Potentilla fruticosa Goldteppich - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa 'Goldteppich' is an unique form of shrub potentilla, which is charming with its creeping vegetation and long period of summer flower, like small buttercup-coloured wild roses. They open abundantly on green foliage, which is slightly silver on its underside, providing a radiant groundcover in rockeries, above walls and in sunny borders. This potentilla is also a very rewarding plant, as it is easy to grow in any well-drained soil, even limestone.

Potentilla fruticosa is a woody shrub that belongs to the Rosaceae family, just like roses. It is a small shrub that is very resistant to cold and not demanding in terms of soil. The 'Goldteppicgh' variety is a dense and deciduous shrub, losing its foliage in winter. The plant measures about 40 cm (16in) in height, but spreads over 80 to 90 cm (32 to 35in) wide. It forms a bush of long branches that are more or less horizontal and twisted. Its foliage is composed of leaves cut into small narrow leaflets that give a beautiful lightness to its silhouette. A slight white hairiness, on the reverse of the leaves, is responsible for the silky and slightly silver appearance of the foliage. Its delicate flowers are shaped like 3 cm (1in) diameter cups, with bright yellow, slightly ochre petals and golden stamens. The abundant flowering, starting in May/June (depending on the regions) and ending with the first frost, if the autumn is mild, is more intense at the beginning of summer, then loses some of its vigour during the season, depending on the moisture of the soil.

In the sun, potentillas will produce brightly coloured flowers, in partial shade the colour will be slightly less intense. Easy-to-grow plants, generously flowering and beautifully coloured, potentillas are ideal for brightening up the garden or balcony. With their Scottish rose-like appearance and their very modest requirements, they can be used in multiple ways and planted everywhere: in flower beds, rockeries, borders, low hedges, pots...in most climates and in any well-drained soil.

They will have a beautiful effect when combined with Dahlias, Iris germanica, Achilleas, Gaura, Rudbeckias. They will ideally associate with Mediterranean plants (Lavender, Rosemary, Cistus, Fennel, Helichrysum, Teucrium), for a warm and fragrant atmosphere. 

To create a contemporary scene, they can be paired with plants with a more slender or tousled habit (Phormiums, Grasses, Euphorbias, Crocosmias). On a slope or rockery, where they will be ideally placed if your garden soil is heavy or clay, they can also be associated with dwarf or creeping conifers, creeping Ceanothus or even groundcover and landscape roses.