A star is reborn!
THE names Katherine Dykes, Abbotswood and Primrose Beauty are immediately recognisable as varieties of potentilla to gardeners of a certain age. These small, neat shrubs, with their deep-cut foliage and masses of vibrant summer flowers, were a common sight in gardens during much of the 20th Century.
However, if you’re a millennial, the chances are these once household names don’t mean a thing. Over the past few decades, potentillas have been largely forgotten as other groups of plants have risen in popularity, such as grasses, prairie perennials and architectural exotics.
Well, it’s too soon to dump them into the compost bin of history. Old-time favourites are seeing a reversal in fortunes, with potentillas being among those returning to gardens. According to a recent garden trends report, ‘in times of uncertainty, Brits turn to what they know and what comforts them’.
For my money, potentillas have a lot going for them. They are easy to maintain and are tough as old boots, easily shrugging off a cold snap down to -15C. The pretty flowers that cover plants are a magnet for bees and will put on a show for a
long time, sometimes from late May until mid-autumn.
Don’t just take my word on their benefits. Celebrated gardeners Gertrude Jekyll and Margery Fish were both devotees, while Christopher Lloyd wrote in The Adventurous Gardener that ‘shrubby potentillas give tremendous value’, suggesting people use them to create low, flowering hedges.
Indeed, taller varieties make perfect internal barriers or borders to a bed, and require only a single clip a year to keep them in shape. Of course, it’s not the only way to utilise potentillas – they are excellent in mixed beds and borders, grown as weed-supressing ground cover, and planted in rock gardens or above walls.
Shrubby potentillas (Potentilla fruticosa) are compact, deciduous bushes with yellow flowers that are native to Europe, North America and parts of Asia, where they can be found growing in mountainous regions. They are part of the rose family, along with cotoneasters, pyracanthas and a host of other shrubs.
We’ve been growing them in this country since the 1700s, although it wasn’t until the 20th Century that potentillas became all the rage, following the introduction of showier varieties. From the late 1940s until the 1990s, masses made their bow, including ‘Elizabeth’, a soft yellow bred by Hillier Nurseries in the early Fifties.
Today, well over 130 varieties are available in Britain, with a variable habit of growth, from prostrate to fully upright – the height of plants ranges from 12in to 5ft, with most about 3ft. Their single flowers come in shades of white, cream, yellow, orange, pink and red, measuring from 1in to over 2in across.
These shrubs are not particularly fussy about the soil they grow in, as long as it’s fairly free-draining, to prevent crowns rotting over winter. However, they are more particular about their position, requiring full sun for the best displays. The only exceptions are red-flowered ones, which will tolerate light shade.
Keep them in good condition by removing any dead stems or shoots that spoil their outline, whenever you spot them. Apart from this, ensure plants produce lots of vigorous young stems by removing about a third of older stems annually. Either do this once flowering is over or in early spring.
If you neglect potentillas, they will turn into a congested mass of woody stems that are shy to flower. Fortunately, it is easy to restore an overgrown specimen to its former glory. Simply chop back the entire plant to just above ground level in early spring and it will respond with a flush of fresh shoots.
They’re a magnet for bees and can flower from May to autumn