Achillea millefolium
Common Yarrow
Common names: Field Yarrow, Thousand-leaf
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 25 cm, rows 30 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Apr, May, Sep
- Harvest
- Jun–Sep
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Low
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: O. Pichard · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Yarrow has finely feathery leaves and flat white flower spikes that attract countless beneficial insects from June to September. In the garden it serves as both a soil improver and a medicinal herb, an all‑purpose plant for lean, sunny spots.
Care instructions
Sow as a light‑seeding crop in early April, spreading seeds thinly, or plant in a fully sunny, well‑drained location. It tolerates drought easily and requires no fertilization, over‑fertilizing can even cause it to topple. After the first flowering, cut back the plant; it will bloom again in late summer.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May, Sep
HarvestJun–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lean, dry
Yarrow is exceptionally tolerant of soil and grows on sandy loam as well as medium-heavy soils, as long as water drains away well. Waterlogging is the only real reason to rule it out. Give it a free-draining, rather lean site: on soils that are too rich and high in nitrogen it grows soft and flops easily.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar
In spring, a thin layer of mature compost around the plant is enough for the whole season; on normal garden soils you can often even leave that out. Only if it struggles on very depleted soil, rake in a little horn shavings shallowly. Go easy on nitrogen: too much of it encourages flopping shoots instead of upright flower heads.
Overwintering
Common yarrow is completely hardy and needs no winter protection in the lowlands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Leave the faded stems standing over winter, as they offer insects shelter, and cut the old shoots back close to the ground only shortly before new growth in spring; make sure the soil is free-draining, because waterlogging harms it more than frost.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
- Cuttings
Division (the easiest method): Every 3–4 years, dig up established plants in spring (March/April) or autumn (September/October) and divide the rootstock into several sections with a sharp spade. Each piece needs its own shoots and roots. Replant the pieces straight away and water them in well. This keeps the variety and rejuvenates the plant.
Sowing: Yarrow needs light to germinate; scatter the seeds directly in the bed from April to June and press them down only lightly, without covering them with soil. For an earlier start you can sow in seed trays on the windowsill from March; plant the young plants out after the Ice Saints (mid-May). Germination takes 14–21 days at about 18–21 degrees. The pure wild species comes reliably true from seed; named ornamental varieties may differ.
Cuttings (ornamental varieties that come true): In May/early June, cut non-flowering shoot tips 5–8 cm long, remove the lower leaves and insert them into moist seed compost. Keep the soil evenly moist and put the pots in a bright place, but not in blazing sun. After a few weeks the cuttings have rooted and can be planted in the bed.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Common Yarrow yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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