Pruning cinquefoil shrub. Potentilla: varieties, planting and plant care

Potentilla planting

Potentilla care

Potentilla pruning

How to propagate cinquefoil

cuttings

dividing the bush

layering

When planning to grow and propagate new crops in your garden, consider Potentilla shrub. Abundant and long flowering, simple care - the main advantages of this perennial. The article will tell about varieties of cinquefoil and its planting in open ground.

Description of Potentilla: varieties and varieties

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

Anyone who has been growing and propagating cinquefoil for more than a year knows that it makes an excellent drink rich in vitamin C. For this plant, they call Kuril tea. In Siberia and the Kuril Islands, it is most common as a remedy for colds and flu. For those who have already used cinquefoil in landscape design on your site, you probably liked the ease of its cultivation and unpretentiousness in care.

Planting a plant

The best location is partial shade. When landing in a sunny area, you run the risk of not admiring the bright flowering of the five-leaf spring. Some varieties burn out under hot rays. In absolute shade, the plant will develop poorly.

Advice. Potentilla well tolerates planting 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 cinquefoil in spring or fall. The depth of the pits 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

Top with soil with sand and humus. Place the seedling in the hole, making sure that the root collar does not go deep into the ground. Fill it with soil in combination with 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 care.

Potentilla care

For good growth in the open field and flowering, the pentafolia requires moist soil. Therefore, the main rule of care is watering. Potentilla often needs only rainwater, and it is also considered a drought-resistant plant. However, make sure that the soil does not dry out.

Under young seedlings in the first 3 weeks after planting, half a bucket should be poured 1 time in 7-8 days. In hot summers, ensure watering 2-3 times a week. Each bush will have enough for a bucket of water, but not ice. Finish the procedure by loosening (to a depth of 5-10 cm) and mulching.

It is very important to keep the soil moist.

The appearance of the cinquefoil needs regular care. Remove weeds and cut bushes. Pruning is best done in spring or autumn. Cut the branches about 1/3 every 3 years, or a little more if landscaping requires it.

Fertilizer and top dressing

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

Potassium sulphate and phosphate fertilizer:

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

For abundant flowering, the culture needs regular top dressing.

Phosphorus and potassium top dressing:

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

Potentilla reproduction

When growing Potentilla, 4 methods of reproduction are used:

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

When propagated 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 layering acquires its roots, it is 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 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 seated. The selected shoot with growth buds is separated from the main bush and rooted in open ground. Do this both in spring and autumn. The main condition is warm weather.

Seeds for subsequent propagation are collected 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 lightly press down. Self-seeding is also used, which is typical for 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 reason to rejoice at gardeners who grow cinquefoil. Planting and caring for it is also simple because pest control is not needed. They practically do not touch this perennial plant. Almost the only misfortune is rust.

Potentilla is quite resistant to both diseases 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, spraying with a solution of manganese and boron or sulfur will be required. Rust develops well on pine branches, avoid proximity to this conifer.

Potentilla shrub: combination with other plants

Good partners for the five leaf spring:

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

Potentilla in the flowerbed

The combination of yellow cinquefoil with:

• catnip;
• lavender;
• hyssop.

A successful addition to the five-leaf spring are plants with white, blue and blue flowers.

Potentilla shrub in landscape design

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

Potentilla in landscape design

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

Potentilla shrub can grow in open ground up to 20-30 years. Set aside a place for her, and she will serve as a decoration for your garden all year round.

Potentilla: video

Types of Potentilla shrub: photo

Potentilla (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 goose cinquefoil and erect cinquefoil, or galangal-grass. Among Potentillas, of which there are about half a thousand species in the world, there are many herbaceous species of perennial, biennial and annual plants and semi-shrubs. In horticultural culture, both Potentilla grass and Potentilla subshrub are grown.

The stems of representatives of this genus are most often erect, expanded or ascending, sometimes creeping. The leaves are multi-parted or pinnate, green or gray-green in color. Shrub species of Potentilla reach a height of one and a half meters, growing in width by about one meter. Flowers in most species are collected in pseudoumbellate 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 flowering lasts a long time - from May to September. The fruit consists of a large number of seeds - from 10 to 80, usually naked, but sometimes hairy, and the more exotic the type of plant, the larger the fruit.

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

Professionals say that it is possible to sow the seeds of herbaceous species of Potentilla simply into 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 in the spring. But it is better not to risk seeding 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 the shoots have real leaves, they need to dive 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. For the winter, young plants must be covered. Potentillas bloom from seeds in the second year. Potentilla often propagates by self-seeding.

Planting shrub cinquefoil. In early spring, when the snow melts and the soil thaws, seedlings shrub varieties Potentillas are planted in pits that should be twice as deep and as wide as the earth ball or the size of the container containing the Potentilla roots. The distance between two bushes should be at least 30 cm. A layer of lime gravel is poured into the bottom of the pit as drainage, then the pit is half filled with a mixture of humus, leafy soil 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 surface level of the plot, then the pit is filled to the top with garden soil, tamped down and watered. Within three weeks after planting, make sure that the Potentilla shrub does not experience a lack of water. Mulch the area with straw, bark, or sawdust to prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. If necessary, Potentilla planting is carried out at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn.

Growing shrub cinquefoil, like herbaceous cinquefoil, does not require much effort. Plant care consists of weeding, loosening the soil, watering, fertilizing, removing wilted flowers and mulching the soil on the site. Potentilla will have to be watered only during the absence of rains 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, you will also have to weed and loosen the soil infrequently. In summer, you will need to add mulch to the site two to three times. Feed the cinquefoil with mineral fertilizers for flowering plants you need three times per season - in May, July and in August or September. Such is the obligatory care program for Potentilla, but if you spray Potentilla with water on sultry summer evenings at the end of a hot day, it will thank you for this with abundant flowering.

In addition to the seed method of propagation, cinquefoils use vegetative methods - dividing the bush, cuttings and layering. Cuttings and propagation by layering are carried out in July-August, and the division of the bush is carried out in spring, in April-May, or in autumn, in early September. To divide the rhizome of the cinquefoil, a bush that has reached the age of four is dug up, the rhizome is washed and cut with a sharp sterile knife into pieces, each of which should have 2-3 buds. The roots of the delenok are treated with a root formation stimulator 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 wet perlite for a month and a half in a frost-free room. You can plant them for rooting just in the ground somewhere in a shady corner of the garden, covering them with a jar or a 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 stalk. For the winter, the cuttings are covered with spruce branches.

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

Potentilla pruning
Growing and caring for shrub Potentilla, in addition to the listed procedures, also requires pruning of the plant, which is carried out in early spring, until the opening of the kidneys, and in the fall. If the cinquefoil is not cut, the plant becomes a shaggy, untidy bush. Potentilla pruning pursues sanitary purposes, for which broken, dry and growing branches are removed from the bush, and also serves to form a bush - most often the plant is shaped into a ball or pillow. In the spring, the growths of last year are cut off by a third, and in the fall, too elongated and old shoots are removed. Mature plants are subjected to a rejuvenating treatment every five years or in the event of a large number of dry twigs. To do this, for three years in a row, a third of the dry branches are cut on the bush. The result is a complete update of the hive.

The one-year-old cinquefoil, when it loses its decorative effect, is removed, the site is dug up with fertilizers. The shoots of shrub Potentilla after flowering are cut off by a third, as a preventive measure to combat diseases, the bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.

Potentilla is perennial, herbaceous or shrubby, does not need shelter for the winter, as 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 deal with diseases or harmful insects, since pests and diseases rarely bother cinquefoil. Sometimes it is affected by rust, blotches or powdery mildew. If the infection occurred with an annual species of cinquefoil, then there is no particular trouble in this - the plant will not lose its decorative effect, and in the fall it is still subject to disposal. Perennial varieties and types of Potentilla need to be treated with a fungicide - Bordeaux liquid or colloidal sulfur, for example. Of the pests on Potentilla, 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 cinquefoil 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:

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

This is a perennial with a height of eight to twenty-five centimeters 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.

Potentilla goose (Potentilla anserina)

Or goose paw. The basal rosette of this species is formed by pinnate leaves up to 20 cm long, pubescent on the underside. Peduncles are leafless, they bear single yellow flowers up to 2 cm in diameter.

Perennial plant up to 50 cm high with branched straight purple stems. 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 - collected in panicles, bloom from the beginning of July for almost two months. The most attractive varieties:

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

Potentilla erecta or galangal (Potentilla erecta)

It grows in the tundra and forest zone on the edges, lawns along the banks of rivers and swamps. This is a perennial plant with an unevenly thickened woody rhizome. An upright stem not higher than 20 cm, branched in the upper part and leafy, trifoliate leaves - stem sessile, basal, dying off by the beginning of flowering - on long petioles. Flowers, solitary, regular, up to 1 cm in diameter, on thin long pedicels, bloom in June-August.

Perennial with a large tuberous rhizome, slender arcuate ascending stems up to 30 cm high, long-scaly basal and lower stem leaves and three to five divided 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.

this species combines varieties and garden forms of hybrid origin. In most plants, the rhizome is oblique or vertical, the stems are pubescent, strongly branched, erect, up to 90 cm high with leaves collected in a basal rosette - the lower leaves are trifoliate or palmate 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. Known varieties:

Potentilla "Master Floris"- plentifully and long-blooming cinquefoil with simple large yellowish flowers.

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

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

Potentilla yellow or Kuril tea

Of the shrub species, Kuril Potentilla is grown in culture, it is also yellow Potentilla, it is also Kuril tea, it is also five-leafed (Pentaphylloides fruticosa). In the specialized literature, this species belonged to Potentilla, but recently it has been separated into a separate genus - Kuril tea, Dasiphora (Dasys - densely hairy, phoros - bearing). This genus includes ten species, on the basis of which many cultivated garden forms and varieties were bred, which are honey plants and are often used by designers to create a picturesque hedge.

