Potentilla Red Ice: description, care and cultivation, rules for planting a shrub species

It is hard to imagine a complete garden plot without flowering shrubs, which are not only a decorative element, but also have many properties. All this can be attributed to the plant Potentilla shrub Red Ice. A feature of culture is its unpretentiousness. But in order for the plant to bloom profusely and delight gardeners with its appearance, it must be properly planted and taken care of in a timely manner.

General information about the plant

Cinquefoil Red Ace (Ice) is a shrub plant whose light green leaves look like small paws. Its characteristic feature is abundant branching.

Shrub Potentilla Red Ice of English origin. This plant is small in size. Its crown in diameter is no more than one meter. As for the height of the shrub, it varies from forty to seventy centimeters.

The flowers themselves have a bright red tint. But over time, they change color to an orange-yellow tone. And their color changes with temperature. The colder it gets, the more the red tint appears. The flowering period of such a shrub begins in June and lasts until mid-autumn. This plant loves moist air.

It is important that Red Ice cinquefoil is resistant to smoke emissions and air pollution. Therefore, if the site is located near the roads, you should not worry. Another distinctive feature of the shrub is its frost resistance.

Advantages and disadvantages of Potentilla Red Ice

A shrubby plant called Potentilla fruticosa Red Ace has advantages over other garden crops. Its advantages include:

• unpretentiousness of the plant to the state of the soil;
• it easily tolerates lack of moisture in the short term;
• Potentilla is frost resistant.

The disadvantages of this shrub include poor perception of dry air. Therefore, if the summer is hot and dry, this has a detrimental effect on the condition of the Potentilla Red Ice.

Features of growing varieties

Grow Potentilla Red Ice should be subject to the basic requirements. It is necessary to plant a plant so that it is not under the scorching rays of the sun. Otherwise, in the future, the petals will burn out. But complete shading cannot be chosen either.Otherwise, the shrub will not become lush and will not bloom well.

Site selection and soil preparation

Choosing a suitable place for Potentilla Red Ice, they rely on a well-lit area. In this case, a slight penumbra is allowed. Avoid places where the soil is able to retain moisture. You should not plant shrubs and where the snow melts for a long time. It is better to choose elevated areas.

As for the soil, its structure should be soft. Clay heavy soils Potentilla Red Ice perceives poorly. The landing pit is prepared ten days before the landing process. In this case, the soil will have time to compact.

How and when to plant?

You can plant this crop in spring and autumn. The root system of Potentilla Red Ice takes root much easier in early spring, as soon as the snow melts and the soil warms up. If planting is carried out in the fall, then this should be done a month before the onset of cold weather.The most suitable period is mid-September.

The depth of holes for shrubs should be fifty centimeters. A special drainage is laid out at their bottom, consisting of broken bricks and pebbles. Such a layer should not be more than twenty centimeters. The root system is located at ground level.

If the planting is group, then the bushes should be planted in a trench, at a distance of at least sixty and no more than eighty centimeters from each other. This will allow the crowns to close together, creating the effect of a luxurious hedge.

Care instructions

Caring for Potentilla Red Ice is quite simple. All care consists of the following steps:

• implementation of competent watering;
• timely top dressing;
• shrub pruning;
• preparing it for winter.

And if such conditions are observed, the plant will delight with its beautiful flowering and lush crown.

Water and feed

Before the shrub blooms, it needs to be fed. To do this, ten grams of potassium sulfate and thirty grams of superphosphate are introduced into the soil, which are previously dissolved in ten liters of warm water. Then top dressing is carried out every spring. Potassium-phosphorus fertilizers should be chosen.

Given that an adult plant tolerates dry weather, it should be watered only when there is no rain for a long time. Liquids need to be taken about ten liters per bush. But young seedlings are recommended to be irrigated once every seven days.

Sprinkling with warm water has a positive effect on the condition of the Potentilla Red Ice. But such manipulations should be carried out in the evening.

Loosening, weeding and mulching

Loosening the soil is especially important when it comes to young shrubs. After that, all existing weeds are removed, and the soil is mulched with peat.

Potentilla trimming

It is recommended to trim the Potentilla Red Ice once every three years. Pruning is carried out in spring and autumn. If such a process is carried out in September, then those shoots that have not yet become lignified are shortened by one third of their length.

If pruning takes place in April, then the shoots need to be shortened by ten centimeters. This will contribute to their active growth and abundant branching. At the same time, throughout the season, weak and broken branches, as well as shoots that have been affected by pests, should be removed.

Preparing for winter

This shrub is resistant to cold temperatures, but does not tolerate severe frosts. Therefore, before wintering over Potentilla Red Ice, you need to build a kind of dry, high shelter.

Also, before the onset of cold weather, the lower part of the trunk is cleared of leaves. Then the bush is sprinkled with a peat layer, the height of which is fifteen centimeters.

Diseases and pests

The following diseases pose the greatest danger to Potentilla Red Ice:

• powdery mildew;
• foliage spotting;
• rust damage.

As soon as the gardener discovers the first signs, appropriate measures must be taken immediately. You can treat the shrub with copper sulphate or a solution of the fungicide Fundazol.

Sometimes the cinquefoil is affected by aphids. This happens in the spring, when the leaves begin to form. In hot weather, the plant is attacked by a spider mite. Damaged areas must be removed, and the remaining shoots should be treated with a special solution.

Planting methods

There are several ways to propagate Red Ice shrub Potentilla. This is:

1. With the help of seeds. Gardeners and gardeners rarely use this method, since the growing process itself is lengthy. In this case, the seeds first ripen in a greenhouse or in special containers.
2. Through layering. A developed shoot must be pinned into a dug groove, and next year in the spring it should be separated from the mother liquor and planted in a new permanent place. Then the plant will begin to bloom in another year.
3. Dividing the shrub. If the Potentilla Red Ice has reached the age of five years, then in early spring it should be dug up. Divide the shrub into several parts, but only so that each of the parts has developed roots and buds are present.
4. Shanks. If the cuttings have become lignified and have already reached ten centimeters in length, they are placed in a sand-peat composition. They need to be deepened so that only the crown two centimeters high remains on top. A year later, such seedlings are planted.

Each gardener chooses an acceptable way to propagate this shrub.

Potentilla Red Ice in landscape design

Potentilla Red Ice brings zest to landscape design thanks to the bright color of the flowers. It can be used to decorate alpine slides or borders.

Planted as a single plant and in group mixes, allows for interesting variations.

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