Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Yarrow is an all-star, popular plant choice among California native gardeners, including beginners! It is durable and easy to grow in a wide range of soil types and has low moisture requirements. It reseeds and spreads quickly, making it a good groundcover plant for lawn replacement.


Yarrow's abundant white flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other insects. It is a staple in native pollinator gardens throughout the state. Yarrow has many alternative common names, including soldier's woundwort and nosebleed plant. They reflect its long history as an important medicinal plant.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

1 - 3 ft Tall
6 - 18 in Wide

Form

Upright, Spreading

Growth rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen, Summer Deciduous, Summer Semi-deciduous

Fragrance

Pleasant

Calscape icon
Color

White

Flowering season

Summer, Spring

Special uses

Bank stabilization, Containers, Deer resistant, Groundcover, Lawn alternative

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade, Deep Shade

Water

Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / week once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to -10 - -15 °F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil description

Nearly any type except very wet. Because of its deep roots it has been used to control erosion.
Soil PH: 4 - 8

Maintenance

Benefits from division every other year

Propagation

Spreads by rhizomes. Plant seed in warm soil, max 1/4 inch under so sun can get to it. Can become invasive. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones

1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

meadow; disturbed places

Plant communities

Alpine Fell-Fields, Introduced Plant (naturalized), Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Bats
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

5 confirmed and 10 likely

Confirmed Likely

Smeathmann's Aethes Moth

Aethes smeathmanniana

Yarrow Plume Moth

Gillmeria pallidactyla

Northern Scurfy Quaker

Homorthodes furfurata

Olive Arches

Lacinipolia olivacea