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Potentilla, the Shrub that Gives Your Garden Flower Power

By Jos Van Hage

A flowering shrub that will give you flower power is the Potentilla as it is one of the longest blooming flowering shrubs. 

Seen throughout the Prince George area in many roadside landscapes as well as residential and commercial,  this hardy shrub will tolerate most soil conditions. This tough shrub planted along Hwy 97 by-pass can withstand drought conditions in summer.  In winter the plants can withstand the snowplows piling snow on them so they are able to grow almost anywhere.

Commonly known as Potentilla, the Latin name is Cinquefoil.  This aptly names this flowering shrub. Quinque in Latin means 5 and folium means leaf, which describes the compound leaf consisting of five lance shaped leaflets, covered in short silky hair. Single flowers have five petals but there are also varieties available with semi-double and double flowers. 

Flowers come in colors of white, pink, orange, red, and the popular yellow. There over 350 different varieties which are divided into 2 basic groups, those that grow tall and those that grow short. 

Tall varieties are used for hedging and borders and the low types make good ground covers. Some of the taller varieties that have done well in the Prince George area  are the ‘Abbotswood’ which is 3 foot round bush and has white flowers. ‘Goldfinger’ grows 4 feet tall and has yellow flowers and ‘Goldstar’ which is a little shorter but has larger flowers. ‘Red Ace’ or ‘Red Sunset’ both grow upright and have red flowers. For a nice ground cover, the ‘Yellow Gem’ is good as it grows 12 inches high with a 3 foot spread.

For best results plant potentillas in a full sun to light shade location. When they are first planted, they will need to be watered regularly until they become established. After this, they are able to tolerate drought however the foliage looks better when it receives moisture and is in a moist well-drained soil. 

Potentillas are a low maintenance plant requiring only a good pruning in spring and they will bloom throughout the entire summer. 

Cut them back by a third to create a nice shaped bush and remove any damaged or wayward branches. By pruning, them you will get many flowers as they bloom on new wood. 

This hardy flowering shrub is rarely bothered by insects or disease, which makes them an ideal shrub for low maintenance areas. 

-Jos

-Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapps Garden Centres in the Prince George Region:
Hart Highway
Highway 97 South at the Old Cariboo HIghway
Highway 16 West College Heights
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