Cinquefoil, or five-leaf plant, is a medicinal and ornamental plant. In nature there is a white variety and a yellow one called galangal. Hybrid species are distinguished by a variety of shades of colors. Terry and large-flowered varieties of cinquefoil have also been developed. The plant's natural habitat is rocky foothills, forests and river banks. Cinquefoil is easy to care for and brings a piece of wild nature into the garden design.
The most popular types and varieties of cinquefoil
Cinquefoil herbaceous is a perennial flowering plant.It covers the ground with a dense green carpet. Carved leaves are fanned out on the stems and resemble paws. Popular herbaceous species in gardening:
- Nepalese;
- goose;
- white;
- straight or galangal;
- silver
The height of the stems of herbaceous varieties is from 30 to 90 centimeters.
Shrubby cinquefoil is a plant with tough shoots, popular in landscape design. The bushes retain their shape for a long time after pruning and bloom profusely. Types of shrubby cinquefoil that are often found in private gardens and city parks:
- Kuril;
- Daurian cinquefoil;
- Abbotswood;
- Red Ace.
Hybrid cinquefoil combines varieties with straight stems, glossy and double flowers in bright shades. Popular hybrids:
- Monarch Velvet;
- Ark En Sel;
- William Rollison.
Perennial cinquefoil that grows in the wild and is suitable for garden cultivation:
- forked - grows in rocky, sandy soil. The herbaceous plant forms a green cover 25 centimeters thick. Leaves with smooth edges and carved tips. The flowers are traditionally yellow and small, from 8 millimeters to 1.5 centimeters in diameter;
- strawberry-like - a low-creeping forest perennial similar to strawberries with carved velvety leaves, collected in pairs at the roots. The buds with a diameter of 16 millimeters are combined into inflorescences;
- Siberian - a tall variety with erect reddish stems reaching 60 centimeters in height. The leaves have serrated edges, are silvery on the inside and covered with down, like the stems. Yellow small flowers are collected in inflorescences.
Cinquefoil bush is known as Kuril tea. From the twigs and leaves of the plant brewed in boiling water, a vitamin drink is obtained.
Yellow flowers
In nature, the plant blooms with small yellow flowers.With the help of selection, decorative species with buds of different shades appeared:
- Goldstar - bushes with a spherical crown with a diameter of 120 centimeters. Plant height is 80 centimeters. The bright yellow flowers, 5 centimeters in diameter, bloom from early June to October. The fast-growing variety adds 15 centimeters in height and 20 centimeters in width per year;
- Jackman Variety - a tall variety of cinquefoil 1.5 meters in height;
- Hackman's Giant is a type of Kuril tea with a height of 70 to 100 centimeters. The pillow-shaped crown reaches 1 meter in diameter. Golden flowers bloom on the bushes;
- Elizabeth - forms a crown in the form of a pillow. Opens bright yellow flowers that look good against the background of coniferous shrubs;
- Kobold - quickly stretches to a minimum height of 60 centimeters. The maximum height does not reach a meter. Until September, light yellow flowers open on the bushes;
- Yellow Queen - a hybrid variety that grows 30 centimeters up from the ground, with shiny flowers reaching more than 3 centimeters in diameter.
Potentilla species with yellow flowers retain their color in hot, cloudless weather.
Pink varieties
The following decorative types of Kuril tea look more original:
- Pink Beauty - the rich pink color of the petals does not change until the end of flowering;
- Pink Paradise - covered in bright pink flowers in July. Its peculiarity is semi-double petals;
- Princess - during a short flowering period from June to August, it blooms soft pink buds. The shade is not preserved and fades to white.
The pink color is not stable, so cinquefoil often loses its delicate color in the sun.
Orange varieties
The following types of cinquefoil are used to decorate borders and flower beds:
- Tangerine - the petals of a compact shrub change color.Copper tone appears in the shade and twilight, and yellow - at midday, in bright sun. The buds open in July;
- Mango Tango - orange-red petals with a yellow gradient in the center. The bush gives small growth and is distinguished by bright flowering;
- Hoplis Orange - petals retain their bright color when exposed to sunlight. The leaves shine thanks to silvery fibers. The variety blooms during the three summer months and until October.
The plants differ in the shades of their petals, but retain their natural ability to bloom for a long time.
