Potentilla fruticosa Kobold - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa 'Kobold' is a small bush with a compact and dense habit, deciduous and finely covering foliage, of silver-green colour, whose generous golden yellow flowering will beautifully colour gardens and balconies throughout the summer until autumn! A charming flowering bush, ideal for beginner gardeners!

Native to the Northern Hemisphere and belonging to the Rosaceae family, Potentilla fruticosa 'Kobold' is a small bush, measuring 80cm (31.5in) in height and spreading 1m (3ft 4in) at maturity. It forms a low and compact bush with numerous highly branched basal branches. Its deciduous foliage consists of 3cm (1.2in) long, pinnate leaves with narrow leaflets, green-grey turning yellow in autumn. This elegantly cut foliage is covered with white hairs, giving it a silky and silver appearance. Its delicate flowers, resembling those of single-flowered roses, are cup-shaped, 3cm (1.2in) in diameter, with five golden stamens. The abundant flowering, starting in May/June and ending with the first frost, if the autumn is mild, is a beautiful golden yellow, becoming paler in the hottest part of the summer. It should be noted that the flowering is more abundant in early summer and loses some of its vigor during the season.

This easy-to-grow Potentilla 'Kobold' appreciates being planted in a sunny position, without being scorching, or in partial shade, and in a well-drained ordinary soil.

In full sun, Potentillas will deliver flowers with vibrant colours, while in partial shade, the colour will be slightly less intense. Carefree plants, generously flowering and beautifully coloured, Potentillas are ideal for brightening up the garden or balcony, long-lasting and effortlessly. 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...

Placing them at the forefront of your flower beds will be perfect for quickly obtaining brightly coloured flower beds, worthy of a Van Gogh or Claude Monet painting. They will be most effective when combined with Dahlias, Iris germanica, Achilleas, Rudbeckias, climbing and shrub roses. They will ideally associate with Mediterranean plants (Lavender, Rosemary, Rockrose, Fennel) 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 (Phormium, Grasses, Euphorbias, Crocosmias). On a slope or rockery, where they will be ideally placed if your garden soil is heavy and clayey, mix them with dwarf or creeping conifers, landscape roses, perennial Geraniums. Growing them in containers on a balcony or terrace is also very suitable due to their small size: combine them with Lavenders, Thymes, creeping Junipers, Convolvulus.