List of Potentilla Plants

Posted on January 26, 2011 by jpohl| Leave a comment

Potentilla Plants

There are a lot of different species of Potentilla plants out there. When going to a plant store and you are faced with a tag and a name, sometimes its difficult to know what the difference is and if the what you are looking at is actually part of the potentilla plants family. I have compiled a list of the different Potentilla plants for your review.

Potentilla Plants List

Potentilla Plants for Everyone!

Okay, maybe not every one has to have potentilla plants in their garden. However, you can see that there really is no one single potentilla shrub that is right for every occasion. I hope that when you are looking for Potentilla plants, you remember the vast variety available.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,

How to Prune a Potentilla Shrub

Posted on December 21, 2010 by jpohl| Leave a comment

How to Prune a Potentilla Plant

Potentilla Shrubs are very hearty and easy to grow plants.  However, that does not mean that they will beautiful without proper pruning.

The first thing to do is make sure that you use proper pruning shears and especially make sure they are properly sharpened.  The reason for this is that shears not properly sharpened will tend to tear your plants rather than cut.  A nice clean cut allows the plant to grow faster and in a more predictable manner.

Your pruning shears should also be clean.  It’s possible that you can transmit plant diseases  from one plant to another through shears that are not clean.  Not only that, cleaning your shears prolongs the life of the tool.

When to Prune A Potentilla

Mid spring is the best time to prune your Potentilla Shrub.  You want to use your hands to spread the foliage apart.  This will allow you to look into the base of the plant and remove all the dead branches and brush that are easy to pull out.

You will want to randomly prune the shrub at various points between the base and 6 inches up from the base.  This part is more art than science although if you don’t go overboard, you will be fine.  Essentially you are just trying to thin out the plant so it has room to grow.  We want the plant to have room to get air circulation and allow water to make it to the roots.

Prune a Potentilla to a Proper Shape

You want to generally keep a mounded shape for these Potentilla Shrubs.  The general rule of thumb is to leave at least two-thirds of the plant.  In other words, do not remove more than one third of the plant.  You want to cut closer to the base of the plant in general and stay away from cutting toward the end or buds of the plant.  Think split ends in your hair!

It’s a good idea to pinch off growth that is not flowering periodically during the season.  Just use your fingers and literally pinch off the non-growing flowers.  This will divert growing potential to actual flowing buds.

If the Potentilla Shrub is getting to large for the area, there is another remedy than just cutting the plant.  You can actually dig up the plant and break apart the plant at the root ball.  You would do it much the same as you break apart hostas.  This way you can keep the size of plant you need but replant the rest in another location or give it away an make a friend or relative happy.

Again, these plants are easy to grow and just as easy to take care of during the course of a year.  Proper pruning will only help them grow even better.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Potentilla Shrub

Tagged , , ,

Potentilla Shrubs – Even You Can Grow One!

Posted on December 14, 2010 by jpohl| 1 Comment

Potentilla Shrubs are also known as Cinquefoil are extremely hearty plants.  For those readers that tend to have problems growing outdoor plants, this is one you will not be able to kill!

These plants grow wild in mountainous regions.  They can withstand extreme cold temperatures as well as bad soil conditions. Along with the versatile soil conditions is the fact that a potentilla shrub can handle most bog and drought conditions.  You should water as needed but whenever the plants start looking a little droopy or wilted.

You can get them in a variety of different colors.  White and yellow are the most common but you can get a potentilla shrub in other colors such as red, orange and pink.

Cinquefoil is popular in regions where critters such as deer and rabbits roam.  Those animals tend to avoid the plant.  Many gardners will plant potentilla shrubs strategically around their gardens in an attempt to keep the animals away.

There are some people in suburb areas where deer are present that will plant a virtual border around their property with cinquefoil.  This is purely done as a deer repellent.  It’s a natural and effective repellent for deer and rabbits.  It will also not hurt anything if it is eaten by other animals.

The average potentilla shrub will grow to about 1 to 2 feet tall.  This makes the plant very useful as a border plant for walkways and backdrops in gardens.  Although they require trimming, the process is pretty simple to cut the plant back.  The nice part is that its difficult to permanately damage the plant.  Cut it back and all you are really doing is making the plant smaller.

The nice part about potentilla shrubs is the amount of information available to know how to care and maintain the plant.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Potentilla Shrub

Tagged , , , ,