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

Pyatilistochnik shrubby
(Pentaphylloides fruticosa)

In nature, it has an extensive range, exciting forest and forest-steppe. Western Europe and Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is an unusually hardy, strongly branching plant up to one and a half meters high with gray or brown exfoliating bark and a dense hemispherical crown. Lanceolate entire leaves up to three centimeters long and one wide three-five-seven-separate, at a young age they are pale green, then they become silver-green due to pubescence. Golden-yellow flowers up to 2 cm in diameter, solitary or collected in loose apical shields or brushes, bloom from mid-June to early October.

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

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

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

Compact, low cultivars that require shelter for the winter: Klondike, Kobold with yellow flowers, Parvifolia, Red Ice, Red Robbin with copper-yellow flowers, Sunset with flowers from yellow-orange to red-brick, Eastley Cream with creamy white flowers and Daydown, Royal Flash, Pretty Polly and Blink with pink flowers.

In addition to the described species of shrub cinquefoil, Manchurian, small-leaved, Friedrichsen and dryad flower-shaped five-leaf springs are of undoubted interest, the possibilities of which have not yet been sufficiently studied by breeders.

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Potentilla is an unpretentious herbaceous culture that comes from the Rose family. More than 500 species can be found in nature. Both low and tall shrubs and creeping species grow in garden plots, which are used by many summer residents and flower growers to add sophistication to flower beds, borders, and alpine slides.

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

The color of the varieties of the plant is so different that any grower can be confused when choosing the right color for a summer cottage. The flowering process in Potentilla begins in early May and continues 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 shrub Potentilla is commonly called Kuril tea or cinquefoil.

Potentilla was first 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 can cure colds and quickly heal a sick person. Today it is a beautiful decorative culture, which is valuable for landscape designers due to its unpretentiousness in cultivation, ease of care and long flowering period throughout the summer.

Characteristics and description of shrub Potentilla

Potentilla is a crop that includes a large number of annual crops, biennials, and perennials, among which you can easily find shrubs and herbaceous species.

The cinquefoil is shrubby. A 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.

Among the people, this variety is called Kuril tea or cinquefoil. Compact and branchy shrubs under natural growing conditions can often be found on rocky slopes, screes, 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, as a result of which the middle of the bud looks very fluffy.

The flowering process of the plant begins with the onset of June, and continues until October. You can also find such varieties of cinquefoil that are different in color, but in most cases the flowering of the bush is more like the process of flowering apples or wild roses. 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 are the following:

1. Abbotswood- This is a shrub that reaches a height of up to one meter, and also has a pillow-shaped and dense crown. The leaves are light green in color, white flowers form small brushes. The shrub can look good in special rock gardens, as well as in group plantings in conjunction with other crops, and is actively used in decorating borders.
2. Guildford Cream- This is a tall shrub that can reach a height of up to 1.5 meters. The crown of the cinquefoil 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 hue.
3. Red Ace- This is a plant in the form of a shrub with a height of up to 70 centimeters, the crown at the Potentilla can reach a width of up to 1.3 meters. main feature cultures are creeping shoots. The leaves of the culture are dark green in color, mostly the plant blooms in orange-red hues.
4. Pink - Queen- a beautifully flowering cinquefoil that grows in height to a mark of 80 centimeters. When flowering, soft pink flowers are formed, the flowering period of the plant lasts from June to September.
5. Hoppy Orange- This is a low shrub, it reaches only 50 centimeters, it also has a fairly wide crown. It is considered the most hardy and winter-hardy variety.
6. Potentilla Apennine. 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 are trifoliate, pubescent, have a silvery tint. 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 a diameter of 15 mm. It is used as a decoration of rock gardens, crevices in stones, in the works of landscape designers.
7. White bloodroot. Perennial shrub, the place of growth of which is considered 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 appressed hairs. The plant has complex basal leaves, as well as dark brown stipules. The plant blooms with small white inflorescences on a long pedicel. Flowers can have a diameter of 3 centimeters, the culture actively blooms from May to August. Unpretentious cinquefoil, with all this, unable to endure direct sunlight, as well as excessive moisture in the soil.
8. goose cinquefoil.A ground cover plant, which is unpretentious to growing conditions, therefore it is distributed throughout Russia. The leaves of the culture are pinnate, coarsely 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 those places where other cultures simply cannot survive.
9. Potentilla Nepalese. Perennial and herbaceous shrub, the height of which can reach up to 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, strongly branched, have a purple hue. This variety has rather large leaves, palmate type, reaching a length of up to 30 centimeters, 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 flowering period begins in July, and the duration is 55 days.
10. Potentilla erect (in a different way galangal). This is a perennial shrub that has a thickened woody rhizome, in the wild it can freely grow in forests, tundra, swamps, rivers, and lakes. The stem of the culture is erect, with a height of up to 20 centimeters, the upper region of the shrub has no foliage. The flowers, as a rule, are solitary, regular in shape, up to one centimeter in diameter, grow on long and narrowed pedicels. The flowering time of the flower lasts from June to August.

In addition, beautiful hybrid varieties can be found among the Nepalese cinquefoil:

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

The process of planting cinquefoil

Potentilla flower is a plant that is unpretentious to growing conditions, which is why growing cinquefoil in gardens and summer cottages is an easy and enjoyable process. An exception can only be white cinquefoil, which grows only in the shade and cannot tolerate strong soil moisture. All other varieties of cinquefoil most of all prefer light or shaded areas of the garden in daytime. A large amount of light can adversely affect the appearance of the plant. Delicate petals can quickly fade under the direct rays of the sun and lose their attractiveness. Lack of light levels can stop the flowering process or lead to a slowdown in the growth of the crop.

The choice of soil mixture for planting cinquefoil

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

The process of planting cinquefoil in the soil

Potentilla shrub 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 cottages. Planting should take place in autumn or spring.

Landing steps:

Potentilla care

The process of caring for Potentilla is quite simple and even simple flower growers can do it. It is very easy to provide for a perennial crop a regular, as well as a moderate type of watering, additional fertilizing, pruning, and weeding around the bush.

Watering the plant

Potentilla 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, preventing dryness in the soil. It is strictly forbidden to use ice water to water 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 loosening the soil around the flower shallowly. 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 in the process of watering.

Plant nutrition

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

1. In 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, counting on one crop.
2. In the process of budding the soil mixture should be fed with phosphorus-potassium complex top dressing, using the instructions for use.
3. Also to maintain an attractive type of plant, it should be regularly trimmed, leveling 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 of these plants are similar, because they are all unpretentious in cultivation. We'll tell you what to look out for.

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

Potentilla planting

Growing shrub Potentilla is not difficult even for a beginner. Planting seedlings begin 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 done in late summer - early autumn.

The planting hole should be about 2 times deeper and wider than the seedling's earthen coma. Drainage is necessarily laid at the bottom (preferably lime gravel), after which the hole is approximately half filled with a mixture of humus, leafy soil and sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1), 150 g of complex mineral fertilizer is added there to ornamental plants. 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 compacted 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 cinquefoil from seeds

Herbaceous 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 seated so that they do not interfere with each other. And with minimal care, a delicate cinquefoil will flaunt on your site.

Potentilla seedlings grow quite slowly, so please be patient.

Seeds can be sown in the 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 advent of 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings dive into separate pots (possibly in peat), and at the end of summer they are planted in open ground. In late autumn, young plants are covered with spunbond, otherwise they risk freezing out in winter.

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

Potentilla care

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

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

Potentilla erect, or galangal

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

At good care Diseases and pests do not bother Potentilla. In exceptional cases, rust, spotting and powdery mildew can attack the plant. 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 are enough with an interval of 2 weeks.

Mature plants (both herbaceous and shrubby cinquefoil) do not need shelter for the winter. Only cuttings rooted this year and young seedlings are insulated.

Potentilla pruning

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 created (most often in the form of a ball or pillow).

Potentilla shrub Elizabeth

In addition, in the spring, the growths of the previous year are shortened by 1/3, after the end of flowering, the shoots are cut back by a third, and in the fall, overly elongated branches are completely cut out. Every 5 years, anti-aging pruning is carried out “on the stump”.

Proper pruning of ornamental shrubs - everything you wanted to know

9 techniques for pruning shrubs with a description of the process and diagrams.

How to propagate cinquefoil

The most popular breeding of Potentilla cuttings. They are cut in the summer from the ends of the shoots. It is better to do this before flowering, but if necessary, it can be done later, while removing 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 with a spray bottle.

Rooting a Potentilla cutting in moss

How to root cuttings of ornamental plants in sphagnum: step by step instructions

Learn how to properly root cuttings in sphagnum rolls.

Also in 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 from a spray bottle at least once a day. For the winter, the cuttings are covered with spruce branches or spunbond.

Also cinquefoil can be propagated dividing the bush and layering. In the first case, a bush aged 3-4 years is chosen and divided in spring (April-May) or early autumn (early September). At the same time, 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 divisions are lowered into a root formation stimulator (for example, Kornevin), after which they are planted in the ground so that there is a distance of 20 to 40 cm between plants.

layering cinquefoil is propagated in the first half of summer. A low-growing lateral shoot is bent to the ground (it can be slightly incised on the outside), placed in a pre-dug groove, pinned and sprinkled with moistened soil. By autumn, 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.

