Yellow Yarrow Achillea filipendulina ‘Cloth of Gold’

LATIN NAME: Achillea filipendulina

COMMON NAME: Fern-leaf Yarrow

The fern-leaf yarrow is the gold one of the family, and the flat heads of the bright-yellow flowers hold for months. The upright, clump-forming, perennial plant carries the finely divided, ferny, grey-green leaves and the wide, flat heads of the many small, bright-yellow flowers through the long summer, keeping their colour and their form through the heat. The plant is a fine, generous presence of the dry border and the wild patch, standing the drought and the poor ground with the ease. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The fern-leaf yarrow is a fine subject of the plant science, and the flat heads of the yellow flowers keep showing up in the work on the long-flowering perennials. The way the plant stands the drought and the poor ground has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the dry-garden perennials, the cut flowers and the members of the daisy family. The finely divided, ferny leaves and the clump-forming habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the fern-leaf yarrow is a regular subject of the studies of the golden daisies of the dry border.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The fern-leaf yarrow is a bright, generous perennial of the dry border. The wide, flat heads of the bright-yellow flowers open through the long summer and keep their colour for months, making the plant one of the fine choices for the dried flower bunch and the long border. The ferny, grey-green leaves hold the plant neat through the season, and the yarrow stands the drought, the heat and the poor ground with the ease. It has been written about in the horticultural and the cut-flower papers for the flat gold heads and the long ways, and it is a fine, generous plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The fern-leaf yarrow is one of the golden perennials of the dry border, and the flat heads of the yellow flowers keep their colour for months. The ferny, grey-green leaves hold the plant neat through the season.

To grow the fern-leaf yarrow from seed, sow the small, flat seeds over the surface of a tray of damp, free-draining soil, without covering them, keep the tray in a bright, warm spot and water gently. The seedlings thread up within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun, the warmth and the well-drained ground, the flat gold heads will hold through the long summer.

Uses: Medicinal/Beverage/Aromatic

This plant grows 4 ft (120 cm) high, and the foliage, though fern-like, has an untidy appearance, from the irregular way in which it is disposed. It is herbaceous, and comes from the Caucasus. The flowers are somewhat singular, arranged in corymbs of a multiplex character; they are very large, often 5 in (13 cm) across. The smaller corymbs are arched or convex, causing the cluster or compound corymb to present an uneven surface; the small flowers are of rich old gold colour, and have the appearance of knotted gold cord; they are very rigid, almost hard. The leaves are linear, pinnate, lobed and serrated, hairy, rough, and numerously produced. From the untidy and tall habit of this subject, it should be planted in the background; its flowers, however, will claim a prominent position in a cut state; they are truly rich, the undulating corymbs have the appearance of embossed gold plate, and their antique colour and form are compared to gold braid by a lady who admires "old-fashioned" flowers. It will last for several weeks after being cut, and even out of water for many days. A few heads placed in an old vase, without any other flowers, are rich and characteristic, whilst on bronze figures and ewers in a dry state, and more especially on ebony or other black decorations, it may be placed with a more than floral effect. In short, rough as the plant is, it is worth growing for its quaint and rich flowers alone; it is seldom met with. Ordinary garden loam suits it