GW trade a few years ago. It blooms for a short period only in early summer. I also have cerise yarrow grown from seed. I have it around all of my fruit trees as I'm starting to guild them, in the circle garden, and around the front fire hydrant simply because it seems the fireman can't kill it when they use the hydrant. :) I told them it was the one plant they didn't have to worry about.
    I've had paprika and a few other types but they either melted out or were stolen (our neighborhood has a plant thief, we even know the house stuff goes too but can't do anything about it!!!! I also had "Love Parade" pink yarrow at one time but it was way too floppy in this clay in the heat of summer with dry soil.....yours is beautiful! I bet it's really super eye catching when those yellow daylilies open!!

  • luckygal
    10 years ago

    I adore the colored yarrows and Paprika is very pretty. Years ago I planted an entire package of cerise colored yarrow and over the years it probably mixed with the wild white so had every shade from cerise to beige. DH used to pull any that were not a pretty pink or darker. I let it take over an entire area of my garden along with other self-seeders. However last year I removed many self-seeders from my garden so only have a few yarrow plants left and I'm waiting to see what color they are. Only the darkest pinks will stay. I also had a really nice well-behaved yellow yarrow that never seemed to seed or even spread too much. Unfortunately last year one of my garden helpers weeded it out.

    I'm thinking about seeding more as there are so many different colors now. There are some pretty ones on the link below.

    We have the wild yarrow on our land but I remove it when it seeds into my garden as it's a very weedy plant when compared with the cultivated ones.

    Here is a link that might be useful: many varieties of yarrow

  • silverkelt
    10 years ago

    I grow appleblossom yarrow, I always tell myself Im going to buy a new mix to grow from seed, but kind of forget every year.. yarrow is a very care free plant.

    {{gwi:426760}}

  • trovesoftrilliums
    10 years ago

    I was just eyeing a big clump of yarrow that I started from seed last year (mixed pastels). I thought this year I'd pull out colors I didn't care for. It already is spreading quite a bit though so now I am reconsidering keeping any. I also have Paprika and it is not such a rampant spreader. They aren't flowering yet....I think I will let them flower, be sure to dead head, and then decide about where to put them or if to keep them.

    I just started some Achillea The Pearl from seed. No idea what kind of a spreader it is but I could use some white in the garden and for bouquets.

    I am starting to get a bit concerned about spreaders. Monarda seems to be popping up all over the place and anemone sylvestris, lovely as it is, is weaving in between many plants.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    10 years ago

    I have the white and a pink in the orchard (is there such a thing as wild yarrow?) and a yellow up in the garden. The yellow was planted last Spring and didn't bloom in the summer, this year the plant looks very healthy so hopefully I'll see some bloom.

    Have planted other colors of Yarrow and had no luck keeping it. Like girlgroupgirl's, it seems to just disappear. In fact I've tried the Paprika twice. Maybe I should direct sow seed instead of planting the transplants?

  • organic_kitten
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Since I live n a hot humid climate, it is probably fairly bulletproof. I did manage to lost a lavender type. I think I may try that appleblossom, Silverkelt. It is quite lovely.

    Thanks for the link, Luckygal.
    kay

  • plantmaven
    10 years ago

    I have the cerise. As the blooms age they turn pinkish beige. I have had it about 6 years and it is not invasive.

  • hosenemesis
    10 years ago

    I love Moonglow. I have grown Paprika and I have some white yarrow, but Moonglow, with its fine gray foliage and good plant habits, is my favorite.

  • ripley529
    10 years ago

    I have this red color I like, and I have pink and peach. Was thinking I need a good yellow. Yarrow does well in my zone and it is so easy to take a piece and move it around the gardens.

  • luckygal
    10 years ago

    Schoolhouse, there is a wild yarrow and we have it all over our land. In fact after we bought the property before we built our house and lived here I used to visit and walk around and seed it! How foolish but at the time I thought it was a pretty wild flower. It's a real weed and not as pretty as the cultivated types. It's shorter and the heads are not as large.

