About this variety
Soft double white pompoms on slender stems from midsummer to autumn, and a great many of them. An established clump will throw hundreds of cutting stems in a season, which is why it turns up in so many florists' patches.
It is a close relative of 'Ballerina' and the difference is worth knowing before you choose. 'Marshmallow' is looser, taller and considerably more vigorous. You get more stems, but the habit is relaxed rather than tidy and the stems are not as reliably self-supporting after rain. If you want a neat mound at the front of a border, take 'Ballerina'. If you want volume for the vase, take this.
The vigour comes at a cost. It runs on underground rhizomes and in rich, moist ground it will run enthusiastically into whatever is next to it, so divide it every couple of springs and keep an eye on its neighbours. Like all the sneezeworts it is happiest in ground that stays damp, so it will grow where a common yarrow gives up. It dries well and holds its white.
