Battlefield surgeons administered crush yarrow to bullet wounds as late as the Civil War. As a reputed cure-all, yarrow also has been used to used to curtail fevers, stimulate appetites and for backaches, earaches, head colds, toothaches, bruises and burns. As a cut flower, yarrow is among the best. Once established, yarrow requires little water, prefers poor but well-drained soil and is happiest in full sun. It isn't crazy about fertilizer, particularly nitrogen-rich ones that promote sprawling rather than upright plants.
Yarrow yields a huge payoff for a plant that asks for so little.
For the beginner A dormant oil is a petroleum-based oil sprayed on fruit trees and other plants in winter to smother insects, their larvae and eggs that have taken up housekeeping on the trunk and limbs. Dormant oil also helps control some diseases. Under those layers of leaves, garden critters like snails and slugs are as cozy as you or I at the Hilton. Leaves prevent light and air from reaching lawns, creating an unhealthy situation. You can also stop over-wintering spores and diseases from infecting lawns by keeping leaves and debris picked up.