Cinquefoil planting and care in the open field in the Urals

When planning to grow and propagate new crops in your garden, think about cinquefoil. Abundant and long-lasting flowering, easy care are the main advantages of this perennial. The article will tell you about the varieties of Potentilla and its planting in the open field.

Description of Potentilla: varieties and varieties

If in ancient times healers wanted to stop the blood from the wound, to anesthetize or cure poisoning, the cinquefoil came to the rescue. Care and cultivation of a crop does not cause trouble for gardeners. Now the perennial is more cultivated as an ornamental plant. There are at least 500 species of Potentilla shrub (five-leafed). Here are just some varieties:

1. Annette - up to 0.5 m, flowers are orange with a reddish tinge.

   Annette variety

2. Longacre - with yellow flowers.

   Longacre variety

3. Pink Queen - with creeping shoots and pink flowers, up to 60 cm in height.

   Pink Queen variety

4. Princess is a perennial cultivar with pale pink flowers.

   Princess variety

Anyone who has been growing and breeding Potentilla for several years knows that it makes an excellent drink rich in vitamin C. For this plant is called Kuril tea. In Siberia and the Kuriles, it is most common as a remedy for colds and flu. Those who have already used cinquefoil in landscape design on their site, probably liked the ease of its cultivation and unpretentious care.

Planting a plant

The best option for a place is partial shade. When planting in a sunny area, you risk not admiring the bright bloom of the five-leafed plant. Some varieties burn out under hot rays. In absolute shade, the plant will not develop well.

Advice. Cinquefoil tolerates planting well not only in open ground, but also in large flowerpots on balconies or loggias.

The soil should be rich in humus, well-drained, loam is preferred. The most demanding in this regard are pink varieties. Plant Potentilla in spring or fall. The depth of the holes is about 50 cm, the distance between them is about 60-80 cm. Lay the drainage in a layer up to 20 cm. It is best to use lime gravel: it contains calcium.

Choose a cozy place in partial shade for Potentilla

Pour soil with sand and humus on top. Place the seedling in the hole, making sure that the root collar does not go deep into the ground. Cover it with soil in combination with a complex mineral fertilizer. The final stages of planting are abundant watering and mulching with sawdust.

Advice. In addition to compost and sand, 100 g of lime or ash can be added to the pits for nutrition and maintenance.

Potentilla care

For good outdoor growth and flowering, the five-leaf plant needs moist soil. Therefore, the main rule of care is watering. Often, Potentilla has enough only rainwater, moreover, it is considered a drought-resistant plant. However, make sure that the soil does not dry out anyway.

For young seedlings in the first 3 weeks after planting, pour half a bucket 1 time in 7-8 days. In hot summer, water it 2-3 times a week. A bucket of water will be enough for each bush, but not ice. Finish the procedure by loosening (5-10 cm deep) and mulching.

It is very important to maintain soil moisture

The appearance of Potentilla needs regular maintenance. Remove weeds and trim bushes. Pruning is best done in the spring or fall. Trim the twigs about 1/3 every 3 years, or a little more if the landscape design requires it.

Fertilization and feeding

In addition to the mineral fertilizer applied during planting, Potentilla needs the following dressings:

Potassium sulfate and phosphate fertilizer:

• 25-30 g of both per bucket of water;
• 1 bucket is enough for 1 bush;
• application time - spring.

For abundant flowering, the culture needs regular feeding.

Phosphorus and potash feeding:

• use any, in accordance with the instructions;
• application time - before flowering.

Reproduction of Potentilla

When growing Potentilla, 4 breeding methods are used:

• layering;
• cuttings;
• dividing the bush;
• seeds.

When propagating by layering, the incised shoot is bent to the ground. The place of the incision is fixed with a hairpin and sprinkled with soil. When the cuttings acquire their roots, they are planted in a new place. This is the easiest method.

Rooted cuttings of Potentilla

Cuttings are cut in the summer from those branches that appeared last year, removing the lower leaves. They are planted in moist soil in the shade of the garden, covered with a jar or bottle. Water during the day. The buds are removed so that they do not weaken the plant.

If the cinquefoil is already 4 years old, it can be divided and planted. The selected shoot with growth buds is separated from the main bush and rooted in the open field. They do this both in the spring and in the fall. The main condition is warm weather.

