Achillea 'Terracotta'

About this cultivar:

Achillea 'Terracotta' is a stunning yarrow cultivar with blooms ranging from dark orange to pale yellow, set against fine, silvery green foliage. Drought-tolerant I'm told but does well with us in heavy, wet clay. Stars in the famous "High-Line" garden in New York. I read that it get up to 1.5m tall but I think that is a mistake - maximum 0.8 m with us!

• Position: Full sun, partial shade
• Soil: Almost any soil that is reasonably well drained- grows well in Ballyrobert!
• Flowers: May, June, July, August
• Other features: Cut Flowers or Dried Flowers
• Hardiness: H7 - Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20°C), Fully hardy - grows well in Ballyrobert!
• Habit: Bushy
• Foliage: Semi evergreen
• Height: 60 to 75 cm  (2 - 2.5 ft)
• Spread: 45 to 60 cm  (1.5 - 2 ft)
• Time to full growth: 2 to 5 years
• Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Colour: Yellow, orange, green
• Goes well with: Most grasses and prairie style plants, Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldschleier', Salvia × sylvestris 'Mainacht', Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', Echinacea 'Tomato Soup', Echinacea purpurea 'Razzmatazz', Stipa tenuissima

About this genus:

Achillea, commonly called common yarrow, is a rhizomatous, spreading, upright to mat-forming perennial. Achillea is in reference to Achilles, hero of the Trojan Wars in Greek mythology, who used the plant medicinally to stop bleeding and to heal the wounds of his soldiers.

Often garden Achillea are members of the millefolium species. The specific epithet of millefolium means thousand-leaved in reference to the foliage being more intense than other Achillea. Achillea has a plethora of additional common names, including milfoil, thousandleaf, soldier’s woundwort, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil’s nettle, sanguinary, old-man’s-pepper and stenchgrass.

Yarrow ale was a popular choice for weddings because of its tendency to increase energy, act as an aphrodisiac and generally “make the guests crazy.” At Ballyrobert we use it solely for gardening purposes..... honestly.

There are many cultivars of Achillea in a variety of colours. It prefers to be grown in most soils that are reasonably well drained. Achillea is another versatile plant in the garden at Ballyrobert;  it looks great with all sorts of grasses and prairie style plants but the fern-like foliage and cow-parsley type flower heads also help it blend with some woodland or cottage style plants. When it dies back for the year Achillea dries out fully and gives great structure to the garden - it is often used for dry flowers and flower arranging.