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Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
  
106 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) 106 Nurseries Carry This Plant Achillea millefolium or yarrow (other common names common yarrow, gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf, and thousand-seal) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. In Spanish-speaking New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather," for the shape of the leaves. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in staunching the flow of blood from wounds. Native Americans had many uses for the plant, including pain relief, fever reduction, and blood issues of all kinds. Yarrow grows up to 3500 meters above sea level. The plant commonly flowers from May through June, and is a frequent component in butterfly gardens. Common yarrow is frequently found in the mildly disturbed soil of grasslands and open forests. Active growth occurs in the spring.

This plant is extremely easy to grow, but looks best with regular water. It easily reseeds though it can be aggressive.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
1 - 3 ft tall
.5 - 1.5 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Summer Deciduous, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
carnivorous insects; butterflies; bees

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 5 confirmed , 11 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Homorthodes furfurata Image
Northern Scurfy Quaker Homorthodes furfurataHomorthodes furfurata
Lacinipolia olivacea Image
Olive Arches Lacinipolia olivaceaLacinipolia olivacea
Gillmeria pallidactyla Image
Yarrow Plume Moth Gillmeria pallidactylaGillmeria pallidactyla
Aethes smeathmanniana Image
Smeathmann's Aethes Moth Aethes smeathmannianaAethes smeathmanniana
Sparganothis senecionana Image
Sparganothis senecionanaSparganothis senecionana
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Synchlora aerata Image
Wavy-Lined Emerald Synchlora aerataSynchlora aerata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 106

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10 - -15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Nearly any type except very wet. Because of its deep roots it has been used to control erosion.. Soil PH: 4 - 8

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Bee Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Deer Resistant, Groundcovers

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Lonicera interrupta; Stipa lepida

Maintenance
Maintenance
Benefits from division every other year

Propagation
Propagation?
Spreads by rhizomes. Plant seed in warm soil, max 1/4 inch under so sun can get to it. Can become invasive..  For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
meadow; disturbed places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.9" - 154.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 5.70", Coldest Month: 18.6" - 57.3", Hottest Month: 40.5" - 80.3", Humidity: 0.02" - 29.10", Elevation: -36" - 12005"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Achillea puberula,Achillea borealis
Common Names: Bloodwort, Carpenter's Weed, Devil's Nettle, Gordaldo, Hierba De Las Cortaduras, Milfoil, Nosebleed Plant, Old Man's Pepper, Plumajillo, Sanguinary, Soldier's Woundwort, Thousand-leaf, Thousand-seal


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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