    Pretty pics, y'all!

  • ilovemyroses
    10 years ago

    I have been a bit afraid, but tempted. A friend has it ALL OVER her yard, in the grass...everywhere. rampant. but, i saw a pretty pale pink that really tempted me. need to research more about which ones spread rampantly and which don't. (i don't do much yellow and red, darn, the paprika is sure pretty!) If anyone knows the latin name, or any info on this, DO TELL!!

    i like it, but don't want to fight anything, as my time is fully invested in ridding my plot of bermuda.

  • Annie
    10 years ago

    We have a wild Yarrow here in Central Oklahoma. It grows tall and stately. It is mostly white, but occasionally you can find a very rare pale lilac. I love it and let it grow where it may. At one time I had several lilacs of various shades.

    I have a very tall cultivar called, "Coronation Gold'.. It is getting ready to bloom right now. As the name suggests, it is a deep golden yellow. I have had it for about 15 years.

    I want to get other colours. Love Yarrow.

    This picture is of a garden in France - not mine. You can see all the various colours and combinations of Yarrow she grew together. The yellow-gold one is 'Coronation Gold' like I have.

    ~Annie

  • schoolhouse_gw
    10 years ago

    Ok, couldn't resist. Saw a "Terracotta" yarrow at a nursery and bought it. Let's see what happens.

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    10 years ago

    We planted a Red Velvet yarrow last year that unfortunately looks little like the other photos. It stayed green through our mild winter and has set a mass of buds this month. Problem is that the stems are collapsing as they bloom. Noticed in an older thread that others have had this problem with Red Velvet, so may try another cultivar. Really like the foliage and flowers, but need something in this spot that will not require staking to stay upright.

  • trovesoftrilliums
    10 years ago

    Last year toward the end of the summer I put a peony ring around my yarrow paprika as it did eventually get a bit leggy. This year I'm going to try pinching it back more.

  • onederw
    10 years ago

    I'm an achillea phobe, I fear. I know I'm supposed to like it, but it makes me itch something fierce.

    K

  • Calamity_J
    10 years ago

    I have a yellow and a pink...and will now NEED a red!!!ha!

  • eclecticcottage
    10 years ago

    Yay, I picked up a paprika earlier this year and I can't wait for it to look like that!

  • valree3
    10 years ago

    Love yarrow in my garden! The deer don't like to eat this pretty plant but the damn voles loved mine this winter. I have paprika, walter funcke and moonshine. I also use a peony ring to help keep it upright.

  • organic_kitten
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Valree, if you have voles, the voracious critters are easy to get rid of after all. Get a bottle of castor oil and add equal amounts of castor oil and dish soap and dilute with water and spray wherever they are or in areas you want to protect. Gardens Alive has a product that is dry and easy to scatter. It is supposed to be used to get rid of moles, but it works for voles too.
    kay

  • flora_uk
    10 years ago

    Regarding the flopping habit, I wonder if it is due to feeding? In the wild yarrow grows in pretty rough places and doesn't need rich soil. Just a thought. I don't grow it. But it is a common wild flower here.

  • ginny12
    10 years ago

    I used to grow Coronation Gold but my soil is now rich and moist and my garden has become too shady. As Flora_UK pointed out, yarrow likes waste places--full sun, dry soil, lean soil.

    Coronation Gold was very popular about 25 years ago and was a great flower for drying for dried bouquets. I miss it.

    A white yarrow is one of our most common wild flowers in the eastern US.

  • bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
    10 years ago

    Regarding the flopping habit, I wonder if it is due to feeding?

    Not in the case of our Red Velvet, though the local blackland prairie clay may be more fertile than this cultivar requires. It's shaded by the fence by mid-afternoon, so less than full day of sun may also contribute to lank growth. Though suspect these conditions just accentuate a natural floppy habit.

