Description and characteristics of Princess cinquefoil, planting and care

Cinquefoil has been known since ancient times. According to one legend, Ilya Muromets, in order to defeat the Nightingale the Robber, inhaled the smell of this flower. Nowadays the culture can be found not only in the wild; the shrub is actively grown as an ornamental plant. One of the popular varieties is Potentilla variety Princesses.

Description of Potentilla Princess/Pink Queen

Cinquefoil variety Pink Queen is a medium-sized shrub.The crown is lush, spreading, with a diameter of 1 to 1.2 m with light green leaves. The height of an adult bush is about 60-70 cm. The crown is of a creeping type. The leaves are pinnate, silvery underneath.

Pink inflorescences with yellow stamens. The flowering period of inflorescences begins in June and ends in September. It is better to plant shrubs in partial shade or sun. But in sunny areas, flowers can fade to white.

Comparative characteristics with the Cobalt variety

In general, there are no significant differences between these two varieties, except for the shade of the inflorescences.

Subtleties of growing shrubs

Growing cinquefoil on a plot is not the most difficult task. With the right location, the shrub will delight you with abundant flowering for more than one season.

Choice of time and place

The choice of place to plant shrubs depends on the variety. Some are unpretentious, and some varieties are quite capricious. Fortunately, the Pink Queen variety is unpretentious and can grow normally in partial shade and sun.

You can plant seedlings at any time, but early spring is considered the most favorable. Seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of April after the soil has warmed up. In autumn, shrubs are planted a month before the expected onset of frost.

Cinquefoil of the Pink Queen variety is demanding on the composition of the soil. The shrub prefers to grow in areas with good drainage and an acidity level within the pH range of 5.7-7.

Preparation of planting material

Potentilla planting material should be prepared one day before planting in open ground.To do this, the root system of the seedling is placed in a growth activator and left in it for 12 hours.

Immediately before planting in open ground, the rhizome is dipped into a liquid clay solution. This will help protect the root system from the development of diseases.

Landing technology

They begin to prepare the area for planting cinquefoil 2 weeks before planting. A hole is dug to a depth of 70-90 cm. 15 cm of drainage is poured to the bottom. Then humus and leaf soil are poured in equal parts, and mineral fertilizers are added. You can also add a small amount of sand.

The process of planting a seedling:

• Before planting, the roots of the bush are trimmed.
• Place it in the hole, carefully separating the roots before doing this.
• Fill the hole with soil and compact it near the stem.

At the end of planting, the seedling is watered with plenty of warm water. Between neighboring bushes the distance is left at least 1 m.

Tips for caring for cinquefoil

The Pink Queen variety of cinquefoil is a high-maintenance variety. The shrub needs crown formation and regular fertilization.

Irrigation scheme

The shrub does not need frequent watering. It is enough to irrigate the soil once every two weeks. And if it rains, even less. To water shrubs, use water heated in the sun.

To increase the number of inflorescences, after sunset the plant is sprayed with water from a hose.

Feeding and fertilizers

You need to feed the bush three times a year - in May, July and September. Complex mineral fertilizers are used as fertilizing.

Plant trimming

The formation of the crown is carried out in the spring before the buds begin to bloom. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the fall. If you do not trim the bush, it will very quickly become ugly and unkempt.

In the spring, the shrub needs to be shaped and all branches that get in the way are cut off. In the fall, dry and diseased branches are removed from the cinquefoil. Use sharp garden shears for pruning. The cut areas of the plant are treated with garden varnish or wood ash.

Protection from diseases and pests

Cinquefoil is one of those crops that rarely suffer from diseases if you care for them properly. Plant diseases include powdery mildew, rust and blight. You can get rid of these diseases by spraying with fungicides.

One of the pests on the cinquefoil is the cutworm. Insecticides will help destroy the pest. As a preventive measure, you need to trim dry branches every fall, do not plant bushes too close to each other, and prevent weeds from growing.
Varieties breeding methods

One of the ways to propagate cinquefoil is by cuttings. Cuttings are prepared in August. They are cut from the lower shoots, having previously trimmed the inflorescences. The length of the cuttings should not be less than 10 cm. They can be planted directly in open ground, covered with a bottle.

If inflorescences begin to appear, they are cut off. The bottles are not removed for the winter, only covered with spruce branches.

Another method is seed. To do this, planting material is planted in March for seedlings. And in the spring, when the soil warms up, the seedlings are transplanted into open ground.

Potentilla also reproduces by layering. In spring, the strongest lower stem is bent to the soil and buried with earth. By autumn, roots will form on the branch, and the cuttings can be separated from the mother bush and planted.

The easiest way to propagate is by cutting the bush into several parts. The bush is dug up and cut into several parts with a shovel. Then they are seated.
Use in landscape design

The Pink Queen variety of cinquefoil is used to decorate summer cottages and landscape design. Shrubs are planted as hedges. Thanks to their spreading crown, such hedges look very impressive. Cinquefoil looks great in single and group plantings. The plant combines with most flower crops.