Achillea 'Peter Cottontail'

Achillea 'Peter Cottontail': White Buttons by the Bucketful

Ivory-white double buttons, perfectly spaced, like a rabbit got really into embroidery. The funny part? Real rabbits won't touch 'Peter Cottontail'. HE HAS FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Achillea ptarmica 'Peter Cottontail'
• Common Name: Sneezewort Yarrow
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 70–75 cm (28–30 in)
• Flowers: Ivory-white, double, button-like blooms held singly and well spaced
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Narrow, green leaves in a low, mounding habit
• Features: Long blooming, rabbit resistant, good for cut and dried flowers

Where to Plant: Use it at the front or middle of a border, along a path, in a rock garden or in a large container. Because it spreads wider than it's tall, a few plants can cover a sunny slope or fill gaps between bigger plants.

Companion Plants: Use these white buttons as the calm thread that ties a bright, sunny cottage bed together. Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink' carpets the front at 10 to 15 cm with hot pink flowers in May and June, before the yarrow starts. Dianthus Fruit Punch® 'Whipped Cream' adds fragrant white pinks at 20 to 25 cm in June and July. Echinacea 'Mellow Scarlets' brings orange, red and scarlet coneflowers at 80 cm from June to October. Schizachyrium 'Ha Ha Tonka' stands behind at 90 to 120 cm, its blue-green blades flushing red and orange by fall.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in poor to average, well-drained soil. It has low to average water needs, so water through the first season and then only during long dry spells. Skip the fertilizer. Shear off spent flowers to keep it tidy and blooming. You can leave the last seed heads standing for winter interest, then cut the plant back in early spring. Divide in spring every few years if the clump gets crowded.

History: 'Peter Cottontail' was bred by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan, from a 2014 cross between two seedlings of the older sneezewort 'Noblessa'. The species, Achillea ptarmica, gets its name from the Greek ptarmos, sneezing, because the dried leaves were once used to make people sneeze.

Final Thoughts: It blooms for months, dries beautifully and shrugs at drought. Plant a row and hop to it. THE EASTER BUNNY WISHES HE WAS THIS LOW MAINTENANCE.