Achillea 'Red Velvet'

Achillea millefolium 'Red Velvet'

This is one of the best red Achilleas I have grown, with the flowers opening as a rich crimson red and fading to cerise. I have been growing a small trial plot of all the different cultivars available in what has been a difficult summer for plants which do not require excessive water. This one flowered very early in spring and though the colour of the flowers was superb, the flower stems were a bit weak and it tended to flop over as the months progressed. Over the last month the central section of the plant has died out completely but it is still hanging on and should recover when the weather cools down. I put this down to the plant having been breed in conditions of severely cold winters (hence the early flowering) and hot, low humidity, summers as experienced away from the coast.