Seeds for subsequent reproduction are harvested either at the end of summer or in September-October. They can be dried and stored for several years or planted immediately. Spread them over the surface of the soil and press down lightly. Self-seeding is also used, which is characteristic of Potentilla. Young shoots from seeds are planted in temporary ridges, and after a couple of years - in a permanent place.

Diseases and pests

And here there is a reason to rejoice for gardeners who grow Potentilla. Planting and caring for it is also simple in that pest control is not needed. They practically do not touch this perennial plant. Almost the only attack is rust.

Cinquefoil is quite resistant to both disease and pest attacks.

Yellow-brown spots with a purple tint appear on the leaves. If the bush is severely affected, the foliage on it curls and dries up, spraying with a solution of manganese and boron or sulfur will be needed. Rust develops well on pine branches, avoid the neighborhood with this ephedra.

Shrub cinquefoil: combination with other plants

Good five-leaf partners:

• geyher;
• junipers;
• barberry;
• cotoneaster;
• host.

Cinquefoil in a flowerbed

The combination of yellow Potentilla looks bright with:

• catnip;
• lavender;
• hyssop.

Plants with white, blue and blue flowers are a good addition to the five-leafed plant.

Shrub cinquefoil in landscape design

This plant keeps its shape well. Curbs and hedges are beautiful. A single Potentilla bush on the lawn looks harmonious. Often in landscape design, this perennial is used for:

Cinquefoil in landscape design

• flower beds-mixborders;
• rosaries;
• rock gardens.

Shrub cinquefoil can grow in open ground for up to 20-30 years. Set aside a place for it and it will decorate your garden all year round.

Cinquefoil: video

Types of Potentilla shrub: photo

 

 

Cinquefoil (lat.Potentilla) is one of the largest genus of the Pink family in terms of the number of species, the most characteristic representatives of which are cinquefoil and erect cinquefoil, or galangal grass. Among the cinquefoil, of which there are about half a thousand species in the world, there are many herbaceous species of perennial, biennial and annual plants and shrubs. In the garden culture, both the cinquefoil grass and the cinquefoil shrub are grown.

The stems of representatives of this genus are most often erect, widened or ascending, sometimes creeping. Leaves are multiple or pinnate, green or gray-green in color. Shrub types of Potentilla reach a height of one and a half meters, expanding in width by about one meter. Flowers in most species are collected in pseudo-umbellate or corymbose-paniculate inflorescences, but there are species with single flowers.The color of the flowers is varied - red, golden yellow, orange, pink, cream, white. Potentilla bloom lasts a long time - from May to September. The fruit consists of a large number of seeds - from 10 to 80, usually glabrous, but sometimes hairy, and the more exotic the type of plant, the larger the fruit.

All cinquefoil is undemanding to growing conditions, with the exception of a few finicky species, which include, for example, white cinquefoil, which prefers to grow in the shade, or shiny cinquefoil, which thrives best in southern exposure on dry sandy soils. All other species like light areas shaded by other plants in the afternoon, and loose, slightly acidic, nutritious and well-drained soil containing little lime. The exception is arctic cinquefoil, which needs acidic soil.

   

 

Professionals say that it is possible to sow the seeds of herbaceous species of Potentilla simply in the ground in the fall, so that they undergo natural stratification during the winter, after which the seedlings sprout together in the spring, and all that remains is to plant them. You can sow seeds in the ground and in the spring. But it is better not to risk the seed and grow seedlings by sowing seeds in February or March and germinating them under polyethylene at a temperature of 15-18 ºC. As soon as real leaves appear at the seedlings, they need to be dived into separate cups or peat pots. Seedlings grow slowly, but, nevertheless, at the end of summer they are planted in open ground in a permanent place. Young plants need to be covered for the winter. Potentilla bloom from seeds in the second year. Cinquefoil often reproduces by self-seeding.

 

 

 

Planting shrub Potentilla. In early spring, when the snow melts and the soil thaws, the seedlings of shrub varieties of Potentilla are planted in holes that should be twice as deep and wider than an earthen ball or the size of a container in which the roots of Potentilla are located. The distance between the two bushes should be at least 30 cm.A layer of lime gravel is poured onto the bottom of the pit as drainage, then the pit is half-filled with a mixture of humus, leaf earth and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1, to which 150 g of complex mineral fertilizer is added ...

