🌿 Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

herbs perennial herb

☀️ Sun

full sun

💧 Water

low (drought-tolerant, dislikes wet feet)

🗺️ Zones

3–9

🪴 Soil Type

sandy, loamy, well-drained; tolerates poor soil

🧪 Soil pH

5.5–7.5

💧 Drainage

well-drained to dry

📏 Spacing

12–24 inches

📐 Height

18–36 inches

📅 Days to Maturity

120 days (perennial, flowers second year from seed)

🍴 Edible Parts

🍽️ young leaves (salads🍽️ cooked like spinach🍽️ bitter)🍽️ flowers (tea🍽️ garnish)🍽️ aerial parts (flavoring)

🤝 Companions (8)

🤝 Chamomile

Synergistic medicinal herb pairing; yarrow boosts chamomile's essential oil while both attract complementary beneficial insects.

🤝 Lavender

Both are Mediterranean-climate perennials with identical soil/sun needs; their combined aromatic oils create a powerful pest-repellent zone.

🤝 Tomato

Yarrow attracts predatory wasps and hoverflies that control tomato hornworms and aphids; accumulates phosphorus that tomatoes need for fruit set.

🤝 Rose

Yarrow enhances rose essential oil production and vigor; attracts aphid predators that protect rose buds.

🤝 Apple

Yarrow's deep roots mine potassium and phosphorus beneficial for apple fruiting; attracts pollinators during apple bloom.

🤝 Echinacea

Both are native North American medicinal perennials with matching sun/soil requirements; attract diverse pollinators together.

🤝 Cabbage

Yarrow attracts parasitic wasps that control cabbage worms; its strong scent masks brassicas from cabbage moths.

🤝 Cucumber

Yarrow attracts hoverflies whose larvae eat cucumber beetles and aphids; improves cucumber vigor.

⚠️ Keep Apart (3)

⚠️ Dill

Both are strong aromatic herbs that can cross-inhibit each other's essential oil development when grown too close; competing volatile compounds.

⚠️ Fennel

Fennel is allelopathic to most plants including yarrow; inhibits germination and growth of yarrow.

⚠️ Carrot

Both attract the same predatory wasps creating competition for beneficial insect services; may cross-attract carrot flies.

💊 Medicinal Uses

Astringent, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, styptic (stops bleeding). Used for wounds, fevers, colds, digestive issues, menstrual cramps. Contains achilleine (hemostatic alkaloid), flavonoids, volatile oils (cineole, camphor). Traditional wound herb — leaves applied directly to cuts to stop bleeding. Tea used for colds and fevers by inducing sweating.

📜 History & Traditional Uses

Named after Achilles who used it to treat soldiers' wounds at Troy. Used in battle medicine across Europe throughout history ('soldier's woundwort', 'herba militaris'). Anglo-Saxon nine sacred herbs. Chinese medicine for kidney and spleen. Native Americans used for toothache, earache, and as a poultice. Used in medieval beer brewing before hops (gruit).

📝 Notes

Outstanding companion plant — accumulates copper, potassium, and phosphorus from subsoil, making them available to neighbors. Attracts predatory wasps, hoverflies, lacewings, and ladybugs. Essential oil content highest when harvested in full bloom, midday. Spreading rhizomatous habit; can be aggressive in rich soil. Many ornamental cultivars with white, pink, red, yellow flowers.