Does anybody use dried Yarrow to make thier trees

[Anonymous]

Botonical Name: Achillea millefolium
Last September the wife and I went about 5 miles from home and picked up about 4 bushels of Yarrow in about 15 minutes.
It is completely dried from the summer sun and very sturdy, with a good shape. I found one piece that when I held it up to my face and looked across the yard at the 100' Maple tree they looked very similiar.
I have been experimenting with these but have not seen any article specifically dealing with this stuff, Any ideas?
Is there a market for it? I have a 1/4 acre of land that I could grow some if people actaully use it.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I like it, and some of my foundation plantings produce it. I have a lot of bags full, just waiting to be used.

There are a couple of things you can do with it. By simply painting the tops {the flower part) they make nice looking shrubery. By removing the flower part, they have a nice branch structure, to which you can glue coarse ground foam. To make larger trees, you could make a trunk out of balsa, and drill holes and insert the smaller pieces into it.

Use your imagination.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like interesting stuff, is there a website somewhere that shows a closeup picture of this stuff? Or could you snap one of your own and post it?[:P] Inquiring Minds want to know...

[Anonymous]

My Camera is dead but I could smash a piece into the scanner? How do you post a picture?

[ukguy]

hmmmm , I'd really like to see this stuff too.

upload the pic to a webhost such as railimages, or one of your choice and use the command below inserting your pictures address instead of mine. Just substitute the \ at the end with a / for the pic to appear.

[img]http://www.railimages.com/albums/karlallison/aek.jpg[\img]

Karl..

[dehusman]

I prefer Golden Rod.

Dave H.

[howmus]

Achillea Millefolium:
http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=plant_profile.cgi&symbol=ACMI2

I like the idea of using Goldenrod. I have heard of that being used for scenery years ago and had forgotten about it. At what stage should it be picked?

[Big_Boy_4005]

As far as I know, it is best to pick plants to be used for scenery when they are dry, late fall or early spring.

There are a number of plants that can be useful for scenery, if you are willing to venture out and look for them. Yarrow is the name of the dried plant, and there are a number of varieties. Many craft stores carry a cultivated variety, which has a very regular shape, that I find less desirable than the wild varieties. Architects have been using yarrow as trees on their models for years.

Here are a couple of photos of yarrow. The first shows it both with and without the flowers. The second is a tree made from the one without flowers. It took less than 30 seconds to make that tree. A quick dip in white glue, a dip ground foam, and shake off the excess, done.

[dehusman]

Yarrow seems to flat topped for my taste. Usually in the fall I as I drove around I would note places that had lots of goldenrod growing. You wait until the plant has turned brown and the little leaves near the flower heads have dried where they can be removed from the stems easily. There is a month or two window for harvesting. The earlier, the more of the "fluff" from the flowers will be present, the later the sparser the plant.
I have found that there are variations in the variety and density of the flower clusters. Some have long fluffy flower custers like foxtails, others are very thin. I like to take scrap sheets of 3/4 or 1 in foam board (the type that blows off construction sites) and punch holes with a nail every 4" or so. I clip off the goldenrod heads and stick the stems in the holes in the foam. At home, I trim the heads, shaping it and making it tree-like, then over a trash can or card board box I would spray the golden rod with a heavy coat of green paint from a spray can (whatever color was cheapest) and then dust the wet tree with ground foam. Quick and simple. Plus the goldenrod can effectively model trees that are 50-100 feet tall in HO. For those of us modeling the east coast it really can provide a towering forest.

Caveat: Others have published that since the goldenrod is havested at the end of its life, the pollen that causes hayfever is gone and the dried goldenrod should not cause allergies. My wife disagreed and so I do not use goldenrod anymore, I use painted and ground foam covered fiber-fill. The goldenrod was much more effective at simulating trees and if my wife would ever relent I would go back to using it.

Dave H.

[howmus]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dehusman

Caveat: Others have published that since the goldenrod is havested at the end of its life, the pollen that causes hayfever is gone and the dried goldenrod should not cause allergies. My wife disagreed and so I do not use goldenrod anymore, I use painted and ground foam covered fiber-fill. The goldenrod was much more effective at simulating trees and if my wife would ever relent I would go back to using it.

Dave H.

dehusman, tell your wife to relent! Goldenrod does not cause an allergic reaction in humans. Ragweed, usually growing nearby, does. The pollen of goldenrod is heavy and waxy and does not travel easily in the air. Goldenrod pollen is collected by many insects as food. Go here to read about the plant: http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/goldenrod.htm (go to the bottom of the page the allergy info). Or you can ask your doctor next time you see him or her. Goldenrod causing allergies is just another old myth that still hangs around. [:)]

Thanks for the information on Goldenrod for trees!

[Anonymous]

Your garden is a great resource! I've used yarrow, sedum, hydrangea all to great and different effect at no cost except for the ground foam to cover them. I usually pick mine in the fall after they've died back, then hang them up in the gatage to dry over the winter. Try using them individually and/or taped into small bundles with florist tape. Makes a nice variety on the layout. Enjoy!
Andy