Out
On A Limb / July 2006
Flourishing Under an Alias
A rose by another name might be a buttercup. Shrubby Cinquefoil is a familiar favorite that most gardeners probably call potentilla, or sometimes, Tundra-rose. The buttercup shrub was previously classified as Potentilla fruticosa but genetic research has proved it doesn’t belong to the Potentilla genus at all. The original name change to Dasiphora fruticosa has not proved to be completely valid either, and a new, more accurate nomenclature, Dasiphora floribunda, has been proposed but not yet formally published.
Scientific ambivalence hasn’t affected the popularity of the plant, though. By any name, it is a proven, cheerful performer.
A hardy perennial that can be counted on for low maintenance and adaptability, Dasiphora fruticosa has a variety of cultivars with white, yellow, orange and pink flowers. The flowers are small, flat, and round, but there are dozens on each bush. And, they bloom all summer.
The appellation cinquefoil is from cinque feuilles, French for “five leaves” since the leaves are usually divided into five leaflets and flowers have five petals. The bountiful bloomer is native to most of the northern hemisphere.
Shrubby Cinquefoil is a low-growing, deciduous shrub that does best in full sun and will flower all summer, especially if trimmed a little in late June or July. Although it blooms best in open, sunny positions, it will grow in a wide range of soil conditions and situations and create a charming display of small, bright flowers from June until September. A partially shaded site will simply produce fewer flowers and a bit shorter flowering season. Soil type isn’t an issue for them, but Dasiphora fruticosa prefers soil that isn’t water logged.
Very few plants have so many positive attributes. It’s easy to establish and requires little care once it is established. Drought-tolerant, compact and free flowering, it can be used as a foundation plant, in a perennial bed, in a border, in mass plantings as a low hedge or as a single specimen. It doesn’t need to be dead-headed, divided or cut back in the fall. It doesn’t need to be sprayed for blackspot like some other members of the rose family to which it belongs. And, since it is indigenous to most of the northern hemisphere, it has all the hardiness of a native plant.
Their adaptability is one of the main reasons buttercup shrubs are often included in large scale planting schemes. Most varieties reach about 24 inches in height, but a few can reach five feet.
Until recently, varieties tended to have flowers in shades of yellow or orange, but red, pink and white varieties are becoming more common. New and better cultivars have been developed, with more diminutive forms, spreading forms, double and semi-double blooms.
‘Gold Drop’ has yellow buttercup flowers all summer and green foliage that turns coppery in the fall. ‘Goldfinger’ has petite, bright yellow flowers in a tightly mounded plant. ‘Sunset’ produces a yellow-orange flower flushed with streaks of red and it gradually fades to shades of peach and yellow.
White blooming shrubs like ‘Abbotswood’ with large, pure white floweres or ‘McKays White’ with smaller, creamy blooms, are also popular choices. One of the newest whites, a fast growing, compact cultivar called ‘Snowbird’, has double white flowers.
Pink is the new hot color and a number of new pink choices are being produced, like Pink Whisper, Royal Flush, Pink Beauty and Floppy Disc, which has semi-double flowers. ‘Daydawn’, with creamy pink flowers is extremely attractive. The deeper pink blooms do tend to fade with the season.
‘Tangerine’, ‘Sunset’, and the perfectly pale ‘Apricot Whisper’, are variations of orange. ‘Sunset’ progresses from orange with red streaks to yellow and salmon.
To get the longest life out of their colored cultivars, gardeners should provide ample moisture and partial shade. To keep them neat and compact, the shrubs can be pruned after flowering.
No matter what they’re called, the buttercup shrub formerly known as potentilla, a.k.a. Dasiphora fruticosa, soon to be floribunda, is a colorful, dependable garden partner. And, in addition to their other virtues, the flowering shrub is a nectar source for butterflies and a host for butterfly larvae. PL
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