My Corner Online

 

Achillea millefolium | Yarrow

First bloom dates

2024 April 15 (the dwarf Moonshine bloomed first, the others a month or so later)

 

Achillea millefolium | Yarrow

Asteraceae (Daisy and Sunflower Family) (Pronounced  ass-ter-AY-see-eye )

Pronounced Ak-ih-LEE-ah   Mill-ee-FOH-lee-um

See below for the meaning of Achillea. Mellefolium means "thousand-leaved" because the plants deeply divided fern-like foliage.

My species are:

Achillea millefolium | Yarrow 'Sassy Summer Taffy' (Purchased Spring 2022)

Taller (26 to 36 inches) and sturdier; Early to late Summer

Comes in yellow, red, pink & orange, mine is orange-yellow, but I thought I bought pink like the tag! I thought the first year it was pink, but the second it was yellow. The color starts out darker and turns lighter as it ages. I found an indication that it starts out pink and ages to peachy (which may be the orange?).

Achillea millefolium | Yarrow 'Tutti Frutti - Apricot Delight' (Purchased in Autumn 2023 on Etsy)

Height 18 to 24 inches; Mid-summer to Mid-Fall; Colors change from soft apricot to rose pink.

Achillea × taygetea (Hybrid) | Yarrow 'Little Moonshine' (Purchased in Autumn 2023 on Etsy)

Height 12 to 14 inches (dwarf); Summer; Bright sunny yellow!

Yarrow Desert Eve Deep Rose (Purchases in Spring 2024)

Height 16 to 20 inches (although my first year it is no where near this tall).

 

 

Yarrow tolerates poor soil and hot summers.

The flowers are dense and flat corymbs. Flowers can be used as cut flowers.

Cut the stems back after the first bloom to tidy it up and to encourage more blooms.

The leaves are fern-like.

Dividing clumps every two to three years also helps keep the plant looking alive.

Yarrow will naturalize and spread with rhizomes and by seed. Some even consider it an aggressive weed, but so far I have not found it to be weedy.

Yarrow has a licorice-like aroma similar to anise. It is naturally sweet with a bitter finish. Native Americans made a Yarrow tea which was used to stomach problems, fever, and a restful sleep. Yarrow is related in the family group to chamomile.  Native Americans also used it to break a fever, soothe a rash, stop bleeding, or for stomach aches.

Leaves and flowers can be dried and ground into a spice although it does not stand up to heat and should be added at the end of cooking. It can be a mild laxative too, so be careful.

However, Yarrow is toxic to pets such as dogs, cats, and horses causing increased urination, vomiting, diarrhea and dermatitis.

NAME AND FUN PLAYS

Achillea refers to Achilles who was a Trojan War hero in Greek mythology who used the plant to stop bleeding and to heal the wounds of his soldiers. Another myth is that the plant was used as an herbal bath for Achilles, giving him protective powers and making him invincible.

Other names include dog daisy, dog fennel, knight's milfoil, thousandleaf, soldier’s woundwort, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil’s nettle, devil's plaything, bad man's plaything, sanguinary, old man’s pepper, and stenchgrass. In days of old there was a superstition that the devil walked the streets at night shaking yarrow at homes he wished to curse. The pepper name refers to the pungent smell of the leaves.

From Wikipedia, there seems to be other beliefs or fun plays with Yarrow:

Yarrow was thought to bring luck due to being, according to one woman cited by James Britten (c. 1878): "the first herb our Saviour put in His hand when a child."

In Sussex and Devonshire superstition is that yarrow was used for finding one's real sweetheart by plucking yarrow growing on a young man's grave while reciting:

"Yarrow, sweet yarrow, the first that I have found, in the name of Jesus Christ, I pluck it from the ground; As Joseph loved sweet Mary, and took her for his dear, so in a dream this night, I hope, my true love will appear" and go to sleep with the yarrow under the pillow.

In Wicklow, girls would pick yarrow on Hallow Eve and recite, "Thou pretty herb of Venus' tree, Thy true name is yarrow; Now who my bosom friend may be, Pray tell thou me to-morrow" and then retire for the night without speaking and go to sleep with an ounce of yarrow sewn in flannel under the pillow.

In Suffolk a leaf was placed in the nose so it would bleed, while reciting, "Green 'arrow, green 'arrow, you bears a white blow, If my love love me, my nose will bleed now; If my love don't love me, it 'on't bleed a drop, If my love do love me, 'twill bleed every drop.

In Dublin on May Day or the night before, women would place a stocking full of yarrow under their pillow and recite, " Good morrow, good yarrow, good morrow to thee, I hope by the yarrow my lover to see; And that he may be married to me. The color of his hair and the clothes he does wear, And if he be for me may his face be turned to me, And if he be not, dark and surely may he be, And his back be turned toward me.

2024

The Little Moonshine is so short. I like that, but it will have to be planted in the right places.

This is the Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight before it got tall and bloomed.

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight has quickly become a favorite for me, although it is a little tall, I love how there are so many shades of pink and how it stands out and catches the eye. The color is not too vibrant either, but rather soft.

This is the Sassy Summer Taffy getting ready to bloom.

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight

Tutti Frutti Apricot Delight

This is the Desert Eve Deep Rose which I absolutely love! I just planted it this year and so far it is a shorter variety. It does not catch they eye too much, but up close the single flowers making up the whole are so intriguing and lovely.

Not a good photo, but it shows the height of the Desert Eve Deep Rose.

2022