How to Grow Yarrow: The Complete Yarrow Flower Guide

I worked as an intern at a place where we planted yarrow (and other native plants in the area). The soil had never been cultivated before, as there was a lot of clay and rocks instead of just dirt. The yarrow seems to be doing extremely well, and has grown a lot since the time I planted them in. It should be fine, but I'm not too sure if different types of clay make any difference. a

I saw a similar article - it says Yarrow is among the clay-busting plants to grow in the garden.

Debra, This comment is from the article: "...Yarrow performs best in well-drained soil. It thrives in hot, dry conditions; it will not tolerate soil that’s constantly wet. Loamy soil is recommended, but yarrow can also be grown in clay soil as long as it does not stay saturated with water all the time..."

If you are harvesting fresh yarrow leaves and they have any moisture on them, you have to let them dry out before using.  So, if your yarrow is dusty, you can certainly wash it lightly, but then it needs to dry out. The dried aromatic leaves can be used to make a tea but we would add mint or it can be quite a bitter tea, often used as a cold remedy. 

I would advise cutting back any damaged, broken, or dead stems and letting the new growth take over. Try to cut back to just above a leaf. This will help to encourage the plants to branch out and potentially produce more flowers.

See above: Yarrow thrives in heat. Safe travels!

When the flowers begin to fade, you can cut them off (a.k.a. "deadhead") to encourage the plant to bloom again. Depending on your climate and the length of your growing season, the yarrow may put out more flowers this season. Alternatively, you can leave the fading flowers on the plants to give your garden some texture in the winter months. Note that yarrow will not hesitate to spread if you allow it to go to seed, however! So if you prefer to keep your yarrow contained, then you should remove the flowers once they start to fade.

Can we save dried branches and flower heads that have been left alone in the ground and just dried up?

You must have left some of the rizomes (sp).. That's how the multipy.

Yarrow really does best in full sun in a site where it's not too windy. At minimum, it must be started in full sun. In shade, it will grow, but it becomes tall and floppy, and doesn't bloom much. You often have to stake.

Yarrow thrives in hot, dry conditions with low soil fertility–sometimes container conditions are a bit too rich for its liking.

If they're in small seed-starting pods, you could carefully transplant them to larger peat pots for the rest of the indoor period. Alternatively, and depending on the weather, you could start hardening them off outdoors during the next two weeks, then plant them in the ground, keeping a close eye on the weather forecast. Keep them covered at night until the danger of a hard frost has passed; they can survive a light frost if they're sufficiently hardened off. https://www.almanac.com/video/how-harden-plants">Here's some more info about hardening off seedlings.

Do you see any bugs or holes in the leaves? If not, some varieties of yarrow hold their color better than others. After bloom, the yarrow will turn brown. You can try cutting them down to see if you'll get a new round of flowers.

Hi Dusty,

It sounds like the cultural conditions are ideal for your plants, so I wonder if the nursery staff cut the plants back a bit before you bought them. That is a common practice in nurseries and greenhouses--it keeps plants from getting rangy. That could have delayed bloom time, but since they sound nice and healthy, my guess is you will see blooms in two or three weeks that should--with a little deadheading--last through the fall. Fingers crossed!

It is not an ideal time to transplant yarrow, but you can try. And remember that yarrow does not like wet soil, so resist the urge to overwater after planting in the new garden. Some plants take longer to adapt to new locations, so keep an eye on it. Give it at least a few weeks to get acclimated. If flower stalks start to die back, cut those off at the base.

Hi Virginia,

Hold off on cutting it back. It may perk back up yet. It could be experiencing transplant shock; cutting it would be adding salt to the wound. Some plants take longer to adapt to new conditions. Give it a few weeks to get acclimated. If flower stalks start to die back, cut those off at the base.

Hi Kate,

First, it is not all that surprising that your heuchera petered out; they are apt to do that unless extremely happy with the growing conditions (they typically thrive in a woodland setting with lots of dappled light). In fact, many of today's popular cultivars behave like short-lived perennials. The best thing to do is replace it with a hardier variety. (The yellow, amber, and lime green cultivars seem especially tender; go for purple and true green species.) As for the yarrow, it's a guess that it is a water-related issue. Yarrow thrives in hot, dry conditions with low soil fertility--sometimes container conditions are a bit too rich for its liking.

Yes, you should prune the flowersdown to basal foliage once the bloom is completed. You should get more blooms, and yarrow blooms from mid- to late summer.

Hi, Linda, From what we can glean, this is a low grower, a carpet plant unlike the taller types grown as border perennials. It is described as developing a woolly green mass an inch or two high, with 6-inch flower stems in early to mid summer. It does well in a rock garden (that means it can take the heat), prefers dry to wet (it's drought tolerant), and can take light foot traffic; it's does just ok as a container plant, according to one source (of course it was probably in a container when you bought it). Th squirrels may have had a paw in it's demise, too.

Our best advice is to start over . . . Better luck!

It's recommended to cut stems back to an inch or two above soil line after the first killing frost in the fall. If you live in a climate without frost you can prune the plants back in early spring before they start budding.

Hi, Jeshua, Stem rot, powdery mildew and rust are occasional problems that beset yarrow. Botrytis (gray mold), which attacks buds, flowers, leaves, and stems can be the problem.

Avoid planting in windy areas or in soil that it too rich; it tolerates lean to poor soil and doesn't thrive in moist, rich fertile soils. Give the plants plenty of sun. Divide ovecrowded clumps.

We hope this helps.

Yarrow really does grow best in full sun. It needs at least 4 hours of direction sunlight even there are parts of the day with partial shade

With many yarrow varieties, the colors do tend to fade over time. If you want cut flowers, pick them before they brown. To extend their color and bloom, pinch off the fading blossoms. Also, you could severely cut back the foliage.

Yarrow is a vigorous grower. It's recommended that you divide every few years just to keep it looking healthy. It won't die but it may not look as good. You'll just have to see how it looks and play it by ear.

Hi, Amanda: Sure. Gently. Thanks for caring!

Yes, Yarrow does attract butterflies. Here is a list of more plants which attract butterflies:

http://www.almanac.com/content/plants-attract-butterflies">http://www.almanac.com/content/plants-attract-butterflies

If the yarrow has grown spindly, you need to cut them back and they will re-bloom. Also, it is probably time to "divide" your yarrow. Wait until after bloom to divide them. Dig up the clump. Divide it in half with a sharp spade and then divide in half again. Replant each division and water often and deeply to re-establish your yarrow.

Our guess is that your yarrow was bred for color. Now the hybrid is naturalizing and returning to its original color--white.

In legend, yarrow was indeed white and used for traditional medicines.
 

Yes, yarrow may benefit from aggressively cutting back to the leaves at the bottom of the plant after flowering. 

If you wish to harvest yarrow, then cut the stalks when half the flowers have opened and before any flowers have started to fade. Then strip leaves from stems. For drying, let them sit in the vase without water until they are completely dry. Or, hang the stripped stems upside down in a cool, well-ventilated place until dry.

If you don't see any bugs you may have a rust fungus that causes the leaves to turn brown. Powdery mildew will also turn foliage brown.

Hi Denise,

Yarrow is best planted in the spring. See our planting instructions on this page. And yes, you can extract oil from the yarrow flowers.

Yarrow is a hardy perennial and is likely to come back.

Do you see any bugs or holes in the leaves? If not, some varieties of yarrow hold their color better than others. After bloom, the yarrow will turn brown. You can try cutting it down to see if you'll get a new round of flowers or replace with annuals.

Yarrow is a hardy perennial and can be planted in the fall or spring. Now is a good time to plant if you can find plants at the nursery.