Contents
For the design of summer cottages and the nearby territory of country houses, according to landscape designers and gardeners, Pink Queen shrub cinquefoil is best suited. Lush bushes, abundantly strewn with buds of delicate pink shades, are an excellent decoration for any backyard, invariably attract attention and cannot leave anyone indifferent.
Description of Potentilla Pink Queen
The name of the cinquefoil cultivar Pink Queen, or Pink Princess, is translated as “Pink Queen”, “Pink Princess”. There are some other names for cinquefoil – five-leafed, dasiphora, Kuril tea, mighty, herb-whisper. The Latin name Potentilla means “strength”, “power”. And testifies to the beneficial healing properties that are widely used in folk and scientific medicine.
The Pink Queen shrub is derived from wild-growing species and does not need special care. It successfully takes root both in the central part of the mainland and in the regions of the northern edge. Bushes of medium size with creeping branches reach a height of 0,5 – 1 m. With proper care, they annually add 10 – 15 cm of new shoots and are long-lived with a life expectancy of 20 – 30 years.
Potentilla Pink Queen stands out from other plants not only with its luxurious appearance, but also with a long flowering period. The first buds appear at the very beginning of summer and continue to please the eye until the very first frost. The bushes look like a ball, thanks to the dense lush crown. The leaves of the plant are pinnate, hairy, pointed. First they have a green color, then a silver tint is added to it. They grow no more than 3 cm in length and 1 cm in width. Each Potentilla flower has 5 petals and 30 stamens, which give the impression of a fluffy center. The buds reach 3,5 cm in diameter and look very delicate and fragile. Photo Potentilla Pink Queen conveys all the tenderness and beauty of this variety.
Potentilla Pink Queen in landscape design
Due to the interchangeability of flowers during the entire flowering period, Potentilla shrub Pink Queen has found wide application in the design and landscaping of garden plots. It can be easily included in any composition, creating a smooth transition between the color and shape of plants. With its help, you can create low shearing borders, decorate rocky gardens. Potentilla Pink Queen is good as a tapeworm against the background of lawn grass. In some cases, it can act as a decor for roofs, slopes, and alpine slides.
In park areas, a single or group planting of Pink Queen Potentilla is recommended in order to create a blooming undergrowth that does not require special care. Low hedges in the form of a border look beautiful. They are unpretentious, keep their shape for a long time and have a good haircut, and in open spaces and sunny lawns they act as excellent soloists.
Potentilla shrub Pink Queen has found application even in Chinese and Japanese gardens, participating in the formation of compact neat geometric shapes and compositions. The combination of shrubby Pink Queen cinquefoil with wild flowers – lemon daylilies, white daisies and blue bells looks great on the flower bed. The decorative appearance of Potentilla throughout the entire flowering period makes it possible to successfully include shrubs with delicate pink buds in autumn compositions, playing with the contrast of the foliage of other plants.
Planting and caring for Potentilla shrub Pink Queen
Potentilla in nature is ubiquitous and is considered an unpretentious plant that can grow in the most unfavorable conditions. Gardeners recommend planting seedlings in early autumn or spring after the end of night frosts. The landing site is better to choose an open, sunny.
Site preparation
Planting and caring for Potentilla Pink Queen is not difficult: even novice gardeners can handle the basic rules. Ornamental shrubs are undemanding to the type of soil, but take root better in loose, fresh, moist substrates with good drainage. Before planting, the soil must be dug up and leveled. Slightly acidic soil with a small amount of limestone is best suited. High alkali content can lead to yellowing of the leaves.
2 – 3 days before planting, they dig a recess, the size of which should exceed the volume of the roots by 2 times. As a drainage, it is better to use lime gravel, which supplies calcium necessary for the growth of a young seedling. The pit is filled with a nutrient mixture obtained from the following components:
- humus – 1 part;
- leaf earth – 1 part;
- medium grain sand – ½ part;
- complex mineral top dressing – 120 – 140 g.
After preparing the landing site, they start planting the Pink Queen shrub cinquefoil.
Rules of landing
Experienced gardeners pour the seeds immediately into the prepared soil. For beginners – amateurs, it is better to pre-grow seedlings. For this, a wide box with holes is suitable, which is filled with a nutrient mixture consisting of equal parts of humus and peat. The soil is watered, the seeds are covered and covered with a small layer of soil. The box is covered with a transparent plastic bag and left in a warm room at 16 – 18 degrees Celsius.
Seedlings are regularly watered and ventilated. Seedlings grow slowly. The strongest, on which 3 leaves appeared, are planted separately in another container. With the onset of heat, they can be transplanted into open soil.
Seedlings are placed in holes, gently straightening the roots. The remaining free space is covered with earth, tightly tamping and avoiding the occurrence of air voids. The root neck of the plant should be flush with the soil surface. Only if this condition is met, the shrubby Potentilla Pink Queen will be able to take root safely. The distance between the pits should be at least 50 cm. After planting, the plants are watered, the adjacent rounded area is mulched with straw, wood chips, and grass.
