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
• Plant Patent: USPP 31,756

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: Start the season with Iris 'Caesar's Brother', whose violet flowers and upright leaves rise to 80 to 100 cm in May and June. Monarda Sugar Buzz® 'Pink Frosting' stays compact at 35 to 40 cm and adds pink flowers in July and August, right beside the white buttons of the yarrow. Symphyotrichum shortii finishes things off with blue asters from August to October. All three grow in full sun or partial sun.

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.