The seedling is lowered into the pit in such a way that its root collar is slightly above the level of the surface of the site, then the hole is filled to the top with garden soil, tamped and watered. For three weeks after planting, make sure that the cinquefoil does not experience a lack of water. Cover the area with straw, bark or sawdust to prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. If necessary, the planting of Potentilla is carried out in late summer or early autumn.

 

 

Cultivation of shrub Potentilla, like herbaceous Potentilla, does not require much effort. Plant care consists in weeding, loosening the soil, watering, feeding, removing wilted flowers and mulching the soil on the site. You will have to water the cinquefoil only during the absence of rain, once every two weeks, with a bucket of warm water under each bush, and if you mulch the area with peat or sawdust in the spring, then you also rarely have to weed and loosen the soil. In the summer, you will need to add mulch to the site two to three times. You need to feed Potentilla with mineral fertilizers for flowering plants three times a season - in May, July and in August or September. This is a mandatory program for the care of Potentilla, but if on sultry summer evenings at the end of a sultry day you spray Potentilla with water, it will thank you for it with abundant flowering.

 

   

In addition to the seed method of reproduction of Potentilla, vegetative methods are used - dividing the bush, cuttings and layering. Cutting and propagation by layering is carried out in July-August, and the division of the bush - in the spring, in April-May, or in the fall, at the beginning of September.To divide the cinquefoil rhizome, a bush that has reached the age of four is dug up, the rhizome is washed and cut into pieces with a sharp sterile knife, each of which should have 2-3 buds. The roots of the cut are treated with a rooting stimulant and planted in the ground, trying not to deepen the buds. When planting, observe the distance between the divisions of 20-40 cm.

Cuttings 8-10 cm long are cut from the ends of the shoots, removing the flowers. Shoots are rooted in moist perlite for a month or a month and a half in a frost-free room. You can plant them for rooting simply in the ground somewhere in a shady corner of the garden, covered with a jar or cut plastic bottle, spraying them several times a day. If buds appear, they must be cut off so that flowering does not weaken the rooting cutting. For the winter, cuttings are covered with spruce branches.

The easiest way to reproduce is layering. How to propagate Potentilla by layering? Choose a low-growing shoot in the spring, cut it on the outside, lay the shoot in the dug groove with the notch down, attach it to the ground exactly in this place and sprinkle it with earth. Until autumn, a root system is formed at the cutter and it can be separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a permanent place.

 

 

Pruning Potentilla
Growing and caring for shrub cinquefoil, in addition to the listed procedures, also requires pruning of the plant, which is carried out in early spring, before the buds open, and in autumn. If the cinquefoil is not cut, the plant becomes a shaggy, unkempt bush. Pruning Potentilla pursues sanitary purposes, for the sake of which broken, dry and growing branches are removed from the bush, and also serves to form a bush - most often the plant is given the shape of a ball or pillow. In the spring, the growth of last year is cut by a third, and in the fall, too elongated and old shoots are removed. Mature plants are rejuvenated every five years or when a large number of dry twigs appear. To do this, for three years in a row, a third of the dry branches are cut off on the bush. The result is a complete update of the hive.

 

 

The annual Potentilla, when it loses its decorative effect, is removed, the site is dug up with fertilizers. After the end of flowering, the shoots of shrub Potentilla are cut by a third; as a preventive measure against diseases, the bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.

Cinquefoil is perennial, herbaceous or shrub, does not need shelter for the winter, since it has a high degree of cold resistance. Only rooted cuttings and young seedlings planted in autumn should be covered.

 

 

 

As you can see, planting and caring for cinquefoil is not at all burdensome, and you are unlikely to have to fight diseases or harmful insects, since pests and diseases rarely bother cinquefoil. Sometimes it is affected by rust, mottling or powdery mildew. If the infection occurred with an annual species of Potentilla, then there is no particular trouble in this - the plant will not lose its decorative effect, and in the fall it must still be disposed of. Perennial varieties and types of Potentilla need to be treated with a fungicide - Bordeaux liquid or colloidal sulfur, for example. Of the pests on the cinquefoil, scoops are sometimes found, which are destroyed by treating the plant with insecticides such as "Fufanon", "Decis Profi", "Fitoverm".

