I’m a Hero in Your Garden
Perennial Of The Week: Yarrow
Discover the heroic qualities of Yarrow, known in the horticultural arena as Achillea millefolium. This sturdy perennial was named for Achilles, the Greek hero who relied on Yarrow’s healing properties to treat his soldiers’ wounds. Yarrow is still used to help stop bleeding and to ameliorate fevers and rashes, but gardeners know this plant for its fern-like foliage and prolific blooms.
A sun-lover of the first order, Yarrow is easily recognized by its profusion of green, grayish-green, or silver foliage. (Millefolium signifies 1,000 leaves.) Its flowers – which resemble compact bouquets — are nearly every color under the sun. The yellow and white forms of Yarrow are well known, but this perennial also blooms in red, peach, lilac, and magenta. The long-stemmed flowers are lovely and long-lived, which is a bonus for the gardeners and butterflies that just can’t get enough Yarrow! Add some Yarrow to your garden this week in support of National Pollinator Week which runs from June 19th to the 25th.
Because Yarrow attracts beneficial predator insects, it is a natural treatment for pests. This plant is also drought tolerant and deer resistant, and blooms from midsummer right through fall. Trimming back the spent flowers will encourage Yarrow to re-bloom. Yarrow also serves as an excellent cut flower.
At Rohsler’s, Yarrow is carefully grown from seed and rooted cuttings. We are currently growing the following varieties in our terra cotta pots that bear the Rohsler’s Grown logo: Terra Cotta, Sunny Seduction, Saucy Seduction, Strawberry Seduction, Walter Funcke, Summerwine, and Filipendulina “Parker’s Variety.”
We encourage you to try Yarrow this season. Each plant you bring home will add brilliant color and old-fashioned charm to your garden year after year. Stop by today to learn more about these long lived, trouble free and easy to grow perennials. Remember this week is National Pollinator Week, a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them!
