14 Yarrow Varieties That Add Stunning Perennial Color To Gardens

When seeking out drought-tolerant, low-maintenance flowering plants that will thrive in the sun, there's no doubt that yarrow (Achillea spp.) will make its way onto your list time after time. These perennials provide interesting visual texture with their flat-topped, umbrella-shaped flower heads, and can provide color in shades of white, yellow, orange, red, pink, or purple, depending on the specific yarrow. Some of the yarrow varieties and cultivars you can use to add gorgeous dashes or masses of perennial color to your beds include favorites such as 'Terracotta,' 'Paprika,' and 'Coronation Gold'.

A multi-purpose plant, yarrow is also a gorgeous flowering favorite that can help you get a handle on garden pests by providing food for beneficial insects. So including yarrow in the garden is pretty much a no-brainer — all you have to do is pick the best yarrow for your space. While you may feel inclined to make room for as many different types as possible, it will be helpful to first learn a few details about these different varieties, such as what colors to expect from the blooms, the mature size of the plants, when to expect flowering, and which USDA Hardiness Zones they are adapted to.

Appleblossom (Achillea 'Apfelblüte') is a lovely option for perennial color, providing fresh splashes of pink for the ornamental garden. Appleblossom is a yarrow cultivar that reaches up to 2 feet tall and wide, while blooming from summer through early fall. This cultivar can be added to yards in zones 3 to 8, and is a flower you can grow from seed to attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and green lacewings, to your garden. 

A sprightly looking cultivar of yarrow and part of the fruit-themed Tutti Frutti series, Achillea millefolium 'Apricot Delight' reaches 2 feet tall and wide and provides gorgeous, apricot-colored flowers that serve as pollinator landing pads. Blooming from early to late summer, 'Apricot Delight' is a hard-to-resist ornamental option for gardeners in zones 3 to 9. This attractive yarrow adds color while also helping to prevent erosion on slopes, and offers eye-pleasing resources for butterflies and bees.

Also known as New Vintage White, Achillea millefolium 'Balvinwite' is a compact yarrow cultivar, reaching just 15 inches tall and 12 inches wide. With snowy-looking clusters of white-colored flowers, 'Balvinwite' blooms from early summer to early fall, and is cold-hardy in zones 3 to 8. 'Balvinwhite' can be used to restore disturbed soils, or it can be grown as an insectary plant in a pollinator garden. This plant is also an excellent source of cut flowers for either dried or fresh arrangements.

Blooming in spring and summer, Achillea millefolium 'Cerise Queen' is a yarrow cultivar that bears dark pink- or fuchsia-colored flowers and reaches up to 2 feet tall and wide. Growing best in zones 3 to 8, 'Cerise Queen's' perennial pink flowers will look enchanting in your autumn garden. Consider adding this cultivar to gardens alongside the bright orange blooms of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) for an eye-catching tropical feel.

'Coronation Gold' yarrow (Achillea 'Coronation Gold') is a colorful hybrid you might want to consider to add perennial color to your drought-tolerant garden in zones 3 to 8. Boasting bright yellow blooms, this yarrow reaches 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide and blooms from summer to fall. It grows best in dry to moderately moist, sandy soils that have excellent drainage. The cut blooms of this perennial can be used to brighten up either fresh or dried flower arrangements.

A sweet plant that offers flattened, rose-colored flower clusters, Achillea millefolium 'Heidi' grows up to 2 feet tall and 20 inches wide and looks charming in cottage gardens or flower beds. The flowers of 'Heidi' appear in mid-summer to early fall, adding perennial color in shades of rose, pale pink, and cream. It can be grown in zones 3 to 9. This long-blooming yarrow cultivar received a Royal Horticultural Society Award for Garden Merit in 1999, and it attracts butterflies and other pollinators.

With lovely blooms in soft purple tones, Achillea millefolium 'Lilac Beauty' grows to be up to 3 feet tall and wide. Bringing a soft presence during warm days, the lilac-hued flowers of this yarrow cultivar appear in the summer, on plants that add perennial color year after year. Also known as 'Lavender Beauty,' 'Lilac Beauty' can be included in rain gardens, courtyard gardens, cut flower gardens, or wildlife gardens in zones 3 to 10.

'Paprika' is one enchanting perennial that'll keep blooming once your irises fade. With a spreading growth habit that works beautifully in naturalized gardens, Achillea millefolium 'Paprika' is a yarrow that provides gorgeous dusty red blooms for use in zones 3 to 8. These warmly colored flowers appear from the end of spring and continue all summer long, gracing plants that reach up to 2 feet tall and wide. This drought-tolerant yarrow variety can also be used to add perennial color in rock gardens or around parking lots.

With large clusters of peach-colored flowers, Achillea millefolium 'Peachy Seduction' offers a soft palette for a cut flower garden or backyard meadow. Growing up to 2 feet tall and wide, 'Peachy Seduction' is a perennial yarrow variety that blooms from summer to fall, offering its shades of peachy pink to gardeners looking to add perennial color in zones 4 to 8. This yarrow will thrive in hot, dry growing conditions, as well as high humidity.

Another member of the Tutti Frutti series, Achillea millefolium 'Pink Grapefruit' adds perennial color to gardens with pink flowers that have yellow centers. This perennial bears blooms throughout the summer. Adapted to zones 4 to 8, it provides delicate color while holding up to tough growing conditions and drought. As a full-sun lover, it's just as happy in coastal gardens as it is in prairie gardens.

Gardeners seeking out wine-red shades for the garden should consider the deeply colored blooms of 'Pomegranate' yarrow. This cultivar of Achillea millefolium, another member of the Tutti Frutti series, produces summer-blooming magenta to red flowers on compact plants that reach 30 inches tall and 28 inches wide. 'Pomegranate' can add perennial color in zones 4 to 8, either in a container garden, in a mass planting, or scattered in an ornamental flower border.

With bright, lilac-pink summertime blooms with yellow centers, Achillea millefolium 'Pretty Belinda' adds perennial color to flower borders and rock gardens. Gardeners in zones 3 to 8 can include this stunning variety in their yards. 'Pretty Belinda' grows to be up to 2 feet tall and wide, as long as the soil isn't too wet or has poor drainage. Consider combining 'Pretty Belinda' yarrow in your garden with coneflowers (Echinacea) and rudbeckias, and count on it to resist both rabbits and deer.

Orange colors make excellent complements in a garden with purple or blue flowers, making Achillea filipendulina 'Terracotta' a yarrow cultivar you'll want to add to your planting list. This cultivar grows up to 3 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide. It bears orange blooms throughout the summer, with flowers shifting from yellow tones to copper as they age. This plant is perennial in zones 3 to 8 and withstands grazing from deer.

With fiery coloring that is hard to ignore, 'Walther Funcke' yarrow sports flattened clusters of small red flowers with yellow centers. This compact Achillea cultivar reaches 2 feet tall and wide and blooms from late spring to midsummer, making it a great option for perennial color that's perfect for a colorful garden. Add 'Walther Funcke' to well-draining beds in zones 3 to 8. The fern-like foliage of this plant can also serve as a ground cover.