   

There are so many varieties and types of Potentilla that even listing them will take a full chapter, so we will introduce you only to the most popular types. So, among the herbaceous species, the most famous are:

 

Apennine cinquefoil (Potentilla apennina)

 

perennial with trifoliate silvery pubescent leaves, collected in a rosette, with pink or white flowers.

 

White cinquefoil (Potentilla alba)

 

It is a perennial from eight to twenty-five centimeters high with complex palmate-lobed basal leaves with brown stipules.Her flowers are white, up to three centimeters in diameter, collected in several pieces in loose umbellate or racemose inflorescences. Peduncles reach a height of 25 cm, the plant has no stem leaves.

 

Goose cinquefoil (Potentilla anserina)

 

Or Houndstooth. The basal rosette of this species is formed by pinnately complex leaves up to 20 cm long, pubescent on the underside. Peduncles are leafless, with single yellow flowers up to 2 cm in diameter.

 

Nepalese cinquefoil (Potentilla nepalensis)

 

Perennial plant up to 50 cm high with branched straight stems of purple color. The leaves are palmate, dark green, large - up to 30 cm long. Flowers, also large - up to 3 cm in diameter, red or light pink with dark pink veins - gathered in panicles, bloom from the beginning of July for almost two months. The most attractive varieties:

• Cinquefoil "Roxana" - with salmon-orange flowers in dark veins.
• Cinquefoil "Miss Wilmott" - pink cherry flowers with a dark eye. The variety blooms profusely and for a long time.
• Cinquefoil "Floris" - flowers with a pale salmon shade with a red-orange eye.

 

Erect cinquefoil or galangal (Potentilla erecta)

 

It grows in the tundra and forest zone on the edges, lawns along the banks of rivers and swamps. It is a perennial plant with an unevenly thickened woody rhizome. Erect stem no higher than 20 cm, branched in the upper part and leafy, trifoliate leaves - sessile stem, basal, dying at the beginning of flowering - on long petioles. Flowers, single, regular, up to 1 cm in diameter, on thin long pedicels, bloom in June-August.

 

Silver cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea)

 

Perennial with a large tuberous rhizome, slender arcuate rising stems up to 30 cm high, long-scaly basal and lower-stem leaves and three-to-five-part middle and upper stem leaves, densely covered with white pile on the underside. Loose corymbose-paniculate inflorescence consists of small flowers up to 12 mm in diameter. Plants of this species bloom in June-July.

 

Hybrid cinquefoil (Potentilla x hybrida)

 

this species combines varieties and garden forms of hybrid origin. In most plants, the rhizome is oblique or vertical, the stems are pubescent, strongly branching, erect, up to 90 cm high with leaves collected in a basal rosette - the lower leaves are trifoliate or fingerlike on long petioles with sharp teeth along the edges, the stem leaves are trifoliate, sessile.

Velvety flowers of this variety up to 4 cm in diameter, red, yellow, dark purple or pink, make up a loose racemose or corymbose inflorescence. Famous varieties:

• Cinquefoil "Master Floris" - plentiful and long-blooming cinquefoil with simple large yellowish flowers.

• Cinquefoil "Yellow Queen" - Potentilla up to 30 cm tall with yellow shiny flowers.
• Cinquefoil "Volcano" - Terry cinquefoil of bright red color.

In addition to the species described, two-flowered Potentilla, golden, long-leaved, shaggy, Kranza, deceptive, tansy-leaved, dark blood-red, silver-leaved, Tonga, three-toothed, shiny, stemless, snow-white, arctic and others have become widespread from herbaceous cinquefoil.

 

Yellow cinquefoil or Kuril tea

 

Of the shrub species, the Kuril cinquefoil is grown in culture, she is yellow cinquefoil, she is Kuril tea, she is a five-leafed (Pentaphylloides fruticosa). In the specialized literature, this species belonged to the Potentilla, however, recently it has been allocated into a separate genus - Kuril tea, Dasiphora (Dasys - thick-haired, phoros - carrying). This genus includes ten species, on the basis of which many cultivated garden forms and varieties have been developed, which are honey plants and are often used by designers to create a picturesque hedge.

