Potentilla fruticosa Pink Beauty - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa Pink Beauty (also known as 'Lovely Pink') is a recent variety of shrubby potentilla that has its place in a tender and romantic garden. With its beautiful vigour and nicely rounded habit, this shrub delivers has very long flowering period, with small flowers in a gradient of pink reminiscent of wild roses adorning its dark green foliage . Easy to grow, hardy, requiring little maintenance, this deciduous shrub fits anywhere, in flower beds but also in large pots on the patio. It is a highly rewarding plant, and almost foolproof in well-drained soil.

Potentilla fruticosa is a woody shrub that belongs to the Rosaceae family. The 'Pink Beauty' variety was recently obtained at the University of Manitoba, in western Canada. Therefore, it is an especially hardy deciduous shrub. 'Pink Beauty' has a bushy, regular and rounded habit and dense foliage.  At maturity, the plant will measure approximately 90 cm (35in) in all directions. Its slender branches, brown in colour, peel with age, and bear deciduous foliage that falls in autumn. The small size of the leaves, divided into narrow leaflets, gives a beautiful lightness to the dark green silhouette. A slight white hairiness on the underside of the leaves gives a silky and slightly silver aspect to the foliage. Its delicate flowers are shaped like cups with a diameter of 3 cm (1in), with five pink petals and golden stamens. Under the effect of the sun, the colour fades, creating a range of pink shades on the shrub. The abundant flowers, starting in May and continuing until autumn arrives, are generally more intense at the beginning of summer, then loses some of their vigour during the season, depending on the moisture of the soil.

In full sun, potentillas will produce flowers with brighter colours, while in partial shade, the colour will be slightly less vibrant. Easy to grow plants, generously floriferous 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 anywhere: in flower beds, rockeries, borders, low hedges, containers...under most climates and in any well-drained soil.

They will be very effective when combined with Dahlias, Iris germanica, Achillea, Gaura, Perovskia, perennial flax, wild chicory. They will ideally grow well with Mediterranean plants (Lavender, Rosemary, Rockrose, Fennel, Curry Plant, 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.