Flowers – Pink Yarrow – Heirloom Seeds

Yarrow forms mats of soft, feathery, fern-like leaves topped with flat clusters of small pink flowers from summer into autumn. It is frost hardy, drought tolerant and almost carefree, which makes it a good choice for water-wise gardens. The flowers attract bees, hoverflies and butterflies and last well as cut or dried flowers. Flower colour can vary from pale to deeper pink.

Growing guide for South Africa

• When to sow: spring (August to October) or autumn (March to April). Sow in trays and transplant, or sow directly in a prepared bed.
• How to sow: the seed needs light to germinate, so press it onto the surface of fine seedling mix and do not cover it.
• Germination: 7 to 21 days at 15 to 22 degrees C.
• Spacing: plant out 30 to 40 cm apart once seedlings have a few true leaves.
• Position: full sun and well-drained soil. Rich, wet soil gives floppy plants.
• Flowering: often in the first summer, and reliably from the second year. Height is 50 to 90 cm.
• Care: water until established, then little. Deadhead to keep it flowering, cut back after flowering, and divide clumps every 2 to 3 years.

Quick facts: Packet: heirloom seed. Height 50 to 90 cm. Perennial. Flower colour can vary. Sowing times are a guide: adjust for your local frost dates and climate.

Photo: AnemoneProjectors, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.