 

Pentaphylloides davurica (Pentaphylloides davurica)

 

shrub, reaching a height of 60 cm with spaced bare shoots, five-part, almost leathery leaves, shiny on the upper side, and gray on the bottom. White flowers up to 2.5 cm in diameter, most often solitary, but sometimes they make up a few-flowered umbellate inflorescences, they bloom for more than three months.

 

Shrub five-leaf
(Pentaphylloides fruticosa)

 

In nature, it has a vast area, covering the forest and forest-steppe of Western Europe and Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is an unusually hardy, highly branching plant up to one and a half meters high with gray or brown peeling bark and a dense hemispherical crown. Lanceolate whole-edged leaves up to three centimeters long and one three to five to seven-part wide, at a young age they are soft green, then they become silvery-green due to pubescence. Single or collected in loose apical shields or racemes, golden-yellow flowers up to 2 cm in diameter bloom from mid-June to early October.

Of the undersized varieties, the most popular are: Dakota Sunrise, Abbotswood, Goldstar, Jolina, Goldfinger, Reisenberg with flowers in orange-yellow tones and Farrers White and Rhodockalix with white flowers.

Tall, winter-hardy shrubs over a meter high are represented by the Elizabeth and Catherine Dykes varieties with yellow flowers.

Winter-hardy varieties with silver-gray leaves: Darts Golddigger, Goldterppich, Bisi.

Compact, low varieties requiring shelter for the winter: Klondike, Kobold with yellow flowers, Parvifolia, Red Ice, Red Robbin with copper-yellow flowers, Sunset with yellow-orange to red-brick flowers, Eastleigh Cream with creamy white flowers and Daydown, Royal Flash, Pritty Polly and Blink with pink flowers.

In addition to the described species of shrubby cinquefoil, of undoubted interest are the Manchurian, small-leaved, Friedrichsen and Dryadiflora pentaphones, the possibilities of which have not yet been sufficiently studied by breeders.

   

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Cinquefoil is an unpretentious herbaceous crop that comes from the Pink family. More than 500 species can be found in nature. In the garden plots, both low and tall shrubs and creeping species grow, which are used by many summer residents and flower growers to add sophistication to flower beds, borders, as well as alpine hills.

The most popular among flower growers are perennial varieties of flowers that do not require special care from them, and also have a long flowering. What are the features of caring for cinquefoil in the open field?

The color of plant varieties is so different that any florist is able to get confused when choosing a suitable color for a summer cottage. The flowering process in Potentilla begins in early May and lasts until September. It blooms with yellow, snow-white, red, cream, pink and orange buds. Potentilla is most common in the Urals, Western Siberia and the Caucasus, where the shrub Potentilla is commonly called Kuril tea or five-leafed leaf.

For the first time, Potentilla was found on the territory of the Kuril Islands, after which it spread throughout Russia and other countries.Since ancient times, flowers have contained a large amount of vitamin C, essential oils, and tannin.

Gardeners most often used this culture in the form of medicinal tea, which is able to cure colds and quickly improve a sick person. Today it is a beautiful ornamental crop, which is valuable for landscape designers because of its simplicity in growing, ease of maintenance and a long flowering period throughout the summer.

Characteristics and description of shrub Potentilla

Cinquefoil is a crop that includes a large number of annuals, biennials, as well as perennials, among which you can easily find shrubs and herbaceous species.

Shrub cinquefoil. Perennial culture, presented in the form of a shrub, with a dense and spherical shape. The plant can grow up to 1.5 meters. This plant is considered the most common of the other varieties of Potentilla.

The people call this sort of Kuril tea or five-leafed tea. Compact and branched shrubs in natural growing conditions can often be found on rocky slopes, talus, and also in cracks between rocks, where the plant almost always creates pubescent thickets.

The leaves of the shrub type of Potentilla are slightly lowered, and also cut into five lobes at once, the buds are quite large in size, combined into a complex of inflorescences. There are a thousand stamens in the middle of the flower, making the middle of the bud look very fluffy.

The flowering process of the plant begins from the onset of June, and continues until October. You can also find such varieties of Potentilla, which are different in their color, but in most cases the flowering of the bush is more like the flowering process of apples or rose hips. After the flowering of the culture, seeds are formed - a box in the form of a brown button, which makes the culture even more decorative and attractive.