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

Potentilla (Potentilla) belongs to one of the largest genera in terms of the number of species, which is part of the rose family. Its brightest representatives are considered to be erect cinquefoil (galangal-grass) and goose cinquefoil. Most of the species of this genus in natural conditions can be found in the Northern Hemisphere. Potentilla comes from the Latin word "potent" - "powerful, strong." Apparently, this refers to the incredible healing power of individual representatives of this kind. Around the world, there are approximately 500 species of cinquefoil, which are mainly represented by herbaceous plants, but there are also shrubs among them. At the same time, grass and shrubs belonging to this genus are also cultivated in gardens. Potentilla shrub in Russia is called Kuril tea or cinquefoil, while there is an old legend that tells about Ilya Muromets, the smell of cinquefoil gave him unprecedented strength. Cinquefoil Russian healers are also called the powerful and since ancient times it has been used to heal a variety of ailments, as well as to restore strength. Today, this plant is mostly used as an ornamental, and experts plant it on a green lawn as a tapeworm, and they also decorate curbs, alpine slides and hedges.

Potentilla features

Representatives of this genus are shrubs and herbaceous plants, which can be annuals, biennials and perennials. The shoots of such plants are often erect, rising or extended, and creeping are also found. The leaf plates are pinnate or multi-parted, and they are painted grayish-green or green. The height of semi-shrubs can reach up to 150 centimeters, while their diameter sometimes reaches 100 centimeters. In most species, flowers are part of corymbose-paniculate or pseudoumbellate inflorescences, however, there are species with single flowers. They can be dyed to the most different colors, for example: golden yellow, pink, white, red, orange and cream. Continuous flowering is observed in May-September. The composition of the fruit includes many achenes (10–80 pieces), most often they are naked, but they can also be hairy. At the same time, the larger the fruits are, the more exotic the appearance of such a plant.

Potentilla planting

Almost all representatives of this genus are distinguished by their undemanding to growing conditions, with the exception of brilliant cinquefoil, which is recommended to be grown in southern exposure, choosing dry sandy soil for it, as well as white cinquefoil - it likes to grow in a shaded place. As for the remaining species, well-lit areas are most suitable for them, which should be shaded in the afternoon by other plants. They need soil that is slightly acidic, loose, saturated with nutrients, and also well-drained, which contains a little lime. It should be remembered that the arctic cinquefoil needs acidic soil.

How to grow Potentilla herbaceous from seeds

Potentilla can be propagated by various methods, for example, grown from seeds. Experts advise sowing directly into open soil in autumn. In winter, such seeds undergo natural stratification, due to which in spring they give friendly shoots and they will only need to be planted. Sowing can be done in open ground and in spring. However, a more reliable way is to grow through seedlings. To do this, sowing seeds should be done in February or March, while the container must be covered with a film until the first shoots appear and removed to a place with a temperature of 15 to 18 degrees. After the seedlings grow real leaf blades, they are picked on peat-muck or individual cups. The growth of seedlings is relatively slow, but already at the end of the summer period, seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place in open soil. Young plants will need shelter to survive the winter. Flowering of Potentilla grown from seeds is observed only in the second year. These plants reproduce well by self-sowing.

How to plant shrub cinquefoil

In early spring, after the snow cover melts and the soil warms up a little, you should start planting shrub seedlings. The width and depth of the pit should be a couple of times larger than the clod of earth or the container in which the seedling grows. If you plant several bushes, then remember that the distance between them should be 0.3 m. A drainage layer should be made at the bottom of the hole, for this lime gravel is poured into it. Then the hole in ½ part should be filled with soil mixture, which includes leafy earth, humus and sand (2: 2: 1), and 150 grams of complex mineral fertilizer must be poured into it. When placing a seedling in a planting hole, it should be noted that its root neck should slightly rise above the soil surface. Then the pit should be filled with soil, which must be well compacted. Planting should be watered abundantly. For 20 days, it is necessary to ensure that the cinquefoil constantly has a sufficient amount of water. In order to reduce the drying rate of the soil, it should be sprinkled with a layer of mulch (bark, straw or sawdust). If necessary, you can plant Potentilla in the last summer or first autumn days.

Potentilla care

It is quite simple to grow Potentilla, and it does not matter if it is a shrub or a herbaceous plant. For normal growth and the development of the plant, it is necessary to water regularly, loosen the soil surface, remove weeds, feed, remove fading flowers, and also mulch the ground on the site. Watering should be done only during a long drought, while 10 liters of tepid water should be poured under each bush once every half a month. In the event that in the spring you sprinkle mulch (sawdust or peat) on the site, then the removal of weeds and loosening of the soil will have to be carried out relatively rarely. During the summer period, mulch should be added to the site 2 or 3 times. Top dressing is carried out three times per season (in May, July and in August or September), while using mineral fertilizer for flowering plants. For more lush flowering, it is also recommended to spray Potentilla with water in the evening after a hot day.

Potentilla reproduction

In addition to being grown from seeds, cinquefoil can be propagated by cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. Potentilla can be propagated by layering and cuttings in July or August, and it is recommended to divide the bush in spring (April or May) or autumn (first days of September) time. A copy that is at least four years old is suitable for division, it must be dug up, the rhizome is washed with water from a hose, and then divided into divisions using a very sharp, pre-sterilized knife. It should be remembered that each delenka should have 2 or 3 kidneys. In divisions, it is necessary to treat the roots with a tool that stimulates their growth. Then they are planted in the soil, while the kidneys should not be buried. Remember that between divisions you need to leave from 20 to 40 centimeters of empty space.

The length of the cuttings varies from 8 to 10 centimeters, while they are harvested from the ends of the stems, having previously cut off all the flowers. Moistened perlite is used for rooting, it lasts for 4-6 weeks, while keeping the cuttings in a room that does not freeze through. You can also root cuttings directly in open soil, choosing a place in partial shade for this, while it is recommended to use a glass jar or a cut bottle as a shelter. They must be sprayed several times a day. Buds that have appeared should be removed, because they can greatly weaken the plant. For wintering, they need to be covered with spruce branches.

It is easiest to propagate cinquefoil by layering. In spring, you should look for a stem that grows very close to the surface of the soil. On its outer side, you need to make an incision. Then it is placed in the prepared groove with the notch down, fixed in this position (always in this place) and covered with soil. With the onset of autumn, the layering should develop good system roots. At the same time, it should be cut off from the mother bush and planted in a permanent place.

Potentilla pruning

Shrub Potentilla needs mandatory pruning, which must be done in early spring, before buds open, and also in autumn. In the event that pruning is not performed, then the bush becomes shaggy and looks sloppy. Pruning can be sanitary, during its implementation it is necessary to cut off all injured, dried branches, and even those that grow inward. Also, this procedure can be carried out in order to form a bush, and often it is given a pillow- or spherical shape. In the spring, last year's growths are shortened by 1/3, and in the fall, old and elongated stems should be cut off. Anti-aging pruning will be needed for such a shrub once every 5 years, or it is carried out when many dried branches are found. To make such a pruning, it is necessary to cut off a third of the dried branches for 3 years in a row. This will lead to a complete renewal of the shrub.

Diseases and pests

This plant is highly resistant to various diseases and harmful insects, which greatly facilitates its care. In rare cases, cinquefoil can become ill with spotting, rust, or powdery mildew. In the event that one of these diseases has struck an annual cinquefoil, then you should not worry, because this will not greatly affect the appearance of the bush, and in autumn it will still have to be disposed of. If you have a perennial growing, then it is recommended to use a fungicide for its treatment (for example, colloidal sulfur or Bordeaux liquid). Also, in rare cases, scoops can settle on a bush. In order to get rid of them, treat the affected specimen with an insecticide (for example, Decis Profi, Fufanon or Fitoverm).

Potentilla after flowering

autumn care

In autumn, the annual cinquefoil should be removed from the site after its appearance becomes unattractive, while it is necessary to dig the site with fertilizer. In shrub Potentilla, when it finishes flowering, all shoots should be shortened by 1/3, and for the prevention of diseases, the bushes should be treated with Bordeaux liquid.

Wintering

Potentilla perennial does not need shelter for the winter, because it has a high frost resistance, and it does not matter whether it is a herbaceous plant or a shrub. Young seedlings planted in autumn and rooted cuttings need shelter.

Types and varieties of Potentilla with photos and names

There are a lot of types of cinquefoil, and there are several times more varieties. Therefore, only those varieties and species that are most popular will be presented below.

Herbaceous species that are most popular:

Potentilla apennina (Potentilla apennina)

This perennial plant has a leaf rosette consisting of trifoliate leaf plates with silvery pubescence. Flowers are white or pink.

White Potentilla (Potentilla alba)

In nature, you can meet in the central regions of the European part of Russia, in the Balkans and the Caucasus. The height of such a perennial plant varies from 8 to 25 centimeters, complex basal leaf blades are palmately lobed, while they have brown stipules. Loose racemes or umbrella-shaped inflorescences consist of several white flowers with a three-centimeter diameter. The height of the peduncles is about 25 centimeters, the stem leaves are absent.

Potentilla goose, or goose foot (Potentilla anserina)

Pinnate leaf plates are collected in a basal rosette and reach a length of 20 centimeters, there is pubescence on their wrong side. On leafless peduncles, single yellow flowers flaunt, which can reach 20 mm in diameter.

Potentilla Nepalese (Potentilla nepalensis)

This perennial can reach half a meter in height, its straight branched shoots have a purple color. The length of the dark green palmate leaf plates is about 0.3 m. The diameter of the flowers is about 30 mm, their color can be pale pink or red, while the veins are dark pink. Flowers are part of paniculate inflorescences. Flowering begins in July and lasts about 8 weeks. The most decorative varieties:

1. Roxana. On the surface of orange-salmon flowers there are streaks of dark color.
2. Miss Wilmott. It blooms luxuriantly and for a relatively long time. Cherry-pink flowers have a dark eye.
3. floris. On light salmon flowers, an orange-red eye flaunts.

