Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'
Achillea filipendulina 'Cloth of Gold' · Asteraceae
The tallest yarrow: stiff stems as high as a man's chest carry flat plates of mustard-yellow flowers as wide as a hand.
- Size
- 4½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'
The planner designed this bed around fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 October daphne × 7, pink
- 4 Foxglove beardtongue × 5, white
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sunset hyssop × 3, orange
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Lady tulip × 10, white
Why this plant
- The only flat plates. The others are bells, dense clusters, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 10 weeks. From late June to late August.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 5 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from late January to late October: 39 weeks in all. The back corners are held by foxglove beardtongue and fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' goes in a border
At 4½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A strong horizontal line at the back of a sunny border, and the classic partner for blue delphiniums and globe thistle. The heads dry on the plant and keep their colour indoors for years.
- The back of a hot, dry border
- Dried flowers
- Contrast with spires and globes
What to plant with fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Globe thistle: blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for six weeks; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same dry soil.
- Russian sage: in flower together for seven weeks, from mid July; happy in the same dry soil.
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for three weeks, from early August.
Questions about fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'
Does fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' need sun or shade?
Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 5 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 6 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Early June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4½ ft (130 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Can cause vomiting and drooling in pets if eaten. The sap may irritate sensitive skin.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'?
These come closest to doing what fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- False sunflower 'Summer Nights': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 in shorter, medium leaves, not fine.
- Wild bergamot: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in shorter, 4 in wider.
- Wild quinine: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in shorter, white, not yellow.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold'?
Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Rough blazing star: from mid August to late September, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' look like in winter?
Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
Is fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' good for bees and butterflies?
Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' is visited by butterflies.
More Achillea
- Fernleaf yarrow 'Coronation Gold' Achillea 'Coronation Gold'
- Sneezewort 'The Pearl' Achillea ptarmica 'The Pearl'
- Woolly yarrow Achillea tomentosa
- Yarrow Achillea millefolium
- Yarrow 'Cerise Queen' Achillea millefolium 'Cerise Queen'
- Yarrow 'Moonshine' Achillea 'Moonshine'
- Yarrow 'Paprika' Achillea millefolium 'Paprika'
- Yarrow 'Terracotta' Achillea 'Terracotta'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for butterflies
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 4½ ft (130 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to late August; flat plates; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Comes from
- Caucasus, Iran and Afghanistan
- Attracts
- Butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, heat, salt, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.