Description of Potentilla shrub Goldstar, planting and care

Cinquefoil shrub is loved by gardeners and landscape designers for its beautiful and long-lasting flowering. The plant received its second name - Kuril tea - for its dark infusion with a tart odor, which is consumed by residents of the Urals and the Far East. Cinquefoil shrub Goldstar is one of the many varieties of the crop. It is planted not only in garden plots, but also in tubs, large pots on terraces and loggias.

Description and characteristics of shrubby Potentilla Goldstar

Kuril tea reaches a height of 80 centimeters, the crown spreads over 1.2 meters. The leaves of Potentilla shrub Goldstar are gray-green, turning yellow in autumn. They consist of 5 lobes, for which the plant is called a five-leaf plant. The shrub blooms with bright yellow flowers from June to September.

The planting grows quickly, increasing its volume by 15 centimeters every year. Prefers well-lit places, where cinquefoil blooms are brighter and more abundant. The plant is frost-resistant; winter shelter is not required.

Pros and cons of the variety

Cinquefoil shrub Goldstar has the following advantages:

• the bushes keep their shape well;
• grow in one place for a long time;
• easy to form;
• bloom long and beautifully;
• winter-hardy;
• used as honey plants.

Disadvantages include the plant's susceptibility to certain diseases and pests, as well as its requirement for aerated soils.

Rules for growing Potentilla Goldstar

The shrub can grow in the same place for many years, so the planting area must be carefully selected. When growing several plantings, it is important to correctly determine the distance between them.

Site selection and soil preparation

Cinquefoil Goldstar prefers sunny places; flowering may not begin in the shade. The soil selected is light, well-drained, and fertile. It can vary from acidic to slightly alkaline. Cinquefoil is a moisture-loving plant, so it can be planted on soils with high groundwater levels.

Timing

Goldstar cinquefoil is planted in the spring, after the soil has warmed up well.By frost, the shrub will have time to take root well. You can also plant it in early September, but in this case it needs to be mulched with peat and dry leaves for the winter.

Group landing distance

Goldstar cinquefoil can be planted singly or in groups. When planting several bushes side by side, the distance between them is maintained within 60-80 centimeters. This distance is necessary for their ventilation, which serves as a disease prevention.

Disembarkation process

Planting Kuril tea is done as follows:

1. A hole is dug with a volume twice the volume of the plant’s root system.
2. Drainage consisting of lime gravel, broken bricks, and river pebbles is laid at the bottom.
3. The pit is half filled with a substrate consisting of humus, leaf soil, sand with the addition of 100 grams of complex mineral fertilizer.
4. A seedling is placed in the middle of the planting hole, then it is filled with the remaining soil (without fertilizer).

The tree trunk circle is shed abundantly with water. To retain moisture, mulch with peat or tree bark.

Note! When planting, the root collar of the bush should not be buried: after watering it will be flush with the ground.

Further care of the bush

Caring for Goldstar cinquefoil involves watering, fertilizing, and loosening the soil. In addition, plants require pruning, both sanitary and formative. Faded buds are also removed, due to which the decorative appearance of the bushes is lost.

Pruning cinquefoil

To maintain a decorative appearance, cinquefoil needs to be trimmed. The procedure is carried out in spring or autumn: old, broken, diseased branches are removed. In addition, gardeners do formative pruning, shortening the branches by ⅓.When the plant reaches 5-6 years of age, it can be rejuvenated by cutting out shoots to 15-centimeter stumps.

Loosening, weeding and mulching

After rain or watering, the soil is loosened. The procedure promotes air access to the roots. At the same time, weeds are removed that interfere with the development of bushes and can be carriers of pests and diseases. To preserve moisture in the soil, the root system is mulched with peat, sawdust or tree bark.

Watering and fertilizing

The soil in which cinquefoil is grown should be moderately moist. In dry, hot weather, the bushes are watered twice a week. If there is sufficient rainfall, additional moisture is not required. Goldstar cinquefoil bushes are fed with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers in the spring, during budding and after flowering.

Diseases and pests

Goldstar cinquefoil is quite resistant to diseases and pests, but under unfavorable conditions it can be affected by the following misfortunes:

• Rust. Yellow-brown spots appear on the lower part of the leaf blades. To rid seedlings of this disease, you need to spray the ground part of the bushes with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, boric acid, or copper-containing preparations.
• Spider mites. These pests appear in too dry and hot summers. They entwine the branches with cobwebs, preventing them from developing.
• Scoops. These butterflies are dangerous because they hatch caterpillars that eat up the cinquefoil bushes. To combat them, use Fitoverm, diluting and spraying plants according to the instructions on the package.

Breeding methods

Goldstar cinquefoil is propagated on the site in several ways: seeds, cuttings, dividing the bush, layering.

By division

The division procedure is carried out as follows:

• dig up an old bush with a pitchfork;
• divide it into parts so that each division has rhizomes and buds;
• bushes are planted in prepared holes, watered and mulched.

In order for plants to take root faster, the root system can be treated with root formation stimulants.

Important! The tool for dividing bushes must be sharp and disinfected.

Cuttings

Propagation by cuttings is carried out as follows:

• cut shoots 10-12 centimeters long;
• the lower part is dusted with a root formation stimulator;
• plant cuttings in a shaded area;
• cover with glass jars.

Water the cuttings as needed. They are planted in a permanent place after a year.

Seeds

Propagation by seeds is rarely used by gardeners, since the method is labor-intensive, and bushes bloom much longer than those grown by other methods. For this purpose, seeds are collected in the fall, sown at the end of winter, first in a planting box, then the seedlings are transplanted into separate pots. A year later, young plants are planted in open ground.

By layering

To propagate cinquefoil by layering, you need to do the following:

• the lower shoot is freed from foliage in the middle part;
• bends to the ground, pins;
• covered with earth and watered.

During the season, the pinning site is watered with water. In autumn, the cuttings are separated and planted separately. For the winter it needs to be covered with peat and dry leaves.

Cinquefoil Goldstar in landscape design

The bushes hold their shape well, so gardeners often use Goldstar cinquefoil for landscaping the local area. It is planted as a hedge instead of a fence, in the form of medium-sized borders.Shrubs look impressive both when planted singly against the background of a lawn and in groups of several plants. Potentilla looks harmonious in mixborders, rockeries, and alpine slides.