Potentilla erect, or straight, or galangal (Potentilla erecta)

In nature, this species can be found in the forest and tundra zone, while these flowers grow on lawns and edges, along the banks of swamps and rivers. Such a perennial has a woody rhizome, which is unevenly thickened. The height of the erect stem reaches 20 centimeters, leaves are located on its upper branched part. Trifoliate leaf plates can be sessile stem and long-petiolate basal (wither before flowering). Correct single flowers in diameter can reach 10 mm, they are located on thin long pedicels. Flowering is observed from June to August.

Silver Potentilla (Potentilla argentea)

This perennial has a large tuberous rhizome. The height of a slender arcuate ascending shoot can reach up to 0.3 m. The lower stem and basal leaf plates are five-seven-separated long-scaly, and the upper stem and middle ones are three-five-separated, on the wrong side there is a dense coating consisting of white pile. The composition of a loose paniculate-scutellate inflorescence includes small flowers, the diameter of which is 1.2 centimeters. Flowering occurs in June and July.

Potentilla hybrid (Potentilla x hybrida)

The composition of this species includes garden forms and varieties of hybrid origin. Most of the plants have a vertical or oblique rhizome. The height of erect, strongly branching stems reaches 0.9 m, there is pubescence on their surface. The basal rosette consists of palmate or trifoliate long-petiolate leaf plates with sharp teeth along the edge. Trifoliate stem leaflets are sessile. The composition of a loose corymbose or racemose inflorescence includes velvety flowers, reaching a diameter of 40 mm, their color can be yellow, pink, red or dark purple.

Popular varieties:

1. Master Floris. Flowering is lush and long. Large simple flowers have a pale yellow color.
2. Yellow Queen. The bush reaches a height of 0.3 m, and yellow glossy flowers flaunt on it.
3. Volcano. The flowers are terry rich red color.

Potentillas are also very popular: two-flowered, golden, long-leaved, hairy, Kranz, deceptive, tansy-leaved, dark blood-red, silver-leaved, Tonga, three-toothed, shiny, stemless, snow-white, arctic, etc.

From shrubs, gardeners cultivate Kuril Potentilla (Pentaphylloides fruticosa), which is also called Kuril tea, yellow Potentilla and five-leafed. Experts previously attributed this species to cinquefoil, but not so long ago it was identified as a separate genus, called Kuril tea, Dasiphora (Dasys - densely hairy, phoros - bearing). This genus consists of 10 species, a large number of varieties and garden forms have already been created from them, which are honey plants. Designers often create very spectacular hedges from such shrubs.

Daurian pyatilistochnik (Pentaphylloides davurica)

The height of such a shrub can reach up to 0.6 m. Its bare stems are spaced. Practically leathery five-part sheet plates have a gray back surface and a glossy front surface. The diameter of white flowers is about 25 mm, they are often solitary, but in some cases they may be part of few-flowered inflorescences that have the shape of an umbrella. Flowering is long, more than 3 months. Cultivated since 1822

Shrub pentaphylloides (Pentaphylloides fruticosa)

In nature, it can be found in forest-steppes and forests, Russia, Central Asia, Western Europe and the Caucasus. Such a shrub is distinguished by its high endurance. The height of a strongly branching bush can reach up to 150 centimeters, the exfoliating bark is colored brown or gray. The lush crown has a hemispherical shape. Whole-edge lanceolate leaf plates are 30 mm long and 10 mm wide, can be three to five to seven-separated. Young leaves have a light green color, but over time it changes to green-silver, as pubescence appears. Yellow-golden flowers have a diameter of 20 mm, while they can be single or collected in loose apical racemose or corymbose inflorescences. Flowering lasts from the second half of June to the first days of October. Cultivated since 1700. In America and European countries, as a rule, cultivars of this species are grown, because they are the most resistant to such climatic conditions.

Popular undersized varieties: Abbotswood, Joline, Dakota Sunrise, Goldstar, Goldfinger, Reisenberg (flower color varies in orange-yellow scale), Farrez White and Rhodocalix (flower color is white).

Winter-hardy tall varieties include Elizabeth and Katherine Dykes with yellow flowers. The height of the bushes reaches more than 100 centimeters.

Winter-hardy varieties with grayish-silvery leaf plates include Goldterppich, Darts Golddigger, Bisi.

Low-growing compact varieties that are not frost-resistant and need shelter for the winter: Klondike, Kobold (yellow flowers), Red Ice, Parvifolia, Red Robbin (yellow-copper flowers), Sunset (brick-red to orange-yellow flowers ), Eastley Cream (white-cream flowers), Royal Flash, Daydown, Pretty Polly and Blink (pink flowers).

The following species are also of particular interest: They are still poorly studied by breeders.

Useful properties and contraindications

Useful properties of Potentilla

Medicinal properties were noted mainly in only 3 types of herbaceous cinquefoil, namely: goose, white and galangal (upright). The properties of these species have minor differences. Therefore, it does not really matter from which plant this or that medicine intended for external use is made. As a result of numerous studies, it became clear that extracts prepared from rhizomes or herbs are not toxic and have almost equal healing power. If you take medicinal products from the herb of the white cinquefoil inside, then the central nervous system (central nervous system), while the extract from the rhizome makes the filtering capacity of the kidneys 28 percent better. Kalgan is used, as a rule, for various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (for example, colitis, dysentery), which are accompanied by diarrhea. Also, this plant is used in the treatment of liver diseases that are manifested by jaundice, such as hepatitis. To date, galangal is also used by official medicine for inflammation of the thyroid gland. In this case, tincture of cinquefoil on alcohol is used, which is taken orally according to the scheme recommended by the doctor, while medication is also carried out at the same time, such therapy has a fairly high efficiency. It is not difficult to prepare a tincture, for this you need to take a dry rhizome and grind it, you should insist on vodka, then the resulting drink must be filtered. Kalgan is considered the most unique plant, since it contains almost all elements from the periodic table, namely: gallotannin, phenolcarboxylic acids, starch, saponins, flavonoids (rutin, quercetin, cyanidin, kaempferol), iridoids, iodine, magnesium, copper, zinc , iron, cobalt, silicon, aluminum. It is known that the rhizome contains more of these substances than in the aerial part of the flower.

The healing power of Potentilla erectus has also been known since ancient times. The composition of this plant includes substances such as: tannins, as well as essential oils, flavonoids, ellagic, malic and chitic acids, wax, starch and gum, as well as vitamin C. Such a plant has an antibacterial, bonding and anti-inflammatory effect. An essential oil is obtained from this flower, which helps in the treatment of certain female diseases. Various decoctions and tinctures are prepared from it, which are used externally in the treatment of atopic dermatitis, for douching for gynecological diseases, for eczema, and they also rinse the mouth and larynx in the presence of inflammation. Infusions and decoctions made from shoots, leaves, and flowers of the plant are used in the treatment of chronic and acute hepatitis, as well as in cirrhosis with congestion (noticeably reduces the level of bilirubin in the blood and eliminates swelling). If you use remedies made from such a plant in treatment, then remember that they can cause constipation, because cinquefoil contains a lot of tannins.

The composition of goose cinquefoil also includes essential oils, starch, flavonoids, tannins, as well as bitterness, choline, quinic and ascorbic acid, zinc and other substances that are beneficial to the human body. Any part of this plant has medicinal properties. A decoction prepared from the rhizome is used for external treatment of abrasions, bruises, wounds, hematomas, neurodermatitis and weeping eczema. Also, this decoction is used for douching with a variety of gynecological inflammations, as well as in the treatment of hemorrhoids, while the result of such treatment is very good. It is also used in the treatment of duodenal and stomach ulcers, as well as in acute intestinal infections and hepatitis. A decoction of milk is prepared from the seeds, which is used for painful menstruation, gastroenteritis and spastic colitis. A decoction of the root and herbs, cooked in water, effectively eliminates cramps in calf muscles. Freshly prepared herbal infusion is used externally in the treatment of trophic ulcers and pustular lesions of the epidermis, and it is also used in the treatment of inflammation of the oral mucosa, pharyngitis and tonsillitis. As a choleretic agent that can remove small pebbles and sand, fresh juice of this plant is used, combined with green rye juice in a ratio of 1: 1.

Of the shrubs, healing properties were noted in the Kuril Potentilla, while using the tops of young stems. This plant has a diuretic, antiulcer, hemostatic, antiviral, analgesic, choleretic, fastening, sedative, antidiabetic, antiallergic and immunostimulating effect. It is used in the treatment of female and gastrointestinal diseases, abscesses, boils and other wounds, and they are also used to rinse the mouth with stomatitis, tonsillitis and other inflammatory diseases. It is used for constipation and diarrhea, dysbacteriosis, stomach ulcers, colitis, cervical erosion and uterine bleeding.

Contraindications

Potentilla preparations should not be used by those people who have increased blood clotting, hypotension, and are also prone to blood clots, because such drugs can lower blood pressure. If you want to use this plant to remove stones and sand from the ducts, then this should be done exclusively under the supervision of the attending doctor. It should also be remembered that such drugs can cause irritation of the gastric mucosa. And they can not be used during pregnancy and with individual intolerance to Potentilla.

Potentilla, also known as cinquefoil, five-leafed or Kuril tea, is a universal ornamental crop for growing in almost any garden plot. Its distinguishing feature is the ability to decorate a flower bed not only in summer, but also in autumn and winter. Different varieties will bring their own flavor to the design of your garden. And planting and caring for a plant in the open field is simple and affordable even for beginner flower growers.

