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Yard Maintenance
How to Care for a Yarrow Plant
How to Care for a Yarrow Plant. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an easy-care perennial that's native to fields and roadsides in Europe and Asia. It prefers full sun and poor soil, and is drought-tolerant once established.This makes yarrow plants extremely easy to care for, since it does not need fertilizer or extra water. Yarrow grows 2 to 4 feet...
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an easy-care perennial that's native to fields and roadsides in Europe and Asia. It prefers full sun and poor soil, and is drought-tolerant once established.This makes yarrow plants extremely easy to care for, since it does not need fertilizer or extra water. Yarrow grows 2 to 4 feet tall, and has soft, lacy, aromatic foliage and large, flat-topped clusters of tiny flowers in yellow, white, pink and red, which make good cut flowers and can also be dried. In Europe, yarrow is considered a weed, but in Asia, it is more respected, as its dried stems are used in I Ching divination.
Things You'll Need
Stakes
Shovel or trowel
Plant young yarrow plants in spring, 1 to 2 feet apart, depending on the size of the particular variety you are planting (follow recommended spacing on plant labels). Choose a sunny, dry spot.
Sow yarrow seeds either outdoors or indoors for later transplanting. Seeds germinate in two weeks outdoors, once temperatures reach 65 degrees F, or in one week indoors. Seeds need light to germinate, so lay them on the soil's surface.
Once they grow taller, stake stems of tall varieties so they are not knocked over by wind and rain. (Choose shorter varieties if you don't want to bother with staking.) Slide stakes into the ground next to the plant, and tie the stem to the stake with string, twist-ties or old nylon stockings. Use a figure-eight shape to keep the plant stem from actually touching the stake.
Their first year in the ground, provide young yarrow plants or seedlings with extra watering in times of low rainfall (less than 1 inch a week). By their second year, yarrow should not need extra watering, and may actually be harmed by over-watering, as established yarrow plants prefer dry conditions.
Divide yarrow plants every three or four years as new growth begins in spring. Lift plants from the ground, divide them into clumps and replant. This helps keep plants vigorous.
After the first severe frost, cut stems back to 1 or 2 inches above the soil.
Tips & Warnings
Flowers bloom from midsummer to fall. Blooming can be prolonged by deadheading (cutting off the dead flower heads).
Yarrow spreads by rhizomes (underground stems), and may become invasive.
Yarrow is susceptible to powdery mildew, a harmless but unattractive powdery white deposit on leaves, in humid conditions. Dividing the plant to increase air circulation around its stems and leaves may help prevent this.
