Hi Tiffy,

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but here goes.

I sowed yarrow (don't know what kind), and it is up. The yarrow is one of my larger seedlings at the moment. It has first, and some second, sets of leaves. I purchased the seeds this year. I have some greenish algae/moss in the container.

I have some yarrow in my yard and it comes back, but it certainly looks pretty poor and small. (I've had it 4-5 years.) I am hoping the yarrow I am growing will do better or fill in what I have.

cheers,
Nora

I sowed Cerise Queen on April 15th and it was up by April 30th. Mine was commercial seed. Good luck, I hope it sprouts for you!

Joanne

I WSed cerise queen (from a trade)on Jan. 14 an it sprouted on April 11...not a lot of sprouts, but enough to make a nice planting if they all survive. As far as the green....I am getting lots of it in my containers!
I hope yours is just late! :)
gg

OK. I'll wait a bit longer and also check the seed box to see if I have more seeds in there. I really need more of this perennial!

I sowed yarrow 'Cassis' on 2/2 and it was up on 2/25; they're still in the container, though the top has been off for some time now. The seedlings looked like this (scroll down a bit) about three weeks ago. Also sowed yarrow 'Parker's Golden' on the same day and got nothing but green mold and white mossy stuff - that one I've already dumped. But those were old seeds from 2002, and obviously no good. Both were commercial seed.

I'd think yours should have sprouted by now - maybe you should resow, if you can.

PV

Tiffy:

I have sprouts of Achillea kamschatka, but none of your achillea, nor yellow achillea or A. ptarmica. I hope they're all just late--I'm getting 2-3 newly sprouted containers a day now.

I don't know what kind I have, but seed came from a yellow one but all mine came out white flowering. The were wintersown in Dec. '05....awesome germination beginning in March '06. At the end of the season each clump was about 12" across...2 seedlings planted together per clump. By spring '07 they were HUGE clumps. Picture here does no justice...to give you an idea those rocks on the end are at least 50lbs apiece!
May 7th '06
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April 27th '07
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May 6th '07...a little better pic?
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I did yarrow and it sprouted well. Give it some time.

I've tried wintersowing yarrow last year and this and neither time have I had any success. It seems to me it should be perfect for the climate here but even one I bought last year died within a couple of weeks!

My winter sown yarrow (sown on February 14) didn't germinate last year either. Maybe my seed just wasn't viable. I know I direct sowed it successfully years ago.

I have two new ones (new to me) 'Cloth of Gold' and 'Paprika' this year from the Secret Santa Swap. Should I sow them now or later? Nicole and Linda are you trying again this year?

Pat

I winter sowed Yarrow in my first year, and didn't realize that dust was actually seed. I think every speck sprouted and I ended up with a mess. I sowed some around the solstice this year. I have Achillea filipendulina, Gold Yarrow, Achillia millefolium, white and I also have Summer Pastels. Hopefully we'll all have a good year with it!

I WSed Yarrow today. Not sure which one. Maybe I should have waited! I too thought it would be an easy WS. Maybe it will be.
TiffyZ5, did you try later in the season last year? Will you try again this year?

Audrey

Audrey,

First, if I haven't welcomed you to the forum, I would like to do so now. You will enjoy gardening in the winter with such simplicity. :O)

Giving up is not in my gardening nature. It took three or four years until I finally got some Joe Pye Weed to germinate (supposedly an easy one) and persistence has paid off in beautiful plants which now tower over 7 feet each season.

I did not try later in the season in this case because I had no seeds left. Others which tried the same seed had no germination either. I think it may have been that when the flowers went to seed they did not have enough time to mature.

I have gathered matured seed heads from two Achilleas (Yarrows) which I have in the gardens and will be sowing them this year. One of them is the Cerise Queen, the other is a new variety which is shorter (6inches) and has silver foliage and beautiful pale yellow flowers. Some seeds will be sown soon and others later. Nope! Not giving up!! :O)

Do people not find yarrow invasive?
Maybe only the wild kind is invasive.
I love yarrow, and so I transplanted the wild kind into my garden from where ever I found it, and boy was that a mistake! I spent a year getting rid of it, and I'm still not rid of it.