Description: varieties and varieties of Potentilla

The cinquefoil got its name because of the leaves, which are located on the branch in the form of a paw, 3-5 pieces each (depending on the variety). In nature, it grows as a highly branched shrub up to 1-1.5 m high:

1. Young shoots have a dense fluff. Mature stems are covered with a brown crust.
2. The leaves of the plant also have silky pubescence, as well as beautiful carved edges.
3. Flowering of the cinquefoil takes place from the beginning of summer to the end of autumn. One bush blooms for 50-70 days. Shoots are covered with large flowers.
4. The color of the petals is usually yellow, but in some varieties it can be orange, pink, white, or a combination of these colors.

Kuril tea has many varieties suitable for growing in the Russian climate. Each species has varieties that differ in flower color and care features. You can choose the right one from the photo. Potentilla in demand:

• Apennine;

Apennine cinquefoil

• White;
• goose;

goose cinquefoil

• Silver;
• Nepalese;
• Upright.

Nepalese cinquefoil

Planting a plant in open ground

The cinquefoil responds well to planting and breeding from April to September. But it is better to carry out work in the spring. One of the few conditions for the successful cultivation of Kuril tea is an abundance of sun with midday partial shade. Planting seeds is carried out immediately in open ground:

1. Prepare the ground. If it is too dense and heavy, add a portion of sand. Feed with humus and mineral fertilizers. Before planting, dig and level the ground.
2. Deepen the seeds by 3-5 cm. Sprinkle with the same soil and water.
3. Expect seedlings in about 3 weeks. Let the seedlings sit in the soil for another 7-10 days, and then plant them at 30-40 cm intervals.

Attention! For the first time, cinquefoil will bloom only by the third season after planting.

The cinquefoil is planted in open ground and ready-made 2-year-old seedlings:

Soil mulching will be useful for cinquefoil

1. Dig a hole for each about 60 cm deep and 30 cm wide.
2. Cover the bottom with a drainage layer of pebbles, broken bricks or stones.
3. Fill the hole halfway with substrate: 40% leaf turf and humus and 20% river sand. Add 150 g of mineral fertilizer to it.
4. When planting a seedling in a hole, the root neck should remain above the soil level.
5. Fill the hole with regular garden soil.
6. Young seedlings need abundant watering.
7. Make mulch with sawdust or shredded bark.

Crop care, fertilizer and top dressing

Without care, the cinquefoil in the open field runs wild and grows rapidly. True, it will not lose its decorative effect. But if you pay attention to the plant, it will bloom longer and more abundantly. What is important to consider for proper care:

1. Watering in drought. Norm - a bucket of water at room temperature under a bush 1 time in 2 weeks.
2. In the summer, weed the ridge, eliminating weeds.
3. Loosen the soil around the plant regularly and adjust the mulch.
4. For the winter, the plant does not need to be covered. The exception is some varieties. For example, pink.
5. In the fall, cut off old shoots by 1/3.

Advice. On a hot summer day, the evening spraying of Potentilla has a beneficial effect on the cultivation of shrubs.

Potentilla will grow normally without fertilizer. However, to give flowering splendor, you can add mineral mixtures to the ground. Any fertilizer for flowering horticultural crops is suitable. Frequency - 3 times a season, in late spring, late summer and September. For spring top dressing, fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium sulfate are used in a proportion of 25-30 g per 1 bucket. They bring a bucket under each bush.

In autumn, the cinquefoil should be cut

Plant reproduction. Diseases and pests

Potentilla is propagated using seeds, cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. The last method is relevant for May or September. The division of the bushes is best tolerated for 3-4 years:

• dig and wash the root;
• divide it into parts with a sharpened sterile knife, leaving 2-3 kidneys on each fragment;
• treat the rhizome with a stimulant;
• plant the delenki in the ground so that the buds remain above it;
• the minimum distance between the bushes is 20 cm.

Cuttings and propagation by layering are carried out in July or August. To get cuttings, cut off the tops of the shoots, remove the flowers. The length of one cutting should be about 10 cm. Place the branch in moistened perlite for 1-1.5 months. The room temperature should not drop below +3…+5 °C. You can cover the stalk with a greenhouse.

Sometimes segments are planted directly in open ground under a glass jar. The place should be shady. Plant care consists in spraying 2-3 times a day in summer and warming in winter. You will receive a ready seedling by April.

Attention! Pluck off any buds that form. They will take on food and moisture to the detriment of rooting.

Propagation by layering is even easier. Choose a low-growing bush, make a groove next to it. Then find a suitable shoot, cut it along the outside and lay it in the groove. Fix the escape with a bracket. In a couple of months, your own spine will appear at the point of contact. The plant can be separated from the mother and transplanted.

Peppermint in landscape design

Insects and infections rarely attack the quinquefoil. On greenery, you can find signs of powdery mildew, rust or blotches, as well as a scoop pest. You can recognize them from the photo. annual variety cinquefoil in this case does not require any additional care. These diseases do not affect the decorative effect, and perennials need to be treated. Treat them with Bordeaux liquid or an insecticide such as Phytoferm.

This plant is versatile in its decorative functions. The cinquefoil can decorate an alpine hill, a flower garden or a flower bed. Sometimes it is planted just in the middle of the rubble cover. In garden compositions, the flower looks good in combination with lilies, bluebells or daisies. You can also make a hedge out of it.

Potentilla cultivation: video

How to turn the cultivation of plants in the backyard for beauty and comfort into an occasion for constant joy for success? Everything is quite simple - you need to choose the right culture. Potentilla shrub has unpretentiousness and does not require care to be carried out with special care. This shrub has been popular with gardeners of past centuries. Therefore, even in our time, shrub cinquefoil is quite relevant and widespread - its varieties have all consumer qualities. Proper planting and reproduction allow you to quickly breed it in the garden. This plant is a low (meter and a half tall) branching shrubs with a dense, dense crown. The decorativeness and attractiveness of flowers provided them with the attention and demand of numerous professional gardeners and ordinary flower growers. Such plants are preferred to be planted in separate units at a distance from each other, and create a bright foreground from them during group plantings. Look at the photo of shrub Potentilla - this is an amazing powerful plant for landscape design:

Features and exact description of Potentilla shrub (with photo)

The features of the plant are insignificant and they are taken into account by the exact description of the shrub Potentilla, presented below. This variety of ornamental plantings has fibrous rhizomes. Pinnate, slightly pubescent leaves are most often five-fingered in nature, due to which the cinquefoil is also called the cinquefoil. In many European countries, the plant is known under the name Dazifora, which translates as "carrying thick hairs." The crown of the bushes has a hemispherical shape. Of particular importance in the description of Potentilla shrub is the external structure of flowers. Look at the photo varieties and varietal types:


Abundant, colorful flowering is observed from June to October, so this duration can be called one of the clear advantages of the plant. Numerous flowers are quite large in size - the diameter can reach 3.5 centimeters, they are usually located separately or in bright inflorescences. Each flower contains up to thirty thousand small stamens, thanks to which the centers become fluffy and spectacular. Ripening fruits give the plant even more decorative effect. Covering the dense crown of the bushes with peculiar "buttons", the combined achenes ripen to a dark brown color and also contain numerous fine hairs.
According to the color variety, the plant is divided into three main groups - shrub white, yellow and pink cinquefoil. However, depending on the variety, the color scheme and shades may vary. Most often, in public flower beds or in urban gardens, you can see the yellow shrub Potentilla, which looks decent and successfully sets off other types of ornamental plants. In addition to their colorfulness, shrubs have a number of useful and practical qualities that are used in traditional medicine and pharmacology. The flowers, leaves, shoots of the plant contain a large amount of resins, alkaloids, vitamins C, R. Tea is quite popular, which is brewed from this variety of herbs - the drink has choleretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial properties. With the help of decoctions, burns, boils, and various wounds are cured.

Planting and proper cultivation of Potentilla shrub

For proper growth and abundant flowering of the plant, it is necessary to produce high-quality care. The shrub prefers well-lit, but at the same time slightly shaded places - being a light-loving and heat-loving representative of the flora, they may not withstand direct ultraviolet rays. In this case, their color becomes dull and inexpressive. Planting shrub Potentilla is carried out in early spring or autumn, when there is enough moisture in the soil. Confident and proper cultivation Potentilla shrub implies a number of nuances that you need to know:
When planting cinquefoil shrubs, you need to carefully and carefully choose a place. The cultivars of the plant are usually planted in leeward, shaded areas on the south sides. The best option is when the flowers are actively illuminated by the sun in the morning, and at midday they are in the shade. The most correct would be planting ornamental pets in light, well-drained soils with an alkaline or slightly acidic reaction. Group landing implies a distance of at least 60 cm between the bushes. Landing on any kind of wetlands is undesirable.

Types of propagation of shrub cinquefoil - cuttings and other methods

This type of plant has the ability to propagate using seeds, green or lignified cuttings, as well as special layering. Another method of reproduction is the division of the bush. The most popular methods are propagation of Potentilla shrubby cuttings and seeds. Types of bush division are rarely used, usually gardeners use other methods. When planting shrubs for the first time, many prefer to use seeds. These flowers have rather small seeds, it is customary to sow them in late autumn. If sowing is done in early spring, then the seeds are stratified in advance. At the same time, it is not necessary to bury the seeds - they spill out onto the ground and are slightly pressed down. This method of planting a plant has a high percentage of germination. On the next year sprouted young shoots are transplanted to a permanent place (dive before that). Bushes from seeds give high-quality color already in the second year after planting the seeds. Materials for cuttings are recommended to be harvested in June. For this, dense, strong shoots are selected, which must be cut into about 20 cm long. Flowers and the lower part of the leaves are removed. In order for the cuttings to take root faster, they can be kept in a heteroauxin solution (treatment with Kornevin's solution) for 12 hours before planting. Root cuttings with roots under glass or in greenhouse conditions. To increase the humidity, they need to be sprayed frequently and regularly. When the first buds appear, they should be cut off immediately, otherwise the blooming flowers will greatly weaken the plant. According to numerous photos of the Potentilla shrub, you can analyze how correctly it was planted and whether it is properly cared for. Already from the age of 4, bushes can be divided by planting parts in autumn and spring. Selected shoots with growth buds are separated from the mother bush and planted in a permanent place. You need to water constantly.

