| Common Name: Type: Family: Zone: Height: Spread: Bloom Time: Bloom Description: Sun: Water: Maintenance: Suggested Use: Flower: Leaf: Attracts: Tolerate: |
yarrow Herbaceous perennial Asteraceae 3 to 8 1.50 to 2.00 feet 1.50 to 2.00 feet June to September Dusty Red Full sun Dry to medium Low Naturalize Showy, Good Cut, Good Dried Fragrant Butterflies Deer, Drought, Dry Soil |
Best grown in lean, dry to medium, well-drained sandy loams in full sun. Plants do well in average garden soils and tolerate poor soils as long as drainage is good. Plants also tolerate hot, humid summers and drought. If grown ornamentally, plants are best sited in locations protected from strong winds. Plant stems tend to flop, particularly in hot, humid climates and/or if grown in moist, rich soils. Consider cutting back plant stems in late spring before flowering to reduce overall plant height. Cutting plants back to lateral flower buds after initial flowering will tidy the planting and encourage additional bloom. Plants may also be cut back to basal foliage after bloom. Divide clumps as needed (every 2-3 years) to maintain vitality of the planting. Plants spread aggressively by rhizomes and self-seeding, and can naturalize into substantial colonies if left unchecked.Achillea millefolium, commonly called common yarrow, is a rhizomatous, spreading, upright to mat-forming perennial that is considered by many to be an aggressive weed. Common yarrow from Europe and Asia was originally introduced to America in colonial times, and has since naturalized throughout the U. S. primarily along roadsides, fields, waste areas and lawns. These species plants are noted for producing deeply-dissected, fern-like, aromatic, medium green foliage and tiny, long-lasting, white flowers that appear in dense, flattened, compound corymbs (to 2-4” across) throughout the summer on stems typically rising 2-3’ tall. Foliage has a strong, somewhat spicy aroma that persists when used in dried arrangements. Species plants are uncommonly sold in commerce, however. It is the cultivars and hybrids of common yarrow, most of which have stronger stems, more upright habits and larger flowers, that have become popular flowering plants for ornamental gardens. Cultivars also extend the range of flower colors to include pinks, reds, creams, yellows and bicolor pastels. Achillea is in reference to Achilles, hero of the Trojan Wars in Greek mythology, who used the plant medicinally to stop bleeding and to heal the wounds of his soldiers. The specific epithet of millefolium means thousand-leaved in reference to the foliage. Common yarrow has a large number of additional common names, including milfoil, thousandleaf, soldier’s woundwort, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil’s nettle, sanguinary, old-man’s-pepper and stenchgrass. ‘Paprika’ is a spreading, mat-forming common yarrow cultivar which is noted for its deeply-dissected, fern-like, aromatic, medium green foliage and its tiny, long-lasting, dusty-red flowers with yellow centers which appear in dense, flattened, compound corymbs (to 2-3″ across) throughout the summer on stems typically rising 1.5-2′ tall. Initial flower color fades, sometimes rather quickly, to light pink, creamy yellow and brown. Foliage has a strong, somewhat spicy aroma which persists when used in dried arrangements. Millefolium means “thousand-leaf” in reference to its fern-like foliage. Although many authorities list ‘Paprika’ as one of the Galaxy Hybrids (A. millefolium x A. ‘Taygetea’), The Royal Horticultural Society Index of Garden Plants and the American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants both consider it to be a cultivar of A. millefolium. Achillea millefolium and its cultivars have a more spreading habit than some of the taller, clump-forming yarrows such as A. filipendulina. |
| Information on this page is generally from Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dave’s Garden, All things Plants, Texas Superstar, Garden.org or Aggie Horticulture |
This page last updated or reviewed [250914]