    Another GW thread suggested looking up the Chicago Botanic Garden performance report on cultivated yarrows which I've linked below. More than half of the forty or so evaluated cultivars had a "flopping" habit. I'm thinking of giving one of the more erect varieties a try and moving the the Red Velvet to a location with more space (and a peony ring).

    Here is a link that might be useful: A performance report of cultivated yarrows (Achillea)

  • t-bird
    10 years ago

    Hi all, Do any of you know if the medicinal qualities of yarrow are consistent amongst the cultivars?

  • t-bird
    10 years ago

    I got really excited with all the pics - totally want moonglow and apple blossom - can't see seeds for sale anywhere!

    how'd you all get them?

  • schoolhouse_gw
    10 years ago

    Here is the Terra Cotta I bought a short time ago. It's doing very well so far, nice color.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    10 years ago

    You can just make it out on the left, behind the Blue Caryopteris (not in bloom yet). The yarrow really does have yellow blooms with some turning orange.

    {{gwi:673293}}

  • organic_kitten
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Xuan, That is a lovely color. I would love to have that color here as that is one of my favorite colors in plants. thank you for sharing it.
    kay

  • grandmachris
    10 years ago

    When I read Annie's posting about Coronation Gold, I was attacked by nostalgia. Our daughter's wedding celebration was held in our garden on July 2, 1988. It was the last day that summer that we saw green grass. Our long full sun border was highlighted with Coronation Gold and edged with lamb's ears, and a variety of short artemesias. Ladybells were blooming but daylilies had not yet begun yet. I got my start of CG from my mom and we used to just put the stalks in a jar and let them dry for winter bouquets. That same garden bed is now, 25 years later, quite shady. CG is gone, cerise yarrow still appears in the small area which has part sun. There are 2 clumps of lamb's ears.
    Ladybells still survive and right today campanula glomerata is going gang busters.

    In the parking lot garden where I grow yarrows, salvias, and nepata I have yarrow Anthea (pale yellow tall) and Moonglow. I did have two tall orphans I bought for 25 cents each after bloom time at Lowe's. One was a peach and the other a lovely warm pink. They're now among the missing but divisions of them are filling the church perennial garden so I will get them back. I love yarrows, salvias, sedums together.

    After a lot of computer nonsense I am now able to get back on gardenweb. It's amazing how much good stuff I find in my three forums after a 2-3 week vacation! Thank you all.

    Chris

  • Rivkahkay123
    10 years ago

    I have Yarrow in a pot and I am wondering if I can grow it in a container in my garden? I don't know the correct species name but it is the one that has white flowers.

    Does it need full sun or can it bloom in partial shade? How much water?

    Thanks,
    Rivkah

  • mnwsgal
    10 years ago

    There are many white varieties of yarrow including the common one that grows wild and spreads.

    I grow 'Moonshine' which stays in a nice clump with fragrant silvery leaves and blooms all summer through fall.

    Paprika continues to bloom even though I have it in a part sun location, behind my garage. Your photo o.kitten encourages me to find it a full sun location.

    Cornation Gold did not survive the winter for me. I need to try it again. I was new to yarrow and probably didn't treat it correctly.

    I pulled out the white and other seed grown ones that spread except for a small piece of lavender which keeps coming back and doesn't self seed much.

    A favorite combination 'The Pearl' and purple liatris. I plan for the floppiness. No idea if it self seeds as I keep it deadheaded. Don't like the look of the browning blossoms.

  • organic_kitten
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I have never tried yarrow in shade, but mine in full sun does very well, Rivkah.

    There are a lot of blossoms on yarrow, so deadheading can keep you busy...I usually just use hedge clippers an trim a swath at the time.

    kay

  • schoolhouse_gw
    10 years ago

    My terra cotta started off great, then became bullied by the tall Phlox and I think has virtually disappeared. The yellow still hasn't bloomed. Is the same size as when I planted it.

Sponsored
Jewel Marie Interiors
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars2 Reviews
Luxury Interior Design Services | Northern Virginia