perennial
Common yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Achillea millefolium is a fast-growing perennial for gardens in zones 3–9. It grows 1–3 ft tall and 1.5–2 ft wide, so plant it 1.5 ft apart. Give it full sun to part sun and little water once established. It flowers white in May to September. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the filler role: a flowering plant that fills the middle or front of the bed. It is native to the Northeast, the Midwest, the Great Plains, the Mountain West, California, the Pacific Northwest and the Desert Southwest. Deer usually leave it alone, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in Florida and the Gulf, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Achillea millefolium
- Plant type
- Perennial, herbaceous
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 9
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Any well-drained soil including poor and dry.
- Mature size
- 1–3 ft tall × 1.5–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- May–Sep · white
- Roles in a bed
- Filler
- Styles
- natural, low water
- Deer resistance
- High: deer rarely eat it
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. ASPCA lists yarrow as toxic: vomiting, diarrhoea, dermatitis.
- Native to
- Northeast, Midwest, Great Plains, Mountain West, California, Pacific Northwest and Desert Southwest
- Pot size and price
- 1-gallon pot, typically $8–$14 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water weekly through the first summer until roots establish, then only during long dry spells.
- Pruning
- Cut back after flowering; spreads by rhizomes, so edge it.
Sources: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List (from general knowledge; not re-checked unless verification is web-checked); Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and grower tags; State extension service guidance and USDA PLANTS distribution maps; Rutgers NJAES Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States and state noxious weed lists; Typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box retail listings (estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Common yarrow, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Shrubby cinquefoil (potentilla) 'Goldfinger'Dasiphora fruticosa 'Goldfinger'shrub · zones 2–7
- Tufted hair grassDeschampsia cespitosaornamental grass · zones 4–9
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin'Viburnum dentatum 'Christom'shrub · zones 3–8
- Weeping redbud 'Ruby Falls'Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'small tree · zones 5–9
- Prairie smokeGeum triflorumperennial · zones 3–7
- Pennsylvania sedgeCarex pensylvanicaornamental grass · zones 3–8
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Common yarrow: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Blue false indigoBaptisia australiszones 3–9 · flagged toxic to pets
- Wild bergamotMonarda fistulosazones 3–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Foxglove beardtongue 'Husker Red'Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'zones 3–8 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Wild columbineAquilegia canadensiszones 3–8 · flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants