Cloth of Gold Yarrow Plants

Cloth of Gold Yarrow Plants

A regal Chelsea favourite, Achillea Cloth of Gold is an absolute must for a sun-drenched border. It's a herbaceous perennial, so will die back and grow again each year, sprouting from the ground to reach 1.5m or even taller. Held high above these statuesque stems, the flowers are a glorious golden crown, hundreds of tiny blooms massed together to form handsome flat heads of flowers. The foliage is rather special too – a pretty shade of pale green and as feathery as you like.

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Features

• Colour: bright yellow flat-topped flowers
• Flowering: Jun-Sep
• Foliage: pale green fern-like leaves
• Height: 1.2m
• Spread: 45cm
• Spacing: 40cm
• Position: full sun
• Soil: any, including sandy, but not heavy clay
• Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Yarrow

All yarrows need well-drained soil and full sun. Dig in some compost when planting, and never plant on heavy clay without incorporating plenty (and we mean plenty) of soil improver and/or horticultural grit). Once established, it will tolerate a bit of drought, and is pretty easy to maintain, with spring staking (use brushwood or bamboo canes) and cutting back to the ground in autumn after flowering. Like most perennials, it will benefit from being dug up, divided up and replanted every three or four years. The flowers, which bloom from June through to September, are a magnet for hoverflies and other beneficial pollinators; remove spent flowerheads to encourage more blooms from the side shoots.

Yarrow is a mainstay of the cottage or wildlife garden, providing tall, flat-topped accents that are a pleasing contrast to rounded or spiky shapes in a planting scheme. Plant towards the middle or back of a border, and create a colour theme – yellow and blue/purple is an absolute stunner if you've got the inclination. Here you could combine Cloth of Gold with other sun lovers such as sapphire eryngiums, sky-blue campanulas, purple lavender, butter-yellow anthemis and golden lilies for a glorious summer-long show. Anchor your planting scheme with a few evergreen topiary balls or cones of yew or box, or even evergreen herbs such as rosemary, and you've an arrangement fit for a king or queen.

Did you know?

Achilles, Homer's hero of The Iliad, supposedly used Achillea filipendulina to treat wounded soldiers.

Dig in well-rotted garden compost when planting, in full sun, in all but heavy clay. Space 40cm apart and water in well. Keep watered until established.

Stake in spring with brushwood or bamboo. Cut down spent stems after flowering. Divide congested clumps in autumn.