How to Grow Yarrow in Pots and Beds

Yarrow

Overview

Yarrow is a daisy-family perennial with feathery, fern-like leaves and flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers. NC State Extension calls it easy to grow. The hard part is keeping it where you put it.

Here’s the short version:

1. Grow plain common yarrow, Achillea millefolium, with no variety name on the label. The species section explains why.
2. It grows well in a pot, which also keeps its spreading roots in one place.
3. Started indoors in late winter, it can flower its first summer. Sown outdoors, expect flowers in the second year.
4. You harvest the flowering tops and dry them for tea. In Europe, yarrow is listed as a traditional herbal medicine for mild digestive complaints (see Traditional uses).
5. Who it’s for: a tea herb for adults and teens over 12. It isn’t recommended during pregnancy, and it’s toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. See Safety notes.

Yarrow likes the same sunny patio as the five easy herbs in our Start Your First Medicinal Herb Garden guide, which covers choosing pots and placing them where you’ll use them.

Which yarrow to grow for herbal use

Garden centers sell yarrow in pink, red, yellow, orange, and more. Many are named varieties of the same species, such as ‘Paprika’ or ‘Summer Pastels’, bred as garden ornamentals.

So is a red ‘Paprika’ the same plant? Botanically, yes. But the European herbal monograph covers the plain species, and no source we found describes what a named color selection contains. For tea, the plain species is the safe default. It’s usually white, sometimes pale pink.

That doesn’t make the colored kinds harmful. They just aren’t what the monograph describes.

To check a label, look for “Achillea millefolium” with no name in quotes after it. “Achillea millefolium ‘Paprika’” is a named garden variety, not the plain species.

Common yarrow is both native and introduced in the US, and the two forms are nearly impossible to tell apart (USDA plant guide). Either one is fine to grow.

Where to plant yarrow

Give yarrow full sun and soil that drains fast. Poor soil is fine, and it needs no fertilizer in the ground (USDA plant guide). Soggy soil is one of the quickest ways to lose it, because wet roots rot.

Does yarrow spread or turn invasive?

Yes, it spreads. Yarrow creeps by underground roots called rhizomes, and it seeds itself too. Left alone, it can form dense patches that are hard to remove.

The US Department of Agriculture’s plant guide says it isn’t a state noxious weed. Some regions do treat it as weedy, so check with your local extension office before planting it in open ground. It’s toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, so don’t plant it where your pets roam (safety notes). To keep it in bounds, grow it in a pot or an edged bed, and cut off spent flowers (see Watering and seasonal care).

Sources for this section: USDA plant guide; NC State Extension.

How to grow yarrow from seed or division

When to start yarrow seeds

Sow seeds indoors eight to 10 weeks before you plan to plant them out (Johnny’s Selected Seeds). Count back from your area’s last spring frost date. Your local extension office can tell you that date.

Started indoors in late winter, yarrow can flower its first summer. Seed sown straight into the garden is expected to flower in its second year (Gardener’s Path). You can direct sow in late spring, early summer, or fall.

Sowing yarrow seeds indoors

Hands-on time is about 15 minutes for a tray. If you like, keep the seed cold and damp in the fridge for a month first. Some guides call for this step; others skip it.

1. Press the tiny seeds onto damp seed-starting mix. Don’t bury them, because they need light to sprout. A light dusting of vermiculite holds them in place.
2. Keep the tray at 65–72°F. Seedlings appear in 10 to 14 days.
3. Once they’re up, grow them a little cooler, around 55–65°F, in bright light for three to five weeks.

Steps and numbers: Johnny’s Selected Seeds. By the end of step 3, your seedlings should have several sets of true, feathery leaves.

Then harden them off, as you would any seedling, by setting them outside for a few hours a day over about a week. Plant them out after your last frost, 12 to 24 inches apart.

No seed? Divide a clump

A nursery plant or a division flowers faster than seed (Epic Gardening). Divide in spring as new growth appears, or in fall after the flowers fade. Divide a clump every three to four years to keep it vigorous (USDA plant guide). Yarrow can cause allergic skin reactions, so wear gloves to handle it if your skin is sensitive (safety notes).

