The majestic decoration of the suburban area is the golden curls of Potentilla shrub
For a long time, shrub cinquefoil remains the unchanged favorite of gardeners and landscape designers. It stands out from other plants with its luxurious numerous buds, which abundantly cover the entire bush. Most often, on personal plots, you can find varieties with bright yellow inflorescences, reminiscent of the golden curls of a fairy princess. Despite this, Potentilla types with white, orange, pink and red flowers are no less popular. Some of them are terry. 
Due to the fact that the shrub is bred from wild species, it does not require special care. It successfully takes root in the northern regions and even in the arctic latitudes.
General description of the plant
Among the many garden plants, cinquefoil shrub has a rather long flowering period. Under favorable conditions and proper care, it is covered with a scattering of buds from the beginning of summer until the first frost. From the side, the shrub resembles a luxurious fabric that sways gracefully from the summer breeze. Those who raised him on the territory of a country house created a truly paradise for themselves. Looking at the photo of Shrub Potentilla, you can see its unsurpassed originality, original tenderness and refined details.
This cute beauty can boast of several more names - five-leaf tea and Kuril tea. Moreover, translated from Latin, the word “potents” means “powerful”, which indicates the beneficial properties of this plant.
In its natural environment, in spacious meadows and river valleys, goose cinquefoil is found. Her 80 cm long garlands are richly decorated with bright yellow flowers. Designers use hybrid herbaceous varieties for alpine slides, and a bushy look as a flowering hedge. Due to the fact that the plant grows in nature on pebble, rocky slopes, it successfully takes root on the fertile soil of the summer cottage.
Cinquefoil is a lush, highly branched shrub about 1.5 meters high. Its delicate shoots grow from the root area, forming a dense lace crown in the form of a ball or hemisphere. Most often, the crown width is much greater than the Potentilla height, which gives the plant a unique look throughout the season.
The openwork and curly look gives the bushes original carved leaves, which are divided from 3 to 7 parts. They are a bit like a room geranium, cuff and parsley. Each lobe of the leaf blade has a lanceolate character with a solid frame and a pointed apex. The color is muted greenish with a silvery sheen.
Potentilla shrub buds have a simple shape and reach 3.5 cm in diameter. Consists of 5 rounded petals that surround a fluffy center, consisting of 30 delicate stamens. During flowering, they bloom along the entire shoot, forming openwork garlands against the background of green foliage. It is interesting that throughout this period the buds are interchangeable. Some bear crescent fruits, others are just blossoming. Thus, Potentilla can meet even the first snow with young inflorescences.
In addition, the plant is widely used in folk medicine.Many people know the beneficial properties of Potentilla shrub and contraindications. Its raw foliage contains a huge number of useful elements, including:
- vitamin C;
- carotene;
- vitamin C;
- tannins;
- essential oils.
Decoctions from it help to strengthen the immune system, stimulate digestion and have a beneficial effect on blood composition. The only contraindication is the intolerance of its components. A prudent approach to treatment will help you make wise decisions.
Modern breeders continue to work on the creation of new types of Potentilla. Although today many decorative varieties are already known. They differ in size, color of buds and degree of frost resistance. Therefore, gardeners should take these parameters into account when choosing plants for a summer cottage. Consider the most popular varieties of Potentilla shrub, photos and descriptions of plants in order to appreciate their stately beauty.
Abbotswood
A beautifully flowering deciduous shrub of this species has a meter height with a crown width of about 130 cm. During lush flowering, many snow-white buds appear on it. The last inflorescences can bloom even in early October. The leaf plates are yellowish-green in color and consist of 3 or 7 ovoid parts. The length is about 3 cm.
Cinquefoil "Abbotswood" is resistant to dry weather. Loves a lot of light, although it grows successfully in shady areas. The plant prefers moist soil with good drainage. Refers to fast growing shrubs. Over the course of a year, its height increases by 20 cm, and its width by approximately 25 cm.
Potentilla is planted in pits with a maximum depth of 60 cm, at the bottom of which drainage from pebbles or broken bricks is laid. The soil is fertilized with humus and diluted with sand. Can be added to soil to stimulate growth mineral fertilizers at the rate of 100 g per hole.
For the plant to take root successfully, the root collar of Potentilla must be flush with the ground.
