Potentilla fruticosa Tangerine - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa 'Tangerine' is a superb variety with a vibrant summer flowering, a lemon yellow tinged with orange. This shrub has a long flowering period, enhanced by its dense dark green-grey foliage and its attractive compact dome-shaped habit. Easy to grow, hardy, and low maintenance, this shrub can be planted anywhere, in flower beds as well as in large pots on the terrace. It is a highly rewarding plant, and almost foolproof in well-drained soil.

Potentilla fruticosa is a woody shrub belonging to the Rosaceae family, just like roses. The 'Tangerine' variety was obtained in Northern Ireland in 1955, at the Slieve Donard Nursery. It is a compact, bushy, and rounded shrub with particularly dense foliage. At maturity, the plant will measure approximately 80cm (31.5in) in height and 1.20m (4ft) in width. Its slender and branched brown branches, peeling with age, bear deciduous foliage, which disappears in winter. The small size of the finely divided leaves gives a beautiful lightness to the green silhouette. A slight white hairiness on the underside of the leaves gives a silky and slightly silver appearance. Its delicate flowers are cup-shaped and 3cm (1.2in) in diameter, with five lemon yellow petals tinged with orange. In the sun, the flowers will appear more yellow. The centre of the flower is occupied by golden stamens. The abundant flowering, starting in June and lasting until summer, is generally more intense at the beginning of the season, then loses some of its vigour during the season, depending on the freshness of the soil.

In the sun, Potentillas will produce flowers with brighter colours, while in partial shade, the colour will be slightly less intense. Trouble-free, generous, and beautifully coloured, Potentillas are ideal for brightening up the garden or balcony, effortlessly and permanently. 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, etc. They thrive in most climates and in any well-drained soil.

'Tangerine' Potentilla will look stunning when paired with Dahlias, shrubby salvias, yarrows, Gaura, thistles, perennial flax, oriental poppies, or large daisies. It combines ideally with Mediterranean plants (Lavender, Rosemary, Rockrose, Fennel, Helichrysum, Teucrium) for a warm and fragrant atmosphere. To create a highly graphic scene, it can be combined with plants with a more slender or tousled habit (Phormiums, Grasses, Euphorbias). On a slope or rockery, where it will be ideally placed if your garden soil is heavy and clayey, it also blends in with dwarf or creeping Conifers, creeping Ground Cover Roses, and landscaped areas. Potentillas create absolutely stunning borders in front of a screen of evergreen shrubs (Abelia, Boxwood, Holly, Mahonia, Japanese Spindle) that take over in winter.