Achillea filipendulina

Achillea filipendulina is an Asian species of flowering herbaceous perennial plants in the sunflower family, native to central and southwestern Asia. It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and North America.  This perennial does well in average garden soils and tolerates poor soils as long as drainage is good. Avoid heavy clays and moist, rich, fertile soils. Plants tolerate hot and humid summers with some drought and are moderately salt tolerant. Plants are best sited in locations protected from strong winds. Deadhead spent flower heads to lateral buds to promote additional bloom. Cut plants back to basal leaves after flowering to tidy the planting and to encourage possible additional fall bloom. Divide clumps when they become overcrowded (every 3-4 years).  Heavily enriched and moist soil can cause the plant to become leggy.

This variety of yarrow is one of the tallest varieties.  The long-lasting blooms are great cut or dried.  Its dried flowers can last for years.

The foliage of Achillea filipendulina is green and has a fern-like texture with a strong spicy odor that forms an attractive basal clump of foliage. Tiny, long-lasting, bright golden flowers (yellow rays and yellow discs) appear in dense flattened plate-like compound corymbs (to 4" across) throughout summer on stiff, erect stems rising above the foliage to 3-4' tall.  The stems may need to be staked for support.

Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: 

Diseases that may be encountered are stem rot, powdery mildew, and rust.  Overwatering can lead to root rot. Some cultivars have shown a fair to poor amount of resistance to phytophthora (where fair is defined as less than half, and poor as more than half, of the plants studied dying of the disease). See Phytophthora Root and Crown Rot in the Landscape.