Red species
Potentilla varieties with red flowers are low hybrids:
- Marion Red Robin is a creeping plant. Red flowers in a muted brick hue appear in June and fade by September;
- Red Ace - a subshrub at the beginning of flowering, blooms bright scarlet flowers. In the sun they change their shade to copper;
- Gibson Scarlet - cinquefoil with blood-red shiny flowers, straight fleecy stems, 60 centimeters high;
- Miss Wilmott - belongs to the Nepalese varieties, is distinguished by lush flowering. The petals of the buds combine cherry and pink shades;
- Floris - petals of a coral shade acquire a fiery red color at the core.
An unusual variety of Nepalese cinquefoil is Roxana. The color of its buds is a mixture of coral, orange and red shades.
Red species of subshrubs will add a bright accent to a composition of white and yellow roses.
Double flowers
Hybrid double and semi-double varieties bloom brightly, like Nepalese bloodroot:
- Volcano - opens large buds, red petals surround a yellow core;
- Emily is a plant with large flowers of a rich red hue. The petals are edged with a golden-yellow edge. The serrated leaves are shaped like strawberries;
- Ark-en-Sil is a low-growing strawberry-like hybrid that stands out for its dark red flowers with a crimson tint. The edges of the petals are decorated with a yellow border;
- Snowbird is a frost-tolerant shrub with light green leaves in June covered with white flowers with a yellow tint in the center. The variety blooms until the first frost.
Trimmed shrubs with double flowers from a distance resemble a rose bush.
Large-flowered Potentilla
Types of Kuril tea with large flowers are used in Japanese garden design. The plants are also distinguished by their large leaves. The diameter of the open buds is 4.5-5 centimeters.
Large-flowered varieties:
- Darts Golddigger - a shrubby low cinquefoil covered in lemon-hued flowers. The frost-resistant plant is planted as a hedge. Flowering can be observed all summer and until October;
- Klondike - a shrub reaches a meter in height, blooms buds of a pale yellow hue. Tough shoots retain their shape for a long time after pruning. The variety is also suitable for hedges;
- Goldfinger - thin shoots form a rounded crown. The flowers are dark yellow;
- White Lady is a representative of the large-flowered group with white buds.
Potentilla varieties with large flowers come from wild Kuril tea, so yellow shades predominate in the color of their buds.
Cream varieties
The main color of the buds is called cream, but the color invariably has a yellow undertone:
- Day Down is a low shrub 60 centimeters high with a spherical crown. The flowers are distinguished by a yellow tint, which becomes brighter towards the center;
- Klondike - the bush grows up to 80 centimeters in height. Cream flowers with a yellow undertone fade towards the end of flowering;
- Primrose Beauty is an ornamental shrub with creamy yellow flowers reaching 90 centimeters in height. At the beginning of flowering, the petals are completely golden. By the end of the period they become lighter. The center remains deep yellow;
- Tilford Krim is short in stature, 50 centimeters. The color of the petals is creamy white. Flowering begins at the end of May and ends in September;
- Catherine Dix is a frost-resistant, light-loving hybrid. A distinctive feature is silvery-green shiny foliage.
Cream types also fade in the sun, like pink ones.
Ivory flowers
The shades of white varieties are close to the noble color:
- Abbotswood - a meter-high shrub is often planted on an alpine hill. Its flowers are gathered in clusters;
- Vichi is a tall shrub reaching 150 centimeters in length and width. A distinctive feature is the small red stamens;
- McCay's White is a bush variety with a creamy undertone to the petals. The stamens are distinguished by bright yellow dots;
- Menkhi - distinguished by green leaves with silver edges;
- Farrers White is an elegant flowering shrub.
Breeders have not yet been able to obtain pure ivory color. Similar tones are also found among cream-colored cinquefoil species.
Low growing varieties
Hybrids that do not grow above 50-60 centimeters:
- Jolaina - a dwarf cinquefoil with large yellow-orange flowers, characterized by abundant flowering and frost resistance;
- Dakota Sunrise - a dense cushion-shaped shrub with pubescent leaves blooms profusely with yellow flowers;
- Rhodocalyx - low cinquefoil with snow-white buds;
- Summerflower - shoots stretch upward and form a crown in the shape of a hemisphere. Large yellow flowers stand out against the background of gray-green small leaves.Flowering lasts from early summer to late autumn. The color of the petals is yellow with a golden tint;
- Goldteppich - the rich yellow color of the variety’s buds will serve as an accent in the coniferous composition. The bushes are winter hardy and immune to powdery mildew.
Hybrid varieties combine several decorative qualities. Low-growing bushes bloom with large buds. Potentilla species with flowers in fiery shades are classified as red and orange. What they have in common with their regular herbaceous relatives is resistance to cold and ease of care.
