Potentilla Princesses: description and characteristics of the variety, planting and care, breeding methods

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

Description of Potentilla Princess / Pink Queen

Pink Queen cinquefoil belongs to medium-sized shrubs. The crown is lush, spreading, in diameter from 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 buds with yellow stamens. The flowering period of inflorescences begins in June and ends in September. It is better to plant a shrub in partial shade or in the sun. But in sunny areas, the flowers may fade to a white hue.

Comparative characteristics with variety Cob alt

Variety Cob altInflorescence colorPink Flower period Crown shape

	Princess variety
	Yellow see
June-September	From June to frost
Cushion-shaped	Round

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 the site is not the most difficult task. With the right place, the shrub will delight with abundant flowering for more than one season.

Choice of time and place

The choice of a place for planting a shrub depends on the variety. Some are unpretentious, and some varieties are rather capricious. Luckily, Pink Queen is a hardy variety and can grow well in partial shade and full 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 warms up. In autumn, shrubs are planted a month before the expected onset of frost.

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

Preparation of planting material

It is necessary to prepare planting material for Potentilla a 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.

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

Fitting technology

Prepare the site for planting Potentilla start 2 weeks before planting. A hole is dug to a depth of 70-90 cm. 15 cm of drainage are poured into the bottom. Then humus and leafy soil are poured in equal parts, mineral fertilizers are added. You can also add a small amount of sand.

Seedling planting process:

• Before planting, the roots are trimmed at the bush.
• Set it in the hole, carefully separating the roots before that.
• Fill the hole with soil, tamp near the stem.

At the end of planting, the seedling is watered with plenty of warm water. Leave a distance of at least 1 m between adjacent bushes.

Potentilla Care Tips

Pink Queen cinquefoil belongs to demanding care varieties. The shrub needs crown formation and regular fertilization.

Irrigation scheme

Shrub does not need frequent watering. It is enough to irrigate the soil once every two weeks. And if it rains, even less so. For watering shrubs, water heated in the sun is used.

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

Feeding and fertilizer

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

Plant shearing

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 cut the bush, very quickly it will become ugly and untidy.

In the spring, the shrubs are given the necessary shape and cut off all the branches that interfere. In autumn, dry and diseased branches are removed from Potentilla. Use sharp garden shears for pruning. The cut points of the plant are treated with garden pitch or wood ash.

Protection from diseases and pests

Potentilla is one of those crops that rarely infect diseases if properly cared for. Among the diseases on the plant are powdery mildew, rust and spotting. You can get rid of these diseases by spraying with fungicides.

Of the pests on the cinquefoil, there is a scoop. Insecticides will help to destroy the pest. As a preventive measure, cut off dry branches every autumn, do not plant bushes too close together and prevent weeds from growing. Breeding methods

One of the ways to propagate Potentilla is cuttings. Cuttings are prepared in August. They are cut from the lower shoots, after cutting off the inflorescences. The length of the cuttings should not be less than 10 cm. They can be planted immediately in open ground, covered with a bottle.

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

Another way is seed. For 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.

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

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

Pink Queen cinquefoil is used for decorating summer cottages and landscape design. The shrub is planted as a hedge. Thanks to the spreading crown, such hedges look very impressive.Potentilla looks great in single and group plantings. The plant is compatible with most flower crops.

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