Potentilla seeds can be planted in open ground in autumn. In winter, they accumulate strength for speedy germination, and in spring the first leaves are already showing above the ground. They are also planted in the spring.
Watering and top dressing
Potentilla Pink Queen can stand firm in a slight drought. But caring gardeners should monitor the level of soil moisture. During the planting of the seedling, the near-stem circle is made below the ground level. It will serve as a natural funnel for uniform watering. It is enough to water the Potentilla shrub once every 2 weeks with water, the temperature of which does not differ from the air temperature. For each bush it is recommended to pour 10 – 12 liters of water. Young seedlings should be watered more often – 3 times a week.
The soil is loosened every week to ensure the supply of oxygen. When doing this work, care must be taken not to damage the roots of the cinquefoil.
In autumn and spring, the addition of natural compost will help improve the structure of the soil. During the season, Pink Queen Kuril tea is fed 3-4 times. Regular fertilizing stimulates the flowering of Potentilla. As fertilizers you can use:
- biohumus extract;
- a mixture of ash and mullein;
- complex formulations for flowering plants.
Such drugs are quite effective, easy to use and available to every gardener.
Trimming
To give the cinquefoil bushes a beautiful shape, improve flowering and appearance, it is necessary to carry out regular spring pruning until the buds begin to actively grow. In the period from April to May, the branches of the bushes are shortened by half. If the shoots are long enough, you can cut 1/3 of the length.
Potentilla shrub Pink Queen tolerates a haircut quite well and therefore is often used for decorative design of land.
You can arrange the growth of Potentilla bushes in the form of small trees. To do this, select several long straight branches, which are intertwined with each other, and the rest are cut off. Stepping back from the soil level of 40 cm, remove all small branches and buds. The future crown is shortened, leaving shoots no more than 10 cm in length. Such a composition begins to bloom in the first year. In subsequent seasons, they get rid of the root shoots and the buds that appear on the branches of the base. The final crown is formed in the spring.
Compact cinquefoils should be sanitary pruned and stripped from broken, dried and improperly growing branches. Bushes older than 7 years must be rejuvenated. To do this, every year it is enough to cut 1/3 of the old branches until the shrub is completely renewed.
Preparation for winter
Despite the fact that Pink Queen Potentilla is a frost-resistant crop, traditional ways of warming plants for winter should not be abandoned. This is especially necessary for young seedlings, which, without special preparation, can die during their first wintering. Potentilla Pink Queen, growing in harsh climatic conditions, will also not be able to endure extremes of low temperatures on its own.
Young seedlings spud well and cover the lower bare branches with a layer of soil. The trunk circle is covered with humus or peat. After the preparatory work has been carried out, the cinquefoil can be covered with any protective material or spruce branches. The covering structure must have a sufficient level of breathability so that the cinquefoil shrub does not overheat during possible thaws or begin to rot due to lack of air.
In the conditions of the middle lane and temperate climate, adult bushes of Pink Queen Potentilla can be left for the winter without additional shelter. It is enough to clean the area from fallen leaves in a timely manner to prevent rotting processes.
Reproduction of Potentilla Pink Queen
Potentilla can be propagated by seeds and in several other ways:
- Simplest – reproduction by layering. In the spring, the selected shoots of the Potentilla Pink Queen are cut, leaned against the ground with an incised edge and sprinkled with soil. After the appearance of their own roots, the layers are separated from the main plant and planted separately.
- Division of bushes. For this, Pink Queen cinquefoil bushes over 4 years old are suitable. The roots are washed well and cut into pieces, each of which should contain 2-3 buds. After that, the divided parts are planted in the ground, leaving the buds on top of the ground at a distance of about 30 cm. Potentilla will bloom 2 to 3 years after planting.
- Cutting is another common way to get new green plants. From the end of June to July, young shoots are cut and placed under a film or in a greenhouse. To create the necessary humidity, a shelter from a can or a plastic bottle is suitable. After 2 weeks, new shoots will appear. They can be planted immediately or left for the winter until the next season. It is better to pluck the buds that have appeared so that the young Pink Queen cinquefoil retains its strength.
Diseases and pests
The description of the Potentilla variety Pink Princess will be incomplete, if not to say its resistance not only to frost, but also to pests, as well as various diseases. In rare cases, Pink Queen Potentilla may be exposed to powdery mildew, which results in a white coating on the plant. Fungicides will help in the fight against this fungal disease.
The appearance of spots of a yellow-violet hue indicates the defeat of Pink Queen’s cinquefoil with rust. But this disease does not cause significant harm. To help cinquefoil in resisting various diseases of a fungal nature, foliar treatment with boric acid or potassium permanganate can be carried out.
Conclusion
Potentilla Pink Queen is a very beautiful unpretentious plant with graceful pink buds, which can become a real decoration of any garden plot. Resistance to various diseases and pests, as well as frost resistance and the ability to take root in any climatic conditions, make this crop especially valuable for cultivation in the climatic conditions of Our Country.
