Shrubby cinquefoil

Shrubby cinquefoil: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Dense, rounded, much-branched shrub about 1 m tall and 1.2 m wide.

Leaves

Pinnate, usually with 5 narrow leaflets 1–2 cm long; greyish green and silky-hairy. Deciduous.

Flower

Saucer-shaped flowers 2–3 cm across with five rounded petals, single or in small clusters, from June to October.

Colour

Yellow in the species; cultivars in white, cream, pale yellow, orange, pink and red.

Bark

Brown bark that peels in strips on older stems.

Flowering: June–October · Plants: March–April and October–November · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• One of the longest-flowering shrubs: new flowers keep appearing from June to October.
• As tough as they come: hardy to about −40 °C and, once established, very drought-tolerant.
• Bees, hoverflies and butterflies easily find their way into the open flowers.
• Stays compact: ideal as a low hedge, in a border, on a bank or in a large pot.
• Happy in almost any soil, from sand to clay and from acid to chalky.

Shrubby cinquefoil: where does it grow best?

• Full sun gives the most flowers; partial shade is fine too. Orange, pink and red cultivars keep their colour better with some midday shade.
• Sand, loam or clay, acid, neutral or chalky: it is not fussy, as long as the soil drains well.
• Dry to moist soil; once established it copes well with drought, but not with standing water in winter.
• Allow 1–1.2 m per plant; for a low hedge, plant 50–60 cm apart.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

1 m tall, 1.2 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -40 °C)

Goes well with

• Lavender: Blue-purple spikes beside the yellow flowers, in the same sunny, dry spot.
• Catmint: Also flowers for a long time and loves the same sun.
• Fountain grass: Adds movement and an airy contrast to the rounded shrub.
• Bluebeard: Blue flowers in late summer, a lovely contrast with yellow.
• Balkan clary: Purple spikes in early summer, also happy in dry soil.

Shrubby cinquefoil: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–November.

1. Plant in March–April or October–November, when the soil is not frozen or too wet.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in a little compost.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as in its pot and firm the soil well.
4. Leave 1 m between single shrubs, or 50–60 cm for a low hedge.
5. Water in generously straight away, and again in dry spells during the first year.
6. A thin mulch of compost or wood chips keeps weeds down.

Care

Water

Water regularly in dry spells during the first year; after that only in long hot periods, especially in a pot.

Feeding

A little compost in March, after pruning. Too much fertiliser gives lots of leaves and fewer flowers.

Mulching

A layer of compost or wood chips in spring holds moisture and keeps weeds down.

Faded flowers

No need to remove them: the petals drop by themselves and the shrub keeps on flowering.

In a pot

Grows well in a pot of at least 40 cm with outdoor potting compost; water regularly in summer.

Tip: Give orange and red cultivars a spot with some midday shade: in strong sun these colours fade quickly.

Shrubby cinquefoil: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March.

When: In March, before new growth starts. It flowers on this year’s wood, so pruning in spring costs no flowers.

How:

• Cut back about a third of the stems, or shorten the whole shrub by a third to keep it compact.
• Every year, remove a few of the oldest, grey stems at the base so the shrub stays young.
• Take out dead and weak twigs from the centre.
• Renovate a neglected shrub over two to three years by removing some of the oldest stems at ground level each time.

Caution: Do not just shear the outer layer with hedge trimmers: also remove old stems, or the shrub becomes bare and woody inside.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Softwood cuttings

In June–July: take 8–10 cm cuttings from non-flowering shoots, strip the lower leaves and insert them in moist cutting compost under plastic. They root easily within a few weeks.

Semi-ripe cuttings

In August–September, in a pot outdoors in a sheltered spot or in a cold frame; pot them up in spring.

Layering

In spring, pin a low shoot into the soil; sever it after a year and replant.

Shrubby cinquefoil: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −40 °C.

• One of the hardiest shrubs: to about −40 °C, so it never needs protection in Belgium.
• It drops its leaves in autumn; the fine brown twigs look neat all winter.
• It is hardy in a pot too, but make sure water can drain away: a wet, frozen root ball does more harm than the cold itself.

Diseases and pests

• Red spider mite: In hot, dry summers and against a warm wall: the leaves become finely mottled and dull, sometimes with fine webbing. Water, mist the foliage and choose a more airy spot.
• Bare, woody shrub: The result of years without pruning, or only shearing the surface. Remove a few old stems at the base every spring.
• Faded flowers: Orange, pink and red cultivars fade in strong sun and heat. A spot with light midday shade helps; in cooler autumn weather the colour deepens again.
• Few flowers: Too much shade or too much fertiliser. Give it more sun and feed less.

Through the year

• March: Prune: cut back a third of the stems. Add compost. Plant.
• April: Plant. Mulch.
• June: Flowering begins. Take softwood cuttings.
• July: Full flower. Water in dry spells.
• August: Flowering. Take semi-ripe cuttings.
• September: Flowering continues.
• October: Last flowers. Plant.
• November: Plant. The leaves fall.
• December: Rest.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Butterflies

Nectar for butterflies.

Did you know?

• It was long called Potentilla fruticosa and is often still sold under that name; fruticosa means ‘shrubby’.
• It grows wild in cold and mountainous regions of Europe, Asia and North America, from the Pyrenees to the Himalaya and Canada.
• In Britain and Ireland it grows wild in only a few places, such as Upper Teesdale and the Burren.