Well Behaved Yarrow Suggestions

I have had "well behaved" yarrows and ones that would take over the whole yard if given the chance. Coronation Gold is a very nice plant, but I would like some suggestions of varieties of yarrow with other colors of flowers. Someone gave me a start of Cerise Queen. Great color but awful habit...it went everywhere. My daughter grew a very pretty pink one that started in the flower bed and ended up over the walk and into the cracks between the cement. It was almost impossible to get rid of. Thanks for your help,

Linda

I think it partly depends on where you plant it. Yarrow should go in the most difficult, dry clay filled full sun location you have. Too much of anything -- fertility, water, and most especially space to grow laterally -- and the plant will spend more time making lateral shoots than making flowers. I divide my yarrow every single year, prefereably in the fall but early spring will do just as well. I also cut the leaves down thsi time of year and use them to mulch elsewhere, as I believe they are repellent to some bugs and even squirrels

Hmmm. "repellent to some bugs and even squirrels" is absolutely worth a try. Thanks for the idea. So far, I've been wanting the yarrow to spread. I got four or five seedlings from the crack in the concrete on the far side of the house, and I traded them for other stuff I wanted.

xxxx, Carrie

I dont know whether they will be well behaved or not but I got two pretty ones this spring - Apple Blossom and Paprika.

carol

The Paprika is GORGEOUS. I mixed it with coneflowers and cosmos this year -- managed to look great everywhere.

Linda,

I too love yarrow and would like to see it spread in my gardens. I have pure sand under my feet here.

In the spring I bought several very nice hybrids from Bluestone.

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/search.html?mv_session_id=bkjzHaFx&co=yes&mv_more_alpha=yes&mv_more_alpha_chars=1&tf=name&to=f&rf=code%2C+name%2C+short_desc%2C+price%2C+qty%2C+new_plant%2Cdisc&sp=results_pics&st=text&mv_value=nametype%3Dscientific&mv_matchlimit=45&mv_value=srchtype%3Dkey&from_search=1&sf=children&su=0&op=ne&nu=0&se=1&sf=%3Acode%3Aname%3Acommon_name%3Ashort_desc%3Adescription1&su=1&op=rm&nu=0&se=achillea&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&sf=disc&se=0&su=0&op=ne

Of course this is my first year here on my new place so I am still waiting to see if they are "invasive" as I hoped.

The white is certainly very hardy in the heat. The paprika gave little blooms and appeared to sink back, but now is putting out new foliage.

The german hybrids seem to be quite tame, or even difficult to sustain. I will know more during the next 2 years of creep and leap. I'll need to wait til spring to see what merely went dormant and what died.

Molly
:^))))

Thanks for the input MollyMc. I hope your yarrow thrives for you. Would love to trade you some of your sand for the clay we dig out here in Western PA!

Linda

LOL LOL LOL, Linda! I'd love the problems of the people who have more sawdust/manure than they know what to do with!

xxx, Carrie

Paprika has been fairly well behaved for me. I do divide it at least every couple years, so will have some in the spring if you need it. The only thing I don't like about it is that the colors fades on the older blooms to a rather dull creamy color.

Susan

Anyone know about Achillea love parade?

xxxx, Carrie

I am a little fond of the creamy color you refer to. It contrasts nicely with the red blooms, it's much tidier than the ragged blooms you get on some cultivars (Parker's Gold, Anyone?)

Carrie, Love Parade is a nice one. The foliage is not a fine ferny type. I think it is well behaved enough. I started it from seed a few years ago.

I also like Cassis, a dark red millifolium and I wouldn't want to be without Moonshine, probably the best behaved.

I've had it in a pot on the patio while I tried to figure out what it was - from ordering too many plants at once - and I had almost decided this must be my missing hellebores, and I finally read the other side of the label that said it was Love Parade and that it had deeply cut foliage (except it was in plant talk) and I looked at the leaves and I looked at the label and a tiny, tiny light bulb went off and I said "duh!" to myself! But mine has never bloomed (how could it, growing sideways in a pot?) and it is rather prostrate. I take it will at some point rejoin others of its species and grow vertically? With those funny looking leaves, does it look ok mixed among the other yarrows, or do you think it looks better separate?

xxxx, Carrie

I use all my yarrows separately, in most beds. I think it is a good filler between other perennials and it often gets cut back in late summer and comes back with beautiful new foliage. For you it might even bloom again. It would look fine with another yarrow too, just note that it blooms a cool pink, if you're careful about colours.

I cut mine back severely in the fall, and use the foliage for mulch. They grow up nice and straight next spring.

I was just on the web checking out where to buy seeds for Love Parade. This looks like a very interesting yarrow and one that looks worth trying to grow. Does anyone know if it is easily started from seed? I found seeds for it at Swallowtail Gardens.

Linda

Hazzard's has what she calls 'nice size plants' for $3.50 each minus 40%. This is bigger than 'small 1st year plants' but not as big as the $5. I forget what she calls that size... I have always loved ordering from Joyce Hazzard, in fact that's probably why I have so many pots with 3 or 4 plants with labels in them! LOL
http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/3166/

xxxx, Carrie

My local garden center, gave me a great way to keep favorite invasives in check. Plant the whole thing in it's container so it won't spread. She guaranteed it would not choke itself out die back and says she has been doing it for years with invasives that she loves in her garden. The reason I was asking her so many questions about using this method was because I got 2 paprika plants in 3 gal containers for 7.50 each which I thought was a great deal. Did I take her advice? Of course not, like most gardeners I want to "see what happens" for myself. :)

I have two Paprika I planted this summer, still blooming strong. The faded pink of the old flowers looks great (to me) with the strong red of the new blooms, and this yarrow makes a nice, long-lasting cut flower as well.