"Goldfinger"
The original cushion-shaped crown of Potentilla shrub "Goldfinger" wonderfully fits into the garden landscape of a country house. Its bright yellow large-sized inflorescences will decorate the site for a whole season, up to the first frost. The plant loves open areas where there is a lot of sunlight and well-drained land. Needs moderate humidity, therefore suffers from dry periods.
The flowering period begins in late spring, when the entire shrub is dressed in a yellow veil of delicate buds. The dark green leaves do not change their hue until autumn. The plant is used to attract various types of butterflies to the garden.
"Red Ice"
Unusually resistant to weather conditions, Red Ice cinquefoil grows, on average, up to 1.5 m in height. Differs in the original coloring of the peeling bark of the shoots, which happens:
- reddish;
- reddish brown;
- gray.
The leaf plate consists mainly of 5 parts. In the spring it is colored light green, and throughout the summer it has a silvery hue. The first buds are orange-red, summer versions are orange-yellow.
The type of Potentilla shrub "Red Ace" feels great in humid places and in partial shade. Frost resistant. It tolerates pruning well, after which it retains its decorative appearance. Some specimens grow up to a maximum of 60 cm.The diameter of the crown is about 100 cm.
"Pink Queen"
The unique pink queen of garden flower beds is a low bush with creeping branches. It is unusually hardy, tolerates pruning wonderfully, keeping its compactness and original look for a long time. The cushion-shaped dense crown is characteristic of the cinquefoil shrub "Pink Queen". It is formed from pinnate leaves, consisting of 5 or 7 oval parts. In summer they are light green in color, in autumn they are golden.Pink buds appear in early June and bloom wildly until the end of September. Another name for this species - shrub cinquefoil "Princess".
Merion Red Robin
Lovers of low-growing plants can grow an amazing flowering bush on their site. It grows only up to 50 cm. The dense crown of Potentilla shrub "Merion Red Robin" resembles a miniature hemisphere 80 cm wide, which consists of many thin shoots. Against the background of light green lanceolate leaves, many orange inflorescences appear every spring. They decorate the plant until mid-September.
Cinquefoil "Merion Red Robin" is used for decorating slopes, curbs or as a ground cover plant.
Lovely Pink
Shrub cinquefoil "Lovely Pink" is a short plant that has a dense creeping crown. It grows up to 0.5 m in height. The diameter of the bush is 100 cm. It can grow only by 10 cm per year. The leaf plates are dark green in color, 3 cm in length. Since the beginning of June, a huge number of rose buds appear on the Potentilla. Flowering continues until mid-autumn, right up to the first frost. The shrub prefers open areas where there is a lot of sunlight.
To stimulate abundant flowering and form the shape of the crown, the cinquefoil should be cut off. It is better to do this in early spring.
Practical tips for caring for and growing a plant
Cinquefoil is considered an unpretentious plant and survives in nature even in extreme conditions. Therefore, for those who want to start a plant on their site, it is enough to follow simple rules:
- choice of location;
- suitable soil;
- watering;
- trimming;
- top dressing.
Simple care and cultivation of Potentilla shrub allows many gardeners to decorate their areas with this cute plant. It is planted in spring or autumn, when the threat of frost has passed. Cinquefoil takes root well in open places where there is a lot of light. In extreme cases, partial shade.
The soil should be light and loose with good drainage. For planting, a deep hole is dug, which is 2 times the length of the root. Drainage from gravel or pebbles is laid at the bottom, after which it is covered with soil consisting of humus, sand and turf soil. A glass is added for feeding ash and mineral fertilizer (about 150 g).
Proper care of the shrub requires proper watering. Young seedlings are moistened 3 times a week, 10 liters per bush. Others, it is enough to moderately moisturize as the soil dries around the root zone.
To stimulate the successful development of the plant at the beginning and at the end of the growing season, fertilizing is carried out with special fertilizers.
It is also important to carry out and pruning Potentilla every season. Thanks to this, its appearance improves, growth is stimulated and a beautiful crown is formed. The bush cinquefoil shown in the photo in landscape design is a living confirmation of the value of this operation. It is carried out in early spring, when the buds have not yet begun to grow. Remove last year's tops of shoots, dry branches, as well as those that grow inside the shrub. As a result, the plant can be completely renewed in a few procedures. And then, the summer cottage will always be decorated with golden curls of Potentilla shrub.