Potentilla fruticosa Double Punch Pastel - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa Double Punch Pastel is a shrub-like potentilla with a wild charm: the soft shade of its flowers, a white with peach and salmon nuances, will find its place in romantic flowerbeds and animate them for many months. Compact, it reaches 50 cm (20in) in height and 1 m (3ft) in width, and can therefore be integrated into even the smallest gardens. Hardy and resistant, this shrub is a low-maintenance, and simply requires good drainage.

Potentilla fruticosa is a small bush, belonging to the Rosaceae family.   Botanists now call it Dasiphora fruticosa, but this name is rarely used by nurserymen... and their customers. This species forms a branching shrub, with deciduous leaves consisting of 5 elongated leaflets, and emitting numerous slightly crumpled 5-petaled flowers between May and October (sometimes with a break in August). While the shrubby potentilla, very common in our grandmothers' gardens, is sometimes seen as a somewhat outdated plant, new cultivars bring it back into fashion, especially by offering plants with better performance and previously unseen tones.

The Double Punch Pastel potentilla is a charming variety obtained in France by Hortival, belonging to the Double Punch series. Its dark pink buds open into delicate double flowers with subtle shades of peach and salmon. A perfect choice for a romantic atmosphere! It is a compact and dense plant, well-branched, which will not exceed 50 cm (20in) in height and will spread from 80 cm (32in) to 1 m (3ft).

Robust and undemanding, the Double Punch Pastel shrubby potentilla has only one real requirement, a well-drained soil. Excess water during winter can indeed be fatal to the roots. On the other hand, it adapts perfectly well to poor, limestone soils and can withstand periods of drought. Light shade will highlight the pastel tones of this variety more than full sun. Very hardy, it will withstand temperatures as low as -25°C (-13°F). It is advisable to remove faded flowers from time to time to encourage continued flowering.
Combine it with other romantic plants such as 'White Barlow' columbine, 'Prinz Heinrich' Japanese anemone, 'Little Carlow' heart-leaved aster, 'Pam's Choice' foxglove, or 'Nimbus' geranium for a fresh and charming scene! It is also a good plant for groups of pots on your patio or balcony.