
Achillea millefolium
Asteraceae
Achillea millefolium, Yarrow, Woundwort, Milfoil
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Achillea
Yarrow is a culinary herb with small white to pale pink flowers grouped in flat clusters. It has green, aromatic, feathery foliage. As a culinary herb its young leaves are edible and can be used in salads or with vegetables.
• Hardiness: H6 (-15 to -20C)
• Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Height: 30-90cm
• Spread: 60cm
Yarrow can be seen at the herb farm in Jekka's Herbetum and is available to buy as both herb plants and online as herb seeds.
• Soil type: Clay, Sand
• pH: Universal pH
• Habit: Mat forming, Creeping
• Flowering colour: White, Pale pink
• Flowering time: Summer
• Uses: Culinary & Medicinal (Read Jekka's Guide To Culinary Herbs and Jekka's Guide to Medicinal Herbs for more information)
• Attracts pollinators: Yes (Read Jekka's Guide to Pollinators for more information)
• Container suitability: No
• UK native: Yes
• Caution: May cause skin irritation. Do not take medicinally when pregnant.
• Indoor Sowing: In early spring in prepared plug trays or pots, cover seeds with perlite. Bottom heat, 18°C, aids germination.
• Outdoor Sowing: In autumn using fresh seed into a prepared sunny site. Thin seedlings, in the following spring, to 45cm apart.
• Propagation: Division
• Maintenance: This robust plant is prone to self seeding so cut back after flowering. (Read Jekka's Blogs on Early Spring, Late Spring and Autumn maintenance)
• Harvest: Cut leaves and flowers for drying as the plant comes into flower.
One of the earliest recorded medicinal plants, yarrow was known as ‘the soldiers’ herb’, reflecting its history of use to staunch the wounds of battle and promote wound healing.
Also sometimes called ‘master of the blood’ it has been seen as both a cure for nosebleeds and also a trigger for them in the treatment of headaches. Many herbalists regard it as being one of the most important herbs for supporting the proper circulation of blood to the tissues of the body.
With an established traditional role in the regulation of heavy or painful menstrual bleeding, it has also been used in combination with other aromatic herbs to encourage sweating in feverish colds and flu.

Caution: Yarrow should be avoided in pregnancy and in those taking anticoagulant medications. In common with other members of the daisy family it can sometimes cause a contact dermatitis and photosensitivity in people who are sensitive to it.
Please note: The information provided here is for educational interest only and is not intended to be used to diagnose or treat significant health problems. Any serious or long-term health concerns should always be discussed with a healthcare professional.
See our blog for more information about the National Institute of Medical Herbalists
For information on growing herbs from seeds please see Jekka's blogs on sowing seeds, sowing your winter culinary herbs or how to grow vegetables.
Jekka's "How to Grow Herbs" videos, includes Jekka's video on how to sow seeds for an informative step-by-step guide to seed sowing.
Growing indoors? Check out Jekka's blog on indoor herb gardening for some advice.
If you require pots or compost, see Jekka's Herb Kits that includes Jekka's Seed Sowing Kit. This kit contains all you need to sow a collection of herb seeds.
For more information on growing herbs plants please see Jekkapedia, Jekka's blog or our FAQs page.
Happy Herbs!
At Jekka’s we sell herbs in 1 Ltr and 2 Ltr pots. These are established and hardy herb plants that are grown following organic principals and to survive the UK climate. Please read Jekka's blog that contains her top steps to growing on your herbs.
There is also ‘Jekka’s Seasonal Tips’ series that covers growing and maintaining herbs in early spring, late spring, summer and autumn & winter. Together they form Jekka’s guide on how to grow herbs.
Our herbs are designed to be grown in containers or planted in the garden. Although some herbs will be quite happy indoors, most prefer being outside. Please see our indoor growing blog for more information.
If you require pots or compost, we have developed Jekka's Herb Kits, which includes Jekka's "Grow On" Kit. These kits contain all you need to grow on your herbs.
If you think your herbs need a little more attention we always recommend an environmentally friendly solution, and these are Jekka's top three:
- Maxicrop liquid seaweed: 'Feed on Fridays' as Jekka always says for all round good plant health.
- SB Invigorator: a safe and effective insecticide and fungicide to help control a wide range of pest species
- Epsom salts: the horticultural equivalent of what you put in your bath to top up magnesium and stop orange leaves.
For more information on growing herbs plants please see Jekkapedia, Jekka's blog or our FAQs page.
Happy Herbs!
One of our three core roots is that we are Environmentally Conscious and for the past 30 years all the herbs grown at Jekka’s have been raised following sustainable, environmentally friendly and organic approaches resulting in a remarkable biodiversity at the herb farm.
Our herb seeds are also untreated and can be used to grow organic herb plants.
You can read more about our sustainability approach to growing herbs in one of Jekka's Blogs or in Jekka's Guide to Climate Change.
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