Potentilla megalantha - Cinquefoil

Potentilla megalantha is a lovely perennial Japanese potentilla for rocky soils, little known and little used in gardens, despite the little care it requires and its summer flowering that ignores the heat. The plant forms a very spreading cushion, made of large leaves that resemble those of strawberries; these are silky and hairy and invite touching. It produces simple flowers in summer, gathered in small bouquets, quite wide for a potentilla, of a bright golden-yellow. This perfectly hardy potentilla will thrive in a rockery, a sunny border, or even in a planter, planted in well-drained soil.

Potentilla megalantha, also known as Large-flowered Potentilla, belongs, like the strawberries it resembles, to the Rosaceae family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant native to the mountains of Japan. It develops prostrate stems that form a round and dense tuft, in the form of a cushion measuring 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) in height and spreading over 30 cm (12 in). Its foliage is as soft to the eye as it is to the touch. They are trifoliate, pubescent on the underside and arranged alternately. The leaflets are petiolate with a crenate edge. Their size is approximately 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) in width and they are covered with silky, dark green, satin-like hairs. Flowering takes place from June to August, with a possible second bloom in autumn if the plant is pruned. The flowers appear on branched spikes at the tips of the stems, resembling small 5-petaled wild roses, 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2 in) in diameter, displaying a golden-yellow colour. The base of the petals is tinged with orange. This perennial will reach its full extent after 4 to 5 years of growth.

The Large-flowered Potentilla, like other herbaceous potentillas, is a true star of borders: it adorns the layout of paths and softens the layout of a semi-shaded terrace, associated with paniculate saxifrages, heucheras or small sedums. It is also very beautiful in not overly dry rockeries, such as alpine rockeries, accompanied by pasqueflowers, Waldsteinia ternata, Fragaria Pink Panda, grey artemisias, and teucriums, etc. It can also be associated with small grasses like Pennisetum orientale, Heliotrichon (oats), fescues, or mixed with simple perennials like catananches (Catananche) and Centaurea pulcherrima to create colourful and charming scenes. It also grows very well in pots, with more frequent watering.