Among the most common plant varieties, the following can be distinguished:

1. Abbotswood Is a shrub that grows up to one meter in height, and also has a pillow-like and dense crown. Leaves are light green, white flowers form small clusters. The shrub can look good in special rock gardens, as well as in group plantings together with other cultures, and is actively used in decorating borders.
2. Guildford Cream Is a tall shrub that can grow up to 1.5 meters in height. The crown of Potentilla is dense and has the shape of a pillow, the leaves are dark green in color. Potentilla flowers are quite large, large and most often have a creamy and snow-white shade.
3. Red Ace - this is a plant in the form of a shrub with a height of up to 70 centimeters, the crown of Potentilla can be up to 1.3 meters wide. The main feature of the culture is the creeping shoots. The leaves of the culture are dark green, mainly the plant blooms in orange-red shades.
4. Pink - Queen - flowering cinquefoil, which grows in height up to 80 centimeters. During flowering, pale pink flowers are formed, the flowering period of the plant lasts from June to September.
5. Hoppy Orange - this is a short shrub, it reaches only 50 centimeters, it also has a rather wide crown. It is considered the most hardy and winter-hardy variety.
6. Apennine cinquefoil... A perennial culture that was found in Europe, where it most often grew at an altitude of 1500 meters. The height of the culture reaches from 5 to 15 centimeters, the leaves of the trifoliate type, pubescent have a silvery shade. The flowering process of the culture occurs at the end of the summer season, pink or white inflorescences are formed on the plant, which reach 15 mm in diameter. It is used as a decor for rock gardens, cracks in stones, in the works of landscape designers.
7. White bloodroot... Perennial shrub, the place of growth of which is considered to be the central part of Europe and Russia.The height of the culture varies from 8 to 25 centimeters. The stems and leaves of the culture are covered with silky and adpressed hairs. The plant has complex basal leaves, as well as dark brown stipules. The plant blooms in small white inflorescences on a long peduncle. Flowers can have a diameter of 3 centimeters, the culture actively blooms from May to August. Unpretentious cinquefoil, with all this, is unable to endure direct sunlight, as well as excessive moisture in the soil.
8. Goose cinquefoil. A ground cover plant that is unpretentious to growing conditions, therefore, it is widespread throughout Russia. The leaves of the culture are pinnate, large-toothed, flowering occurs in small single inflorescences. Inflorescences have a diameter of up to two centimeters. Peduncles are leafless. The plant is considered unpretentious, grows under any conditions, near roads, highways - in places where other crops simply cannot survive.
9. Nepalese cinquefoil... Perennial and herbaceous shrub, the height of which can reach 1.5 meters. The homeland of the plant can be considered the territory of Nepal, as well as the Western Himalayas. The stems of the plant are straight, highly branched, and have a purple hue. This variety has rather large leaves, finger-like, reaching up to 30 centimeters in length, and also having a dark green color. The flowers of the plant attract the attention of others due to their brightness, large size, pink color and dark veins, which are collected in unusual panicles. The bloom begins in July and lasts 55 days.
10. Erect cinquefoil (in another way galangal). This is a perennial shrub that has a thickened woody rhizome, in the wild it can grow freely in forests, tundra, swamps, rivers, and lakes. The stem of the culture is erect, with a height of up to 20 centimeters, the upper area of ​​the shrub has no foliage. Flowers, as a rule, are solitary, regular in shape, up to one centimeter in diameter, grow on long and narrowed pedicels. The flowering time for the flower lasts from June to August.

In addition, among the Nepalese Potentilla you can find beautiful hybrid varieties:

1. Miss Wilmott - these are lush inflorescences of a cherry-pink and red hue, which have a dark eye.
2. Roxanne - these are salmon-orange inflorescences, have dark streaks.

Planting process of Potentilla

The cinquefoil flower is a plant that is unpretentious to growing conditions, which is why growing cinquefoil in gardens and summer cottages is a simple and pleasant process. The only exception can be white cinquefoil, which grows only in the shade and cannot withstand the strong moisture of the soil. All other varieties of Potentilla prefer light or shaded areas of the garden during the daytime. A large amount of light can adversely affect the appearance of the plant. Delicate petals can quickly begin to fade in direct sunlight and lose their attractiveness. Lack of light can stop the flowering process or slow down the growth of the crop.