The need and benefits of pruning Potentilla shrub

The need and benefits of constant monitoring of the number and length of young shoots are constantly discussed by designers and gardeners. If you do not cut the plants, they quickly overgrow and look unattractive. In addition, exposure of the lower part of the bushes is possible. Therefore, in early spring or late autumn, at the end of flowering, shrub cinquefoil is pruned, in which the branches directed inside the bushes or dried branches are carefully removed. Every 3-5 years, the plants rejuvenate - one third of all shoots are cut to the ground level. Decorative pruning is also relevant, with the help of which the shrubs are given any desired shape.

Variety of varieties of Potentilla shrub (with photo)

The variety of Potentilla varieties includes more than 500 names, which, in general, are divided into subspecies with white flowers, yellow flowers, pink and red. Depending on the variety, its use is possible in various decorative variations. The most relevant are the following varieties of Potentilla shrub:

• Tall and bright Potentilla shrub Abbotswood. The variety is highly branched, has snow-white flowers. Flowering is observed from early June to October.
  
  
  
• Elizabeth. Original bushes with a voluminous crown - its diameter can sometimes reach one meter. The leaves are velvety, and the flowers are large, light yellow.
  
  
• Potentilla Nepalese. It blooms for 55 days with red and dark pink flowers.
  
  
• Tall (up to one and a half meters) Potentilla shrub Goldfinger. Shrubs with a lush, dense crown of bright, emerald green leaves. They have large bright yellow flowers, the diameter of which reaches 4 cm.
  
  

Depending on the variety, the color of flowers can be the most diverse - from snow-white and yellow petals to bronze-orange. For many landscape designers, this shrub cinquefoil ("potentilla fruticosa") is indispensable - with its help, you can confidently and organically decorate modern alpine slides, borders, rockeries, different type hedges. Look at the photo various varieties of shrub Potentilla:

Potentilla shrub is gaining more and more popularity among gardeners. And this is not surprising, because her bushes are not inclined to crowd out their neighbors, and their decorative qualities are high due to long flowering. Also, tonic drinks and extracts, if desired, can be made to raise the mood and general tone. In general, the culture is interesting from all sides, let's get acquainted with the representatives of this species and some varieties that are successfully used in garden design.

Potentilla: types and varieties, photo

Potentilla (Potentilla), five-leafed or Kuril tea - all these are the names of one plant, which not only has an interesting appearance, but also medicinal properties, and is also considered a good honey plant.

Many gardeners may be familiar with such a perennial herbaceous plant as a false strawberry (dusheneya), blooming with yellow flowers, with an aggressive character like a weed. Another well-known variety is white cinquefoil (P.alba), used in herbal medicine to treat women's diseases and the thyroid gland. It is becoming less and less in the wild, as fertile meadows are quickly retreating under Agriculture.

Kalgan or cinquefoil erect is used as a spice in the fish canning industry. But now we will focus on shrubs and semi-shrubs used in ornamental gardening.

This type of plant is part of the Rosaceae family and has been cultivated since 1700. In nature, Kuril tea is found on the Kuril Islands, in the North Caucasus, as well as in Europe. Some types of five-leaf spring grow in Russia:

1. Manchurian;
2. Dahurian;
3. Friedrichsen hybrid;
4. small-leaved;
5. shrubby.

These plants are highly branched shrubs, reaching a height of one to one and a half meters. On young branches there is a lot of short fluff, and adult shoots are covered with gray-brown exfoliating bark.

Small carved leaves cover the shoots from the very base to the top. Medium-sized flowers, mostly yellowish, open in early summer. They are located on the branches in inflorescences such as a brush. Long flowering continues until late autumn. Each plant can bloom without stopping for more than two months.

Potentilla varieties

Potentilla Dahurian grows in natural conditions among the massifs woody plants, along the banks of rivers, on the rocky slopes of Eastern Siberia, on the limestone soils of the Far East. This species is represented by a shrub that reaches a height of about 60 cm. The loose crown of the plant is formed by thin shoots covered with gray bark.

Long flowering lasts up to 100 days (May - September), and fruiting takes place from August to October. This plant tolerates winter well. The shrub grows intensively, but mostly in width. Dahurian Kuril tea is used in the design of rockeries and alpine slides. It is propagated by seeds, cuttings and division of the bush.

Low bushes of Manchurian Kuril tea reach a height of about half a meter, and its width varies from 0.8 to 1.6 meters. The ovate leaves are completely covered with soft fluff. Decorative white flowers about 2.5 cm wide bloom at the tops of the branches. Long flowering runs from early summer to October, and the seeds begin to ripen from August. Winter-hardy bushes grow very quickly.

Small-leaved Kuril tea is the shortest, as it reaches a height of only 20 cm. Gray-green leaves consist of several leaves (5, 7 or 9). Beautiful bright yellow flowers are located on the branches one by one or in inflorescences. Powerful flowering takes place from June to September, and the seeds begin to ripen from August. This species is used in the design of rocky gardens and rock gardens. Handles winter well.

Friedrichsen's Kuril tea was obtained by crossing bush and Dahurian teas. The crown of the shrub is covered with bright green leaves. Plant height varies from 1.0 to 1.5 meters. Medium-sized flowers are painted in a cream or light yellowish hue. Long flowering lasts from June to October. It has good winter hardiness.

Potentilla shrub (Potentilla fruticosa) stands out among other varieties for its variability. The size of the flowers, the amount of pubescence, the height and width of the bush directly depend on the growing conditions. Under natural conditions, it is found in many regions of our country.

A spherical bush about one meter high is formed by sprawling branches. The branches are covered with gray-red bark. The greenish-gray pinnate leaves consist of several leaflets and are covered with short hairs. Kuril tea extract is used in the complex therapy of inflammatory processes and as a powerful immunomodulator.

Beautiful small yellow flowers (about 3 cm wide) are arranged singly or collected in brush-type inflorescences. Flowering continues all summer (June-August). Interestingly, seed ripening occurs simultaneously with flowering. Life expectancy is 30 years. Differs in unpretentiousness and winter hardiness. This species is one of the few lignified among 300 herbaceous varieties, therefore it is widely used in landscape design. In addition to the original yellow, many varieties with white, pink and red flowers have been bred.

Potentilla shrub: the best varieties

To date, there are a large number of varieties of Kuril tea, which are used in the design of summer cottages, household plots, parks and squares.

• "Manchu". The height of the bushes of this variety is only 40 cm, and the width of the crown is about one meter. Whitish flowers with a delicate cream hue bloom from June to September.
• "Tilford Cream". The height of the sprawling bush varies from 0.35 to 0.6 meters, and the width - from 1.0 to 1.2 meters. Light green leaves cover the plant from top to bottom. Creamy white flowers bloom in May. Flowering lasts until September.
• "Pink Queen". Plants of this variety reach a height of 0.8 meters. The width of the bush is 1.5 meters. Pink flowers bloom on branches covered with bright green leaves. Flowering occurs from June to September.
• "Princess". The height of the cushion-shaped crown is 0.8 meters, and the width is 1.2 meters. Flowers painted in a pleasant pink color, bloom in May. Flowering ends in September. Dark green leaves cover the bush in large numbers.
• "Floppy Disc" is a compact shrub reaching a height of about 40 cm. The width of the crown is 0.8 cm. Smallish light green leaves are located on gray-brown branches. The flowers are 2.5 to 3 cm wide, pink with a red tint. Powerful flowering lasts from July to September.
• Red Robin. The bush of this variety reaches a height of 60 cm. The width of the crown reaches 1.3 meters. Red flowers bloom in July. Flowering ends in September.
• "Tangerine" or "Tangerine". The height of the shrub varies from 0.5 to 0.8 meters. The width of the crown is 1.2 meters. The grey-green leaves go well with the orange flowers (about 3 cm wide) with a golden center. Flowering lasts from June to September.
• Hopless Orange. Plants of this variety grow up to 0.5 meters. The medium-sized flowers are a deep orange, but when grown in partial shade, they turn yellow-orange. Flowering occurs from May to September.
• "Abbotswood". Bushes reach a height of 0.8 to 0.9 meters. The width of the crown, shaped like a pillow, is 1.3 meters. A large number of light green leaves cover the bush from top to bottom. Medium-sized flowers (about 3.5 cm wide) are painted in pure White color. On the branches they are located in inflorescences (small) or one at a time. Spectacular flowering occurs from June to October.

Potentilla shrub: planting, care and cultivation nuances

When choosing one or another variety, it is worth knowing that bushes with yellow flowers are more winter-hardy, and plants with pink or reddish flowers do not always withstand winters with severe frosts.

Kuril tea is a photophilous plant, and therefore they need to be planted in sunny places with loose nutrient soil. The depth, width and length of the pit varies from 40 to 60 cm. The place where the roots grow should be located at ground level.

best time planting of this crop is considered spring (April), when the earth is completely warm. But you can also do it in the fall (September).

