Potentilla fruticosa Danny Boy - Shrubby Cinquefoil

The Danny Boy shrubby potentilla is a new variety of potentilla, particularly floriferous and easy to care for. It naturally forms a dense and branching, bushy and stout shrub. This potentilla has the merit of offering a profusion of small raspberry pink flowers with a yellow center from late spring to early autumn. The flower colour is enhanced by deciduous foliage, with very finely cut and tightly packed leaves, of a bluish-green grey colour. This plant, both compact and beautifully coloured, will bring a touch of cheerfulness to flower beds, rockeries, and balconies for several weeks. Easy to grow, it is suitable for all gardeners, even beginners!

Shrubby potentillas are native to the northern hemisphere and belong to the Rosaceae family. Potentilla fruticosa is a shrub that has produced, with the help of breeders, a certain quantity of charming varieties. 'Danny Boy' shows healthy and particularly branching and bushy growth, forming a large dense cushion. Wider than it is tall, this shrub reaches a height of about 40 cm (16in) and a spread of 50 cm (20in) at maturity. Its deciduous foliage consists of 3 cm (1in) long, pinnate leaves with narrow leaflets, bluish-green grey turning yellow in autumn. This elegantly cut foliage is covered with a white fuzz, giving it a silky and silvery appearance. Its delicate flowers, resembling those of single-flowered roses, are cup-shaped, 2-3 cm (1in) in diameter, with five petals surrounding golden stamens. When temperatures are lower or in partial shade, the flowers become darker. The abundant flowering starts in May-June and finishes in October, if weather permits. It should be noted that the flowers is more intense at the beginning of summer and lose some vigour during the season.

Easy-care plants, generously floriferous and beautifully coloured, potentillas are ideal for brightening up the garden or balcony. With their wild rose-like appearance and their very modest requirements, they can be used in multiple ways: in flower beds, rockeries, borders, low hedges, containers, etc.

By placing them at the forefront of your flower beds, they will quickly supply you with brightly coloured flower beds, worthy of impressionist paintings. They will be very effective when combined with Dahlias, Iris germanica, Achilleas, or Rudbeckias for example. They will ideally associate with Mediterranean plants such as Lavenders, Rosemary, or Cistus, for a warm and fragrant atmosphere. For a very graphic scene, their compact habit will perfectly match plants with a more slender or tousled appearance (Phormiums, Grasses, Euphorbias, Fennels). On a slope or rockery, where they will be ideally placed if your garden soil is heavy and clay, they can also be associated with dwarf or creeping Conifers...