The choice of soil mixture for planting Potentilla

The best soil mixture for a plant will be a loamy soil, although the plant is capable of growing completely on any soil, in which it is worth adding additional fertilizers and nutrients. Pink flowers of Potentilla are considered especially demanding on the components in the soil.

The process of planting Potentilla in the soil

Shrub cinquefoil is the most common variety of this crop, which is most often grown by gardeners in order to competently decorate the territory of the garden and summer cottage. Planting should take place in autumn or spring.

Planting stages:

1. When planting seedlings it should be borne in mind that in this culture Potentilla rhizomes have a superficial branching system, so the pits for planting should reach a depth of 0.5-0.6 meters. The distance between adjacent plantings should vary from 30 to 80 centimeters.
2. To the bottom of the pit it is imperative to place a drainage layer of pebbles, broken bricks, rubble, and on top - a layer of sheet earth, which will be mixed together with humus and river sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. It is worth adding about 100 grams of organic fertilizers or ash to the soil mixture.
3. The seedling should be neatly arranged in the landing pit. The main condition when performing this operation is a careful location in the pit for planting the root collar of the culture. It should be located above the soil level.
4. After the seedlings are well watered, mulch the shrub soil in a circle: sawdust, straw or dry soil. Within one month after planting the crop, it is imperative to maintain the desired percentage of soil moisture and prevent drought.

Potentilla care

The process of caring for cinquefoil is quite simple and even simple flower growers can do. It is very easy to provide regular and moderate irrigation for perennial crops, additional fertilizing, pruning, and weeding around the shrub.

Watering the plant

Cinquefoil blooms luxuriantly and grows well in moist soil, although with all this it belongs to stable and unpretentious flowers. During the rainy season, the crop may not need additional watering. In hot and dry summers, the plant should be watered two to three times a week, avoiding dryness in the soil. It is strictly forbidden to use ice water for watering the plant, so as not to harm the root system of the flower, it is best to water the flower with warm and settled water.

After the watering process, it is worth shallowly loosen the soil around the flower. In the evening, flowers can be sprayed. Potentilla seedlings are especially in need of abundant watering, they should be watered quite often, using up to 10 liters of warm water under one bush during watering.

> Plant feeding

A flowering shrub needs additional fertilization in the soil. When planting seedlings, any mineral fertilizing or ash should be used, and for the next spring, the crop can be fed using the following fertilizers:

1. In the process of active growth plants in the spring should be fertilized in the soil in the amount of 30-40 grams of potassium sulfate and phosphate, diluting them in 10 liters of water, while counting on one crop.
2. In the budding process the soil mixture should be fed with phosphorus-potassium complex dressings, using the instructions for use.
3. Also to maintain of an attractive type of plant, it should be regularly pruned, even the crown of the shrub.

The genus Potentilla is characterized by a wide variety of species (from low-growing grasses to stately shrubs), but planting and care in the open field are similar for these plants, because they are all unpretentious in cultivation. We will tell you what to look for.

Particularly fastidious are only white cinquefoil (it grows well only in the shade), shiny cinquefoil (it thrives on dry sandy soil on the southern side of the site) and arctic cinquefoil (needs acidic soil). Other types of Potentilla prefer well-lit places where there is shade in the afternoon (for example, from other plants). The soil should ideally be loose, slightly acidic, nutritious, well-drained and with a little lime.

Planting Potentilla

Growing shrub Potentilla won't be difficult even for a beginner. They start planting a seedling in the spring, when the snow melts and the soil thaws.But if you are late with this matter, planting or transplanting Potentilla can also be carried out in late summer - early autumn.

The planting hole should be about 2 times deeper and wider than the earthen ball of the seedling. Drainage must be laid on the bottom (preferably lime gravel), after which the hole is approximately half filled with a mixture of humus, leafy earth and sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1), 150 g of complex mineral fertilizer for ornamental plants is also added there. The seedling is lowered into the hole and covered with the same soil mixture so that its root collar is located just above the ground level. Then the soil is tamped and watered abundantly.

For group plantings, the distance between seedlings should be at least 30 cm

So that the soil does not dry out quickly, the planting site is mulched with straw, bark or sawdust. This is especially true in the first 3-4 weeks after planting, since with a lack of moisture, the seedling does not take root well and may die.