1. Dig up the clump.
2. Cut it into pieces at least 4 to 6 inches across, each with its own roots and shoots.
3. Replant the pieces at the same depth they grew before.

Growing yarrow in pots

Yarrow grows well in a pot. Choose one at least 12 inches across, with drainage holes.

Fill it with an all-purpose potting mix that has perlite or vermiculite in it but no added fertilizer. Mixes with fertilizer are generally too rich for yarrow, which thrives in lean, loose soil. Yarrow needs sharp drainage and won’t tolerate standing water, so water only when the top 2 inches feel dry.

Watering washes nutrients out of a pot over time. If you want to feed it, a diluted liquid kelp, seaweed, or fish emulsion feed once a month from spring through August is enough.

A pot also keeps those spreading roots in one place. When the plant fills the pot, divide it. Yarrow is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, so keep the pot away from pets (safety notes).

Sources for this section: Plant Addicts.

Overwintering yarrow in pots

In winter, yarrow dies back to the ground. That’s normal. Keep the roots on the dry side, because winter wet in a pot causes root rot (Plant Addicts). Frost-resistant pots hold up better in cold climates.

To protect the roots, sink the whole pot into a garden bed. Or group your pots in a sheltered spot against the house, or move them into an unheated garage. Check them once a month and water only if the soil is dry (Colorado State University Extension).

Watering and seasonal care

Water new plants until they’re settled in. In the ground, yarrow is then drought tolerant and needs little or no watering. Pots follow the top-2-inch rule above.

Cut off dead, brown flower heads. This can bring a second round of flowers, and it keeps the plant from seeding itself around. Tall stems may need a stake.

Watch for gray mold, root rot, and powdery mildew.

Sources for this section: USDA plant guide; NC State Extension; Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

Harvesting and drying yarrow

When to harvest yarrow

Cut yarrow when most of the tiny flowers in a cluster have opened.

Cut in the early morning or late evening, when it’s coolest (Epic Gardening). Wait until the plant is dry, with no dew or rain on it.

Take the flowering tops along with some of the upper leaves. Leave the lower stem and leaves so the plant keeps growing. A pot or a small patch takes about 10 minutes.

Harvest only plants you grew from a label, never a white-flowered plant from the wild (see the look-alikes). If your skin is sensitive, wear gloves while you cut and bundle, because yarrow can cause allergic skin reactions (safety notes).

How to dry yarrow

1. Bundle four to six stems together with kitchen twine ad .
2. Hang the bundles upside down somewhere airy and out of direct sun.

You can also spread the stems on a screen or use a dehydrator. Our guide to drying herbs gives the settings and typical drying times.

The yarrow is dry when the leaves crumble and the stems snap. Store it in a labeled glass jar with a tight lid ad in a dark cupboard.

From the jar, you can steep it as a tea. Don’t drink it if you’re allergic to daisy-family plants, pregnant or breastfeeding. It isn’t recommended for children under 12 (safety notes). The preparations are below.

Traditional uses

In Europe, dried yarrow is listed as a traditional herbal medicine. Taken by mouth, its listed uses are temporary loss of appetite, mild digestive complaints such as bloating and gas, and minor menstrual cramps. The listing also covers a dressing for small, superficial wounds.

That status rests on long use, not on clinical trials. The European listing covers standardized, licensed products for adults and teens over 12. A tea you make at home isn’t one of those products.

Parts used

The above-ground parts, meaning the flowering tops and leaves, are what the European herbal monograph covers. See When to harvest yarrow for timing.

Common preparations

Before you make any of these, don’t use yarrow if you’re allergic to it or to other daisy-family plants, such as ragweed, chamomile, or echinacea. Don’t use it if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, because its safety hasn’t been established. It isn’t recommended for children under 12. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using it with any medicine (safety notes).

