Cinquefoil - features of shrub reproduction
Content:
Numerous varieties of Potentilla are often grown for decorative purposes due to their unpretentious care and long flowering period. In addition, the plant has long been used by the people to fight many diseases and restore strength.
Description and biological features of Potentilla
Cinquefoil, which belongs to the numerous Pink family, has more than five hundred species. Depending on the species, the plant can be both herbaceous and shrubby.
Every florist knows how to root cinquefoil
Many types of Potentilla grow naturally in the northern regions. This determines the increased frost resistance of cultivated varieties.
Plant height ranges from 40-50 cm to 150 cm and depends on the species. The leaves are plumose or multipart, green or grayish-green in color. The flowers are small, most often collected in paniculate or corymbose inflorescences. Their color can be very diverse: cream, golden yellow, pink, red, white.
Cinquefoil prefers open, well-lit areas and light, well-drained soil with low acidity. The plant is often used for both single and group plantings, they are planted on alpine hills, among stones, along curbs.
Cinquefoil: reproduction, its types and timing
Depending on the chosen method, reproduction is carried out in spring, summer, and autumn. In the spring, when the soil is already warming up enough, seedlings are planted. In summer, cuttings are most often used. But in the fall, especially in the southern regions, planting can be carried out by dividing the bush.
Planting seedlings is one of the ways to reproduce Potentilla
Growing Potentilla from seeds
One of the options for propagating yellow cinquefoil is planting with seeds. Experienced flower growers recommend this procedure to be carried out in the fall immediately into open soil. During the winter, the seeds will undergo natural stratification, therefore, friendly seedlings will be provided by spring. Potentilla transplant is performed after the plants grow a little and get stronger.
If the sowing of seeds is carried out in the spring, then it is better to do it by the seedling method. It all depends on how the Potentilla reproduces. Seedling pots are covered with plastic or glass and kept in a warm place, irrigated regularly. After the appearance of several leaves, young plants dive and grow in separate containers. After the seedlings get stronger, they are planted in open soil.
How to plant cinquefoil by dividing a bush
Even an inexperienced florist knows how to propagate Potentilla by dividing a bush. This is probably the fastest way. In spring or autumn, an overgrown healthy bush of a plant is dug up on one side, a part of the plant with roots is carefully separated with an ax or a shovel, and the remaining bush is covered with earth.
The delenka is shortened to 25-30 cm, leaving 2-3 buds on it, and planted as an independent plant. It is important to water the seedling regularly for the first couple of weeks.
Cutting Potentilla bush is one of the easiest ways of reproduction
Propagation by cuttings of Potentilla shrub
The plant can also be propagated by cuttings. Young green shoots and adults with lignified shoots are suitable for cutting cuttings. Moreover, young cuttings are cut along with the foliage.
The recommended cutting size is 10-12 cm. It should have 3-4 living buds. It is very important to plant the prepared material in the substrate immediately after harvesting, if they will not be kept in a solution that stimulates the formation of roots (this can be done no more than two days).
It is recommended to plant cuttings deep - only 1.5-2 cm of pruning remains above the ground.
It is better to grow seedlings in separate containers.
Plant care after planting
Cultivation of Potentilla does not require a lot of experience. You need to adhere to the basic rules:
- Watering. It is carried out regularly in the first weeks after plant transplantation. In this case, it is advisable to use heated water, since the root system of Potentilla is very delicate. Do not flood the plant - it is much easier to tolerate drought than stagnant moisture. Therefore, an adult plant is watered in the absence of natural precipitation only when the soil dries out.
- Weeding and loosening. It is necessary to periodically remove weeds and, after each irrigation, loosen the soil around the plant - this saturates it with oxygen.
- Mulching. It will greatly facilitate plant care. Thanks to it, moisture will remain in the soil longer, and weeds will not appear as often.
- Top dressing. It is advisable to fertilize cinquefoil at least three times during the season: at the beginning of the growing season, during the formation of buds and at the beginning of autumn. Complex mineral fertilizers for flowering plants are optimally suited for feeding.
Landing in open ground is carried out in the spring
Cinquefoil is often used for planting in flower beds, lawns, on alpine slides. It is unpretentious in care and blooms throughout the season. Reproduction is carried out in different ways: by division, cuttings, from seeds.
It will take quite a bit of effort and Potentilla will delight with its unassuming, but abundant and bright flowers. In addition, this plant has long been famous for its healing properties, which help with colds and restore lost strength.