I've been afraid to try it again.
Has anybody had this problem with WS'ed yarrow?

Ellen,

I think that some of the newer and named varieties don't cause as much of an invasive problem as the wild or older varieties.

In my gardens I have also found that given good rich moisture retentive soil they will go absolutely crazy and start being bullies. Lean, well drained soil keeps them at bay.

I had one variety a few years back that started acting bullyish. I took it out and placed it somewhere else. Unfortunately it died. It was very pretty and I miss the pastel old rose colours it gave to that area of the gardens.

Tiffy thank you for your kind welcome!
I must say that of all the forums I have read and written to this one has the nicest gardeners! Maybe WSers are just a very hopeful bunch!

I am glad you will continue to WS yarrow!
It is a lovely day here today! I think I will try some more containers. I have run out of milk jugs, which do seem to be the best, so I think I will try to use the clear soda bottles I have already cut the bottoms off of for staggered summer watering. You know, one puts them upside down, their necks twisted into a green funnel-like bought thing, and you can fill them up so that they water plants slowly. Very useful in July and August for Basil and tomatoes.
Do any of you think I can get away with using them? I have many, and using them both winter and summer would give them three lives! I could put zip lock bags with cuts around them so that they will have bottoms ....

My very first ever seeds to be winter sown were Yarrow Summer berries and they sprouted quickly. Last year I sowed Yarrow Cassis on Mar 2 and it sprouted Mar 10th. There are some hybrids though that are sterile like Coronation Gold so if someone collects seeds from them they probably wouldn't sprout.
Joann

Thanks Nancy. That's encouraging.

Welcome Audrey! You are going to love winter sowing. I think your soda bottles should work. Give them a try!

Nicole, I'm glad to hear you aren't giving up. I should have known without even asking. ; )

Joann, Thanks for that information. My seeds were only marked "Yarrow" so that could be the reason that I go no germination.

Thanks everyone! I'm going for it! I have some jugs all ready to go and two of them are getting sown with yarrow. : )

Pat

Tiffy, I just re-read your first post. You said you got the seeds from a plant you purchased. I read somewhere that sometimes, the first time a plant blooms, the seeds are sterile. Perhaps that's what happened?

The first yarrow I did was a mixed pack of 'Summer Pastels'. Of course all I got was an ivory-colored one. A thug - even in a pot. But it's so pretty, and the bees and butterflys love it! Every year, I dig out a few clumps and give them away or toss them, and it just keeps coming back!

So, of course, last year I sowed some 'Cassis'. I'll put it in the same pot with the other yarrow, and they can duke it out. They ought to be pretty blooming together.

PV

well that's a good idea PV.
I could put yarrow in a pot.
That's what I do with my chocolate mint.
And the insects do love Yarrow.

ellen

Nancy, Gee, never heard of that but you never know. It may apply to some extent. We'll see if this year's seeds do something. I just sowed a flat of 2 liter pop bottles and 4 of them were the yarrows. Saved a few seeds for a later sowing in the spring just in case.

PV & Ellen,
I did something last year that I will be repeating simply because I liked it and it filled some of my containers on the deck. I took some perennial sprouts, planted them in 4 inch pots, then planted the pots in some of those long rectangular planters. Not sure why but those Echinaceas and Buddleias took right off and by the time I removed them to plant in the holding beds in the fall, their roots had gone right into the soil of the huge planters. I was amazed at their growth! Never fed them anything. I'm wondering if the double potting had anything to do with it.

I got the rectangular planters on G Day and hope there are many more out there this year. :O) The foliage of Yarrow would look nice in one of those.

Several years ago I winter sowed yellow yarrow which is not invasive. The sprouts came up white, which seems to happen. So I think that if you have a clump that you would like to propagate- take a cutting.

Hey Tiffy, I have some yarrow I collected at my sisinlaw's last year when it was fresh. If you need some let me know. It is bright yellow, and white with a pink blush.

I definitely find yarrow to be invasive, but because I have it where it is (in a bed full of other misbehaving pinks), it seems to work. If I move a piece, I do try to make sure the whole thing is out.