It is a constant surprise to me that shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) are not more widely grown. Pretty, saucer-shaped blooms in shades of white, yellow, red, orange or pink appear from May until the first frosts on this compact and virtually maintenance-free deciduous shrub.
Yellow potentilla
LYNN KEDDIE/GAP PHOTOS
There are two main groups of potentilla — the herbaceous cinquefoil, which appears and performs much like a geum, and the shrubby cinquefoil (P. fruticosa), which is a tough, bushy subshrub. I find the shrubby version useful because its dense foliage can, like lavender, be used as informal hedging or to bring structure to a border, in addition to its almost endless blooms.
The largest forms grow into hummocks about 1m tall and wide, although a good
