Flower Focus: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow is a must-have perennial. It is deer and drought resistant, pollinator friendly, and naturalizes easily (which means it can grow on it’s own and produce a new generation without human assistance).
At Sweet Earth Co. farm it is an early summer workhorse we count on to bring filler blooms to our bouquets and its medicinal herb properties to our teas. For our landscape clients, it’s ideal for cottage, pollinator, meadow, and low-maintenance xeriscape gardens.
The Basics
Pronounced: “Yaa-row”
Zone: 3-9, perennial
Bloom Time: Late spring, early summer
Needs: Full sun, dry to medium water
Size: 2-3’ tall x 2-3’ wide
What Does It Look Like?
With cultivars available in a variety of colors, yarrow has long straight stems, dainty, fern-like foliage, with each stem producing multiple clusters of tiny flowers, called corymbs, which create a flat-headed appearance.
How We Grow It
At Sweet Earth Co., our bright pink cultivar yarrow grows in our front garden, in bright sun, without irrigation. Our original plantings have multiplied over time, given the rhizomatous spreading habit of yarrow’s roots.
Once established, yarrow is a pretty maintenance free flower, though we like to cut it back in mid-summer in order to promote a second flush of flowers after the first has come and gone. It’s good practice to divide the plantings every three to five years.
How We Use It
Yarrow is a great cut flower — where is it the perfect colorful bouquet filler, as well as a wonderful dried flower. Just make sure to harvest once all the little flowers have opened, to avoid drooping.
Also known for it’s extensive medicinal properties, yarrow’s scientific name Achillea comes from the Greek warrior Achilles, who legend says carried yarrow with him to stop bleeding and heal soldiers during the Trojan war.
Here are some of our favorite healing ways to use yarrow:
Wound Care
Yarrow is a great antiseptic helping to keep wounds clean and prevent infection. It is also an anodyne (with anti-inflammatory and painkilling properties), and can be used to relieve pain associated with wounds.
Controlling Bleeding
Yarrow has two chemicals that aid in coagulation and is commonly used for bruises, hemorrhoids, cuts, scrapes, post-partum care, and even sores found in the mouth. It helps control internal bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, bleeding hemorrhoids, urinary bleeding, coughs that produce bloody mucous, nosebleeds, and bleeding ulcers.
To Help “Sweat It Out”
Yarrow’s ability to promote sweating has made it a sacred herb used in sweat lodges and other types of therapeutic detoxing. Drinking yarrow tea is an effective diaphoretic and can be used for colds and flus (especially with a dry fever present).
As a Diuretic
Taken as a lukewarm or cold tea, yarrow normalizes the distribution, secretion, and elimination of water in the body. Along with it’s antiseptic properties, this makes it a powerful tool for bladder infections.
Yarrow is an incredibly easy, and endlessly beneficial perennial we can’t recommend enough. If you haven’t yet checked out what else is growing when the yarrow is at Sweet Earth Co., check out our gallery.
