Small single flowers like wild roses, their delicate petals bright or pastel according to the species, open from May right through to October. Shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) is a beginner’s shrub for small gardens, balconies and pots, unfazed by hard frost; give it any well-drained soil in full sun and it flowers all summer.
Its gracious and abundant blooming lasts all summer long, and sometimes even up to the first frost spells if fall is mild.
Cinquefoil flowers appear on the year’s growth, as early as May for the earliest varieties and as late as October for the most tardy ones. Delicate petals with cute colors, sometimes bright, sometimes pastel, depending on the species. Very accommodating, cinquefoil takes delight in whatever soil is given to it, even chalky, poor or sandy, as long as it is well drained. Easy to grow, it resists deep cold, even down to -13°F (-25°C) and dry spells, too.
Cinquefoil is a choice plant for tiny gardens and balconies. A large pot at least 10 inches (25 cm) across will let it grow for two or three years without need for any repotting. For substrate, use a mix of one part “balcony or terrace” soil mix, one part garden soil and one part river sand. Add liquid fertilizer twice a month, from April to the end of September, this will ensure excellent growth.
Set the pot arrangement in full sun and water every two or three days during summer. In fall and at the beginning of spring, watering weekly should be enough. In winter, reduce watering down to once every two weeks, and then again only if the weather is dry. Prune in spring to keep the bushy bearing and spur blooming, because flowers appear on the year’s current growth. With a hand pruner, eliminate the oldest branches, cut other branches back by half, just above an eye (bud).
Container-grown cinquefoil asks for very little, but what it asks changes with the season. This table sums up the watering, feeding and pruning routine described above.
| Season | Watering | Other task |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Once a week | Prune to keep a bushy shape and spur flowering; feed from April |
| Summer | Every two or three days | Keep the pot in full sun; liquid fertiliser twice a month |
| Autumn | Once a week | Feeding stops at the end of September; flowering may run on to October |
| Winter | Once every two weeks, only if dry | Nothing else; the plant takes deep cold down to -13°F (-25°C) |
A pot at least 10 inches (25 cm) across will carry the plant through two or three of these cycles before it needs repotting.
Most garden centres stock a handful of reliable cinquefoils, and the choice really comes down to flower colour, final size and how much sun the spot gets. The shrubby types build a low bush, while the herbaceous kinds sit at the front of a border.
| Variety | Flower colour | Best position |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Gibson’s Scarlet’ | Bright scarlet | Full sun, front of border |
| ‘Primrose Beauty’ | Pale primrose yellow | Full sun |
| ‘Pink Beauty’ | Clear pink, semi-double | Sun to light shade |
| ‘Tangerine’ | Coppery orange-yellow | Light shade keeps the colour |
| ‘Miss Willmott’ | Cherry pink, dark eye | Full sun, front of border |
| ‘Abbotswood’ | Pure white | Full sun |
| ‘Goldfinger’ | Deep golden yellow | Full sun |
| ‘Red Ace’ | Vermilion red, yellow reverse | Sun to light shade; colour holds better out of fierce sun |
Easy to propagate
Bushy cinquefoil are easy to propagate through cuttings. Collect tips of young stems in August (length: 4 inches (10 cm)) and stick them in a pot filled with a fifty-fifty blend of sand and blond peat. Propagating through hardwood cuttings from November to February is also very easy. It is advised to prepare cuttings often, since many varieties tend to be rather short-lived.
Divide the perennial cinquefoil crowns every three years, to rejuvenate them. Some species make for ground cover: for these, eliminate suckers that tend to take root around the plant, or it will become invasive. Sprigs from crawling cinquefoil varieties are easily naturally layered.
Marie Etavard
Caption of the picture:
Potentilla fruticosa ‘Red Ace’, a variety that cherishes shade more than the yellow varieties do. © La Plante du mois.