On lands with a large amount of clay, the volume of the pit is increased by 20-40 cm, and drainage from pebbles and crushed stone is poured onto the bottom. The layer height is 15-20 cm.

The mixture for falling asleep in the pit is prepared from leaf humus, sand, and soddy soil. Moreover, leaf humus and soddy land are taken in two parts, and sand - one part. Before planting, the roots of the seedling are inspected, straightened, cut off broken and dried up.

The bush is placed in a pit, the roots are distributed evenly over its volume, and covered with a soil mixture. In this case, you need to ensure that there are no voids between the roots. Then the bush is watered, and the place around it is mulched.

Care and pruning of Potentilla shrub

Adult bushes of Kuril tea can go without watering for a long time, but at the same time they hardly tolerate dry air. During hot weather when long time there is no precipitation, the plants are watered only 3 times per season, but sprayed regularly in the evening.

Young plants begin to feed from the third year of cultivation. The first feeding is carried out in the spring. To do this, use garden compost or rotted cow manure, diluted with water (1:10). Before blooming flowers, the bushes are fed again with ash fertilizer.

To maintain the size of the bush, plants are formed every year in the fall after flowering. During formative pruning, all branches are shortened by a third of the length. The compactness of the crown is maintained by powerful pruning, which is carried out once every three to four years in the spring, shortening the shoots by 8-10 cm.

Potentilla shrub in garden design

Due to the unpretentiousness and rich variety of colors, Potentilla shrub is widely used to decorate the design of the garden. With its compact bushes, it is good to “knock out” groups of conifers, plant low-growing hedges in the form of borders.

Potentilla shrub is also good in mixborders continuous flowering, where it is combined with a prominent stonecrop and cosmea (to create compositions in pink colors). BUT yellow varieties Goes great with brighter colors too.

In general, Potentilla has many positive qualities- this is unpretentiousness in care, and the duration of flowering, which is rarely combined in plants intended for sunny areas of the garden. Feel free to plant such a plant as shrub cinquefoil - its peaceful nature and long flowering will appeal to you.

Potentilla fnuticosa belongs to the Rosaceae family and has several names.

The generic Latin name Potentilla in translation means "Powerful" or "Strong". According to legend, Ilya Muromets drank a decoction of cinquefoil and inhaled the aroma of the plant in order to gain "... the great silushka."

For the healing and tonic properties of teas and infusions, Potentilla is popularly called the Powerful.

In the Kuril Islands, Potentilla is often brewed instead of black tea, hence another name - Kuril tea.

In Europe, Potentilla shrub is widely known as Dazifora, which means "bearing thick hairs" that cover both its leaves and fruits.

Another name - Pyatilistochnik or Pentrefoil reflects the structural features of the leaves of the plant.

In the wild, Potentilla shrub grows in forests in the west of Europe and Russia, in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

It grows on any soil: its bushes adorn the slopes and cracks of rocks, scree and pebbles, forming picturesque thickets.

Based on the wild form of Potentilla, breeders have obtained many varieties of decorative forms that are widely used in landscape design.

Description

The plant is a deciduous, highly branched shrub that grows from half a meter to a meter in height. The crown is dense semicircular. Its diameter often exceeds a meter.

Potentilla shrub is characterized by rapid growth, annually giving an increase of 10-15 cm.

Durable: the bush grows up to 20-30 years.

Bark

Potentilla branches are covered with grayish or brown, with a red tint, bark.

The bark exfoliates, moving away from the trunk in places.

Leaves

Potentilla has complex, pinnate, leaves consisting of 5 leaflets. Young leaves are painted in delicate green tones. With growth, they become dark green and acquire a silvery sheen.

Whole, lanceolate or ovoid leaflets are elongated by 3 cm. Their width does not exceed a centimeter.

The top of the leaf is bluntly pointed. The edges are turned up. The leaf blade is covered with hairs on the upper and lower sides.

Flower

Some species of cinquefoil are characterized by single flowers.

In most varieties, they are collected in inflorescences of a false umbrella or shield.

Single flowers of Potentilla are quite large, up to 5 cm in diameter. In the inflorescence they are smaller, up to 3 cm.

The flowers are painted in bright, elegant colors. Potentilla with yellow flowers is most common, but there are plants with white, rich red and pink colors.

Their color depends on the variety, and the shade depends on the lighting and air temperature.

Each flower consists of 5 rounded petals with a blunt or notched apex.

In the central part of the flower there are several dozen small stamens, giving the impression of fluffiness.

Potentilla blooms profusely, colorfully and for a long time, from the first days of June to October. The flowering bush looks very decorative: a scattering of bright flowers on a dark green background of foliage.

Fruit

Potentilla shrub looks very impressive even during the period of ripening of fruits and seeds.

They resemble brown pubescent "buttons" in their shape, scattered over a dense crown of foliage, colored in golden autumn tones.

The more outlandish the variety, the larger the size of the "buttons".

Care and cultivation

Potentilla shrub is very unpretentious in care, but you should not leave it unattended.

She, of course, will not die, but the decorative effect will noticeably decrease.

Watering

Potentilla easily tolerates the lack of moisture. However, if the summer is dry, it is advisable to water an adult plant once a month, at the rate of one bucket per bush.

Watering is preferably done after sunset. In addition to watering, after a hot day, the bushes are sprayed.

Weeding

Don't neglect this either. important element plant care: remove weeds in a timely manner and periodically loosen the soil.

Potentilla roots are located in the surface layer of the soil, so loosening is carried out carefully.

For the same reason, many flower growers replace loosening with mulching.

top dressing

Potentilla responds well to. In early spring and during the formation of buds, it is fed with mineral fertilizers, giving preference to phosphorus and potash.

It is appropriate to use organic matter (slurry, ash, humus) and minerals as fertilizers.

pruning

A prerequisite for caring for the cinquefoil is its pruning. Pruning is carried out twice a year: in spring, before the leaves appear and in autumn, after flowering is completed.

Target spring pruning- stimulation of growth and flowering of shrubs. Shrub branches are shortened by a third.

At the same time, many flower growers combine pruning the Potentilla with decorating its bush, cutting off the branches directed to the middle of the bush and giving the whole bush bizarre shapes.

In autumn, pruning plays a sanitary role to a greater extent: all dried and dead, as well as diseased shoots and peduncles, are removed.

In addition to the annual seasonal pruning every 3-5 years, it is desirable to carry out spring (April) rejuvenating pruning. At the same time, stumps not exceeding 20 cm are left above the soil surface.

After such a “haircut”, the bush is completely updated.

In the absence of pruning, the plant looks "overgrown", sloppy.

Potentilla shrub is characterized by high frost resistance. An interesting fact is that "with age" the frost resistance of the plant increases.

In this regard, in the southern and temperate zones, the plant is not covered for the winter.

reproduction

Potentilla shrub can be propagated both vegetatively and by seeds.

Vegetative propagation is carried out using:

• layering;
• cuttings;
• rhizomatous processes;
• division of the bush.

1. Reproduction by layering can be carried out throughout the summer, choosing a healthy strong shoot that is convenient to bend to the ground.

An incision is made on the bark of the future layering, the place of the incision is fixed to the soil and sprinkled with earth.

After rooting, the layers are planted in a permanent place.

This method is especially good for breeding creeping cinquefoil varieties and for expanding the bush in breadth. The method is easy to use, effective and therefore is one of the main ones.

1. Cuttings: young, soft and flexible apical shoots of a new growth about 20 cm long are used as cuttings. They are cut from the end of June until the 20th of July, removing the lower leaves and buds.

To increase the survival rate, the cuttings are treated with a solution of any growth stimulant (for example, Kornevin's solution), after which they are rooted in moist soil in boxes (jars) or directly in open ground, in partial shade, covered with a cap.

Cuttings need care:

• abundant watering;
• daily (several times) spraying with water;
• timely removal of buds in order to save the plant's strength for growth.

By the fall of the first year, the cuttings will grow by 30–40 cm. Their root system will form.

The following spring, they can be planted in a permanent place.

1. Potentilla is propagated by rhizome shoots both in spring and autumn. To do this:
2. Dig up the root of the parent plant.
3. Root offspring are separated (the presence of growth buds on them is mandatory).
4. The separated root offspring are rooted in an open area or in a greenhouse for growing.

1. Reproduction by dividing the bush is used less frequently than the first two methods. Plants that are at least 4 years old are subject to division of the bush. It is carried out both in spring and autumn, regardless of the time of the day, but always in warm weather.

An excavated adult bush (mother liquor) is divided into parts (delenki) that have growth buds.

As a rule, divisions are obtained at least 2 and not more than 6.

Before planting, the delenki are kept for 12 hours in a Gumix solution (plant growth stimulator). Then they are planted in the soil, deepening the growth bud by no more than 5 cm.

The seedling is watered and mulched with sawdust. Flowering of a young bush will come after 2-3 years.

The division of the bush, cuttings and propagation by rhizomatous offspring are not as popular as propagation by layering.

The reason is a small amount of planting material. Their use is justified in the event that it is necessary for a short time get new, fast blooming plant forms.

seed propagation

Seeds can be purchased, or you can collect yourself. They are cleaned and dried, stored in paper packaging. Potentilla seeds remain viable for several years.

Sowing is carried out in spring or autumn, in winter, in open ground or in any garden containers, evenly distributing over the ground and slightly deepening by hand.

After three weeks, shoots will appear. They are dived, and a month later they are planted on a "wire" bed, where they grow for 2 years. After that - to a permanent place.

Caring for seedlings is quite simple:

• Potentilla seedlings are very fragile, so dive, water and feed them with great care;
• seedlings of the first and second years gratefully respond to fertilizing with organic matter (1 part of organic matter per 20 liters of water), balanced by the mineral composition.

