Dasiphora fruticosa (potentilla, cinquefoil)

Dasiphora spp.

shrubby cinquefoils

Rosaceae

Circumboreal - cool temperate Northern Hemisphere

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Deer Resistant Drought Tolerant Container Friendly

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterLow · drought-tolerant

HardinessZones 2–7

Overview

Dasiphora is a small genus of deciduous shrubs in the rose family (Rosaceae), centred on shrubby cinquefoil D. fruticosa, long grown as a hardy garden plant and formerly placed in Potentilla. Plants form dense, twiggy, rounded mounds 1-4 feet (0.3-1.2 m) tall and 2-4 feet (0.6-1.2 m) wide, with small pinnate blue-green to grey-green leaves divided into three to seven narrow leaflets. From early summer into autumn the shrubs carry a long succession of flat, five-petalled saucer-shaped flowers about 0.75-1.5 inches (2-4 cm) across, butter-yellow in wild plants and white, orange, pink, or red in named cultivars. The shrubs are circumboreal, growing wild across the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere, and they are extremely cold-hardy, surviving to USDA zone 2. Dasiphora tolerates poor soil, wind, cold, and drought once established, though the flowers of some yellow forms fade in strong summer heat and sun. The small leaves and twiggy branches give a dense, mounded look through the season.

Native Range

Dasiphora is circumboreal, native across the cool temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere, including northern North America, Europe, and Asia, where it grows on rocky slopes, moist meadows, and streambanks.

Suggested Uses

Used as a low hedge, foundation shrub, mass planting, and groundcover on banks, spaced 2-3 feet (0.6-0.9 m) apart, and in containers. The long flowering season suits mixed borders and low-maintenance and cold-climate gardens. The flowers draw bees and other pollinators.

How to Identify

Recognized by a dense, rounded, twiggy mound of small pinnate leaves with three to seven narrow grey-green leaflets, and by flat, five-petalled saucer flowers, most often butter-yellow, borne over a long summer-to-autumn season. The shredding brown bark and persistent dry seed heads aid winter identification. The pinnate leaves separate Dasiphora from the simple-leaved shrubby potentillas.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height1' - 4'

Width/Spread2' - 4'

Reaches mature size in approximately 3 years

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Fall Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~14 weeks

Summer Fall

Shrubby cinquefoil flowers over a long season from early summer into autumn, roughly June to September, opening a steady succession of saucer-shaped blooms rather than a single flush. Bloom is heaviest in full sun. Some yellow-flowered forms pale in extreme heat.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

yellow, also white, orange, pink, or red in cultivars

Foliage Description

blue-green to grey-green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam sand clay chalk

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

2-3 years to mature size

Drought Tolerance

Drought tolerant when established

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grow Dasiphora in full sun in almost any well-drained soil, from sandy to clay and acidic to alkaline, across a pH of about 5.5-7.5. The shrubs tolerate cold, wind, drought, and poor fertility once established and need little water. Light feeding and an annual late-winter prune keep plants dense and free-flowering. Flowering thins in shade and in hot, humid summers. Plants are cut back hard every few years to renew leggy, woody growth. They have few pest or disease problems.

Pruning

Prune in late winter or early spring before growth begins, shortening stems by about one-third to keep the mound dense. Cut older, woody specimens back hard every few years to renew them, as the shrubs resprout from old wood. Light shearing after the first flush tidies the plant.