Achillea Hella Glashoff
Pale lemon is an unusual colour in a yarrow, and it is what Achillea millefolium 'Hella Glashoff' offers. Flat flower heads open a clear soft yellow and fade through cream as they age, so a single clump carries two or three tones at once. They sit on upright stems above finely cut, ferny grey-green foliage. Flowering runs from November through to March, longer where spent stems are cut away.
The soft colouring makes this yarrow easy to plant with. It settles into cottage borders, gravel gardens, meadow-style planting and dry banks, and holds up well in a mixed bed where stronger yellows would take over. Bees and hoverflies work the flat heads all summer, and cut stems dry cleanly for indoor arrangements.
Find it a place in full sun with free-draining soil. Yarrow copes with poor, stony and dry ground, including the compacted clay left around new builds, and needs no enrichment. Rich or shaded positions produce soft growth that flops. Space plants around 40 cm apart. Like other millefolium yarrows it spreads steadily by underground rhizomes, so give it room, or split the clump every few years to hold it.
A low foliage mound topped by flower stems, reaching 0.7 m at its peak and 0.5 m wide.
Trimming: Once flowering finishes, cut the whole plant down to its low leaf rosette in late autumn. Through the season, shear off flowering stems as they brown to bring on a second flush. Yarrow foliage can irritate sensitive skin, so gloves are worth wearing when you cut it back.
Deadheading: Remove faded heads regularly, both to keep the plant flowering and to limit self-seeding. Because the lemon flowers fade to cream naturally, wait until the heads brown rather than cutting them at the cream stage.
Fertilising: No feeding is needed in reasonable soil, and rich conditions make the stems weak. On very poor sand, a light dressing of general fertiliser in spring is enough for the season.
Watering: Water through the first summer to establish. After that yarrow is one of the more drought-tolerant perennials and only needs help in a long dry spell. Avoid wet winter soil, which is what kills it.
Pest Control: Aphids can gather on flower stems in spring and wash off with a jet of water. Slugs and snails may graze new growth in a wet spring.
Disease Management: Powdery mildew shows as a grey film on the foliage in humid, crowded conditions. Space plants for air movement, divide clumps before they congest, and water at ground level rather than over the leaves.
Enjoy complimentary delivery anywhere in mainland New Zealand when you purchase plants worth $250 or more*.
For orders below $250, the following flat-rate delivery charges are applicable:
- Urban delivery within mainland New Zealand: $19.95
- Rural delivery within mainland New Zealand: $39.95
- Waiheke, Chatham and Great Barrier Islands: Please contact us for shipping options.
We aim to have all orders shipped within 14 days from the order date, unless a different shipping date is specified alongside a product.