• Tea/infusion: dried flowering tops steeped in hot water. See our guide to hot infusions. Skip it with a daisy-family allergy or if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. It isn’t recommended for children under 12 (safety notes).
• Tincture: dried yarrow steeped in alcohol. See our guide to tinctures. The tea cautions apply here too. Alcohol can be a dangerous poison for children, so store the jar and bottles out of their sight and reach (safety notes).
• Infused oil and salve: if you’d like to try yarrow in an oil or salve, the method is the same as for any dried herb. Allergic skin reactions to yarrow have been reported, so skip it if you’re allergic to daisy-family plants. For a salve, beeswax is flammable and can start a violent fire if it boils over onto the burner, so melt it over low heat and keep a close eye on it (safety notes). See our guide to infused oils and our guide to salves and balms.

Read the safety notes below before using any yarrow preparation.

Companion and garden notes

Yarrow draws hoverflies, ladybugs, and lacewings (USDA plant guide), plus bees and butterflies. Deer and rabbits tend to leave it alone (NC State Extension).

It belongs to the daisy family, like calendula, chamomile, and echinacea. The same allergy caution applies to all of them (safety notes).

Yarrow vs poison hemlock and Queen Anne’s lace

Before you use any yarrow, make sure it’s yarrow. All three of these plants carry clusters of small white flowers. Poison hemlock can kill, and there’s no antidote (NC State Extension).

The surest step is to grow your own from labeled seed or nursery plants, using the label check above. Never pick a white-flowered plant from the wild unless you’re certain what it is.

The flowers are the clearest difference. A yarrow cluster is made of many tiny flower heads, and each one is a miniature daisy, with petal-like rays around a center (USDA plant guide). The table shows the rest.

Sources: USDA plant guide and NC State Extension for yarrow; NC State Extension for poison hemlock and Queen Anne’s lace.

Yarrow and Queen Anne’s lace overlap on leaves, stems, cluster shape, and height. So this table can’t confirm an ID on its own. Use it as a second check on a plant you grew from a label, never as permission to forage. For Queen Anne’s lace, even the flower difference takes a close look.

If you ever pull poison hemlock, wear gloves. Its sap can cause rashes.

Safety notes

Daisy-family allergy: If you’re allergic to yarrow or other daisy-family plants, such as ragweed, chamomile, or echinacea, don’t use yarrow (European herbal monograph).

Skin reactions: Yarrow can cause allergic skin reactions, so wear gloves when you handle it if your skin is sensitive. Both the European monograph and NC State Extension note this.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Don’t use yarrow. Its safety hasn’t been established, and the European monograph doesn’t recommend it.

Children: Yarrow isn’t recommended for children under 12. The European monograph says there isn’t enough data on its use in children. Talk to your pediatrician. Peppermint has some published guidance for children: European peppermint leaf medicines are labeled for ages 4 and up (see the safety notes in our peppermint guide).

Medicines: Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using yarrow with any medicine. The European monograph lists no known interactions, but that isn’t proof there are none.

If symptoms last or get worse, see your doctor. The European monograph says to see one if digestive or appetite symptoms last more than 2 weeks, or menstrual cramps or a wound more than 1 week.

Pets: Keep yarrow away from pets. It’s toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, according to the ASPCA’s poison control list. NC State Extension advises against planting it where your pets roam.

Alcohol: A yarrow tincture is made with alcohol. Poison Control warns, “Alcohol can be a dangerous poison for children,” and advises storing alcohol-containing products “out of sight and reach” (Poison Control). That page doesn’t name tinctures. Storing them the same way is our advice.

Beeswax: University of Delaware Extension cautions that “beeswax is flammable. If beeswax should boil over or flow onto the burner there is danger of a violent fire,” and advises “low heat and careful attention” when handling it (University of Delaware Extension).

Look-alikes and labels: Buy yarrow by its botanical name, and see the comparison above before using any plant you didn’t grow from a label.

Yarrow doesn’t take skill. It asks for sun, drainage, and a firm hand with its roots. Start it indoors in late winter, and you can be drying flowering tops its first summer.

Planning the rest of your patio? Start your first medicinal herb garden.

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