Plants grown from seeds will bloom for 2-3 years.

At seed propagation young plants do not always inherit maternal qualities.

And one more nuance: some, for example, with white flowers, are not able to reproduce by seeds, only vegetatively.

Landing

Potentilla is not picky about the soil. If you have a choice - give preference to loose loams with the addition of sand.

It is undesirable to place the plant in low areas with moist soil. You can use a pre-prepared mixture consisting of parts of the same volume of compost and leafy soil and half of the sand.

Potentilla will like partial shade or a site protected from the north wind with good lighting in the first half of the day.

Flower growers have noticed that yellow and white varieties of cinquefoil love open, well-lit areas.

They are more drought-resistant and less demanding on soil composition than pink and red ones.

Deep (up to 0.5 meters) pits are prepared in advance for planting. The distance between the landing pits depends on the landing plan:

• in the case of single landings - 60 cm;
• for planting a "living" hedge or borders, seedlings are placed in a trench, located at a distance of 30 cm to half a meter.

Drainage is laid at the bottom of the pits, which is good for gravel: it will feed the plant with calcium, which is so beloved by Potentilla.

On top of the gravel, sand and humus are placed in the pit, about 100 g of ash or lime are added. These three components are thoroughly mixed with the soil and bushes are planted in the mixture.

The root neck should be just above the soil surface.

After planting, the plants are well watered. Seedlings need weekly watering, for which it is desirable to use water heated in the sun.

The planting process ends with mulching the soil using peat or compost.

Mulch will protect the root system young plant from drying out and overheating.

Properly carried out planting will ensure good survival and lush flowering of the plant until late autumn.

Diseases and pests

The plant is very disease resistant. There are a few cases of Potentilla damage by a fungal disease (rust), diagnosed at high humidity in combination with low temperature.

The onset of the disease is indicated by the appearance of yellowish or brown spots with a purple tint on the leaves.

On the underside of the leaf blade, spores ripen, carried by the wind and leading to mass infection of other plants.

When the first signs of the disease appear (and as a preventive measure), the plant is treated with Bordeaux liquid (1% solution). For the same purpose, spraying with a solution of copper-soap liquid, sulfur, ciner or manganese and boron can be used.

To eliminate the risk of disease, do not plant cinquefoil near pines. On the branches of this plant, the rust pathogen usually develops and overwinters.

In hot and dry summers, the risk of damage to Potentilla by spider mites is quite high. He "settles" on the bottom of the sheet, forming a cobweb. The top of the leaf takes on a bronze hue. The tick is removed with a soft, damp sponge.

If the “flushing” did not bring the desired result, repeat the treatment using Fitoverm or Actellik chemicals.

After treatment, to enhance the effect of the drug, "pack" the affected parts of the plant for a day, two in a bag.

To combat the people have long used crushed garlic, placed on a plate. In this case, packing the affected branches into a bag is required.

To prevent the appearance of this pest, some flower growers spray the plant with garlic infusion. To prepare it, you need to chop two heads of garlic, place them in a jar, pour a liter of water and close the lid.

The solution is infused for a week, then it is diluted with water in a ratio of 1/1 and the plant is sprayed.

Potentilla shrub, the care and cultivation of which will not cause much trouble, is a spectacular ornamental culture with a long flowering period, known for a long time as "Kuril tea". In the time of the heroes, even Ilya Muromets drew strength from the fragrant flowers of Potentilla.

Potentilla shrub, it is also Kuril tea or five-leafed, is a deciduous shrub plant, the height of which does not exceed 1.5 m. The compact and dense crown is formed by lowered shoots of a grayish-brown color with green foliage. In the flowering phase, which lasts from early summer to mid-autumn, white and yellow flowers bloom, collected in umbrella inflorescences.

When cultivating an ornamental shrub, it is worth considering its main features:

• light-loving;
• exactingness to the structure and fertility of the soil;
• resistance to damage by harmful organisms;
• no need for constant pruning.

Types and varieties of Potentilla

Kuril tea is represented by 15 species and numerous varieties derived from these varieties.

Among the most popular are:

• Potentilla shrub "Pink Queen" is a low-growing shrub with strongly branching creeping shoots covered with light green leaves and pinkish flowers during the flowering period, lasting from late spring to mid-autumn season.
• Potentilla shrub 'Abbotswood' is a shrub variety with a cushion-shaped crown and abundant flowering from the beginning of the summer season to September, in which beautiful white inflorescences bloom. Hanging shoots create a semblance of a train.
• Potentilla shrub "Princess Blink" - a plant with a compact crown, which can grow up to a meter in diameter. Light pink flowers, observed during the summer season, become snow-white in the sun.
• Potentilla shrub "Lovely Pink" is a densely creeping shrub. With lush flowering observed throughout the summer season, pink flowers bloom, the diameter of which is no more than 2.5 cm. Dark green leaves, against which single or clustered flowers contrast, begin to turn yellow with the advent of autumn.

Landing in open ground

In order for Potentilla to please the grower with abundant and long flowering every year, it is necessary not only to plant seedlings correctly, but also to choose the right place.

Site selection and soil preparation

The shrub needs a lot of light, which should be soft: the color of the flowers in direct sunlight loses its brightness. And when planting cinquefoil in shady areas, the grower runs the risk of not waiting for the flowering phase at all. The culture develops well on fertile, light soils with a loose structure that provides free air circulation and moisture capacity, and with a slightly alkaline reaction.

How and when to plant?

Planting seedlings of Potentilla shrub is carried out in early spring, after the snow cover has melted:

1. Planting holes are dug, the size of which exceeds the size of an earthen coma of a seedling twice.
2. A drainage layer of gravel, expanded clay or broken brick is placed at the bottom of the recess.
3. The pit is half filled with a nutrient soil mixture prepared from leafy soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 with the addition of nitroammophoska in an amount of 150 g.
4. Then the seedling is placed and covered with soil in such a way that the root collar rises 1-2 cm above the soil level.
5. The soil in the trunk circle is compacted, moistened and mulched with sawdust, which slows down the process of moisture evaporation.

Attention! In the case of group plantings, the distance between the bushes should be at least 30 cm.

Caring for Potentilla shrub

Simple care for a shrub plant should be systematic, which will enable the grower to become the owner of a healthy bush with high decorative qualities.

Watering

Possessing such a quality as drought resistance, the shrub does not need additional watering if significant precipitation is observed during the summer season. However, during soil drought for a long time period, the bushes are watered warm water twice a month at the rate of 10 liters per copy.

Loosening, weeding and mulching

The next day after watering or precipitation, the soil is loosened, which allows you to maintain good aeration. Regular loosening also makes it possible to remove emerging weeds in a timely manner. If the grower does not have free time, or does not want to spend effort on the implementation of this procedure, the trunk circle is mulched. During the growing season, a layer of sawdust or peat mulch is updated 3-4 times.

top dressing

Soil enrichment to maintain fertility and ensure full development of the culture is carried out three times during the growing season:

• Complex mineral fertilizers are introduced into the budding phase, stimulating the formation of large buds.
• During the flowering period, cinquefoil is fed with phosphorus fertilizers, which allow prolonging the flowering state.
• In September, top dressing, which includes phosphorus and potassium, makes it possible for the plant to fully prepare for the winter.

pruning

To maintain the decorativeness of the bush, the cinquefoil is sheared twice - in the spring before the start of sap flow and before the onset of cold weather in autumn.

1. Formative pruning is carried out in early spring, when the shoots are shortened by a third of the length, which makes it possible to create a spherical shape.
2. Pruning cinquefoil in shrubby autumn is sanitary in nature and involves the removal of old, weakened shoots that develop inward.

Important! A rejuvenating haircut is carried out every five years.

Pests, diseases and control methods

Manifestations of harmful organisms are extremely rare on the plant. If during the inspection the development of powdery mildew or rust was detected, the cinquefoil should be immediately treated with a fungicide. There are situations when the shrub is attacked by scoops. In such a situation, spraying with a pesticide is also carried out, but with an insecticidal action.

Potentilla after flowering: autumn, winter

In mid-autumn, when the shrub completes flowering, the shoots are shortened by ⅓. A culture with cold resistance does not need additional shelter, wintering well in open ground even in middle lane Russia.

Plant propagation methods

Potentilla propagates both by seed and vegetatively. The latter is the simplest and most effective, since the cultivation of cinquefoil from seeds is a troublesome business, in which it is impossible to maintain varietal qualities.

• Cuttings - during the procedure carried out in the middle of summer, cuttings 10 cm long are prepared, which are planted in the shady area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden and covered with a glass jar for rooting. After 1.5 months, new plants are planted in a permanent place, and with the advent of cold weather they are covered with spruce branches.
• Reproduction by layering is the simplest technique, in which a low-growing shoot is cut along and placed in a groove up to 15 cm deep. After the formation of roots, the layers are separated from the parent specimen and planted in the chosen place.
• Division of the bush - during the procedure in spring or autumn, a four-year-old bush is dug up, the rhizome of which is divided into parts with three buds. The division is carried out with a sterile instrument, and the cut sites are necessarily treated with a disinfectant in the form of charcoal, activated charcoal or a fungicidal preparation.

The use of plants in landscape design

Being a low-growing shrub with a long flowering phase, Potentilla shrub is used to decorate the following art objects:

• borders;
• alpine hills, where a variety of conifers are planted as a background for Potentilla;
• live fences;
• rockeries.

Thus, shrub cinquefoil, when fulfilling a small set of agrotechnical requirements, will delight the grower with abundant flowering throughout not only the summer season, but also half of the autumn period.