Growing Potentilla from seeds

Grassy cinquefoil is usually grown from seeds. Seeds are sown in autumn (before winter) in open ground, then they undergo natural stratification there, and germinate together in spring. Seedlings only need to be planted so that they do not interfere with each other. And with minimal care, a delicate cinquefoil will flaunt on your site.

Potentilla seedlings grow rather slowly, so please be patient

Seeds can also be sown in spring (early March) for seedlings. They are germinated in fertile soil under polyethylene at a temperature of 15-20 ° C and watered regularly. With the appearance of 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings dive into separate pots (possibly in peat ones), and at the end of summer they are planted in open ground. In late autumn, young plants are covered with spunbond, otherwise in winter they risk freezing out.

In the first year, such Potentilla does not bloom. Therefore, to receive flowers, you will have to wait for the next season. And it is important to properly care for the plant.

Potentilla care

Cinquefoil is very popular in landscape design due to its unpretentious care. The plant needs regular weeding, loosening of the soil and timely watering during a drought. And if you mulch the plantings with peat or sawdust in the spring, then these manipulations can be done less often.

To achieve lush flowering, it is recommended to feed the cinquefoil in May, July and at the end of August with a complex mineral fertilizer for flowering plants. Although on fertile soil, it grows well without additional fertilizing. However, flower growers still recommend at least once a year (in spring) to apply phosphorus and potassium sulfate under each adult bush (25-30 g of each fertilizer per 10 liters of water). Consumption - 1 bucket per plant.

Erect cinquefoil, or galangal

In dry summers, the plant becomes "stuffy", so it often fades quickly. To prevent this from happening, every evening after sultry weather, Potentilla is sprayed with water from a spray bottle. Then flowering will be longer.

With good care, diseases and pests do not bother the cinquefoil. In exceptional cases, the plant can be attacked by rust, spotting and powdery mildew. Any fungicide (Bordeaux liquid, Fitosporin-M) can easily cope with these fungal diseases.

Of the pests on the cinquefoil, scoops can be found. An insecticide (Decis, Fitoverm) will help to cope with them. A few sprays with an interval of 2 weeks are enough.

Adult plants (both herbaceous and shrub Potentilla) do not need shelter for the winter. Only cuttings rooted this year and young seedlings are insulated.

Pruning Potentilla

When growing shrub Potentilla, one should not forget about timely pruning. Otherwise, the plant will quickly turn into a shapeless bush. In early spring and late autumn, all broken, dry and thickening branches are removed from the shrub, and the desired shape is also created (most often in the form of a ball or pillow).

Cinquefoil Elizabeth

In addition, in the spring, the growth of the last year is shortened by 1/3, after the end of flowering, the shoots are again cut by a third, and in the fall, over-extended branches are completely cut out. Every 5 years, a rejuvenating "stump" pruning is carried out.

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How to propagate Potentilla

The most popular reproduction of Potentilla cuttings... They are cut in the summer from the ends of the shoots. It is best to do this before flowering, but if necessary, you can do it later, and you should remove the flowers. Cuttings (8-14 cm long) are rooted in wet perlite, sphagnum or sand for a month in a room with a temperature of 15-18 ° C and periodically watered and sprayed from a spray bottle.

Rooting Potentilla Cuttings in Moss

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Also in the summer, you can root cuttings of Potentilla in the open field in a shady corner of the garden. At the same time, they are covered with a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle and sprayed with a spray bottle at least once a day. For the winter, cuttings are covered with spruce branches or spunbond.

Potentilla can also be propagated dividing the bush and layering. In the first case, a bush 3-4 years old is chosen and divided in the spring (April-May) or early autumn (early September). In this case, the plant is dug up, the rhizome is washed and cut with a sharp knife into pieces with 2-3 buds. The roots of the cut are dipped into a rooting stimulator (for example, Kornevin), after which they are planted in the ground so that there is a distance of 20 to 40 cm between the plants.

Layers Potentilla is propagated in the first half of summer. The low-growing lateral shoot is bent to the ground (it can be slightly cut on the outside), placed in a pre-dug groove, pinned and sprinkled with moistened soil. By the fall, the cuttings will form their root system, then they can be separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a permanent place in the garden.

Cinquefoil is not only a beautiful, but also a medicinal plant. So, using our advice, you can improve the garden and at the same time improve your health.