Yarrow

Achillea Millefolium

Yarrow, a member of the aster family, is closely related to chrysanthemums and chamomile. It is a perennial herb. It flourishes in a sunny and warm habitat, and is frequently found in meadows and along roadsides, as well as on dry, sunny slopes. It grows as a simple, upright, and hairy stem, usually under 3 feet. Yarrow flowers from June to September, the flowers, white or pale lilac, being like minute daisies, in flattened, terminal, loose heads, or cymes. The petals are densely arranged in flattened clusters, and the leaves look like feathers. The plant spreads rapidly. It is found worldwide and grows almost in all places. The plant can be found flourishing in waste lands, countryside, meadows, pastures, edges of the railway tracks, along the highways and in many other places where it is most unlikely to be plucked primarily owing to the chemical spraying done in those areas to keep the weeds out.

Yarrow has many uses. It is medicinal, makes a lovely cut flower, they are good flowers to dry and add to your arrangements. The whole plant is more or less hairy, with white, silky appressed hairs. It is named for the great Greek leader of warriors in the Trojan War, who bound the wounds of his warriors with yarrow to staunch the flow of their blood—ancient testimony to the herb's astringent and antiseptic properties.

Even the horticultural selections of yarrow are vigorous and strong growers, adaptable to a wide variety of soils and growing conditions, and likely to spread. Yarrow does best on poor soils and longevity and flowering are likely to suffer if fertilizer is used. Divide every couple years to maintain vigor and to keep the plants in bounds. Common yarrow may require staking.  Grow yarrow in well drained soil but water regularly. The species and many of the cultivars are resistant to drought once established.

Propagate yarrow by division in early spring or autumn. Seeds can be planted, but even those available from the seed companies are likely to yield plants with great variability in flower color and other characteristics.

Yarrows are well suited to the wildflower garden where they can be allowed to spread a little, as they surely will. The taller cultivars are good in the mixed perennial border, and are excellent when massed. Spaced at 2 ft intervals, a stand of yarrow should produce an unbroken mat within one year. The soft, lacy foliage makes an interesting and beautiful groundcover. The flowerheads are used in arrangements, fresh and dried. If picked at their peak and dried quickly, they will retain their color.

Yarrow is also used to fill in green spaces and replace more care intensive lawn grass. Yarrow is a perennial flower whose roots grows underground and may appear to some as a weed. Yarrow plants can withstand full sun and grow on the shallow surface area of soils. Yarrow efficiently resists dying by its drought resistant properties and underground spreading. This makes it the perfect companion plant for any garden or green space.

Yarrow makes an aromatic all-purpose addition to any garden. Yarrow makes a nice salad herb and can also be used in a potpourri or soup infusion root bundle. Yarrow’s pleasant appearance and effective botanical health properties make it a welcome addition to garden or home for aesthetic enjoyment or practical use.

Common yarrow has been used as a salad green, beer additive, wound dressing, astringent, antidepressant, stimulant, antispasmodic, fever reducer, blood pressure reducer, perspiration inducer and baldness preventer for centuries. Yarrow has been called "nose bleed" because it was used to induce nose bleeding as a way to cure a headache, but it also was used to stop bleeding, including nose bleeds! Held against a wound, yarrow is supposed to stem the bleeding and disinfect.