Achillea ptarmica Ballerina is a wonderful cultivated yarrow with masses of pure white, double pompom flowers. A succession of these can take you from June to October. This froth of white can be planted as a drift, woven through other plants or take its place in a cutting garden for use as an alternative to gypsophila, used fresh or dried. This is easy to grow and enjoys sun or part shade in any soil, unlike many members of the yarrow family it does prefer a moisture retentive soil, its natural home being damp meadows.
🌸 Flowering June to September (often October in milder area)
📏 Height 40-60cm
🌿 Perennial
💧 Water needs: Moderate. Prefers moisture retentive soil and benefits from watering during prolonged dry spells.
Sow: start seeds from February to May or from September to October. Surface without covering as achillea needs light to germinate. Germination usually takes 1 to 4 weeks. Pot on seedlings once they are large enough to handle before planting out.
Grow: plant out in the autumn at 30cm apart, or a little closer if creating a drift. Grow in sun or partial shade in fertile, moisture retentive soil. Deadhead regularly to encourage flowers well into autumn. Cut back old growth in spring as fresh shoots appear.
Enjoy: a long flowering perennial that softens borders with clouds of white blooms. Equally at home in a cottage garden, mixed border or cutting patch, where it provides armfuls of flowers for both fresh and dried arrangements.
🏡 In your garden
• Cottage and informal garden
• Cutting garden
• Flower borders and beds
✂️ Cut flower
• Fresh vase life of around 7-10 days
• Dries beautifully, keeping their shape and colour for everlasting arrangements
🐝 Wildlife friendly
Attractive to bees, hoverflies and other short-tongued pollinators
💡 Did you know?
This plant is also known as Sneezewort. In the past its dried leaves and roots were ground into snuff to induce sneezing. Its species name, ptarmica, comes from the Greek word ptairo, which means "to sneeze".
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