Shrub
How to grow potentilla
Potentilla fruticosa (syn. Dasiphora fruticosa)
Plant shrubby potentilla between October and March in full sun, in any soil that drains, including poor, stony and chalky ground. It is fully hardy and flowers from June to October on the current year's growth. A trim by a third every March keeps it dense and stops it turning into a bare, woody tangle; beyond that it needs almost no care and little or no feeding.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Full sun
- Soil
- Most soils; free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting potentilla
WhenPlant Oct to Mar; flowers Jun to Oct; trim Mar
Starting off
Plant bare-root Nov to Mar or pot-grown Oct to Mar; it tolerates any soil that drains. Propagate by 8 to 10 cm softwood cuttings in Jun or semi-ripe cuttings with a heel in Aug to Sep, rooting in 3 to 6 weeks at 15 to 18°C; 20 cm hardwood cuttings in Nov also take. Seed gives variable yellow-flowered plants.
Spacing and planting
Most cultivars make a 1 m by 1 to 1.2 m dome; 'Abbotswood' and 'Goldfinger' reach 1 m, 'Red Ace' and 'Tangerine' 75 cm. Plant 60 to 75 cm apart as specimens, or 45 cm apart in a single row (2 plants per metre) for a low hedge, in a hole twice the pot width at pot depth. Fine in a 30 to 40 cm pot of loam-based compost.
Varieties worth growing
- P. fruticosa 'Abbotswood'
- White flowers over grey-green leaves and a wide, low habit; widely regarded as the best white and a good low hedge.
- P. fruticosa 'Goldfinger'
- Large, rich yellow flowers on a dense 1 m bush. The dependable yellow, and the colour that holds best in full sun.
- P. fruticosa 'Primrose Beauty'
- Pale primrose flowers and silvery foliage on an arching plant; soft enough to sit with any other colour.
- P. fruticosa 'Pink Beauty'
- Clear pink, often semi-double flowers that keep their colour better than older pinks. Compact at about 75 cm.
- P. fruticosa 'Red Ace'
- Vermilion flowers with a yellow reverse on a low, spreading bush. Give it light afternoon shade, as the red bleaches in hot sun.
Potentilla month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Plant bare-root or pot-grown in open weather. Otherwise nothing to do.
- February
Plant. Order bare-root plants for a low hedge.
- March
Trim the whole bush by a third and remove 1 in 3 of the oldest stems. Mulch. Last month for bare-root planting.
- April
New leaves appear. Water spring-planted shrubs in dry spells.
- May
Nothing to do. Keep first-year plants watered.
- June
Flowering starts. Take softwood cuttings.
- July
In flower. Water only in prolonged drought.
- August
In flower. Semi-ripe heel cuttings. A light tidy is optional.
- September
Still flowering. Semi-ripe cuttings.
- October
Last flowers. Planting season begins.
- November
Plant bare-root. Take hardwood cuttings.
- December
Plant in open weather. Otherwise nothing to do.
Feeding potentilla
One of the plants that genuinely needs no fertiliser in ordinary garden soil. Feeding gives leaf at the expense of flower. A mycorrhizal dusting at planting and a compost mulch after the March trim are all it wants; pots and very poor ground get one small feed a year.
Low, undemanding; it flowers all summer.
Feeding plan
October to March, at planting
5 g per litre of root ball, dusted onto the roots or the sides of the hole so it touches them: 10 g for a 2 litre pot, 15 g for a 3 litre pot. Once.
March, after trimming
Garden compost
A 3 to 5 cm mulch over the root area, kept clear of the stems. On most soils this is the only feed needed.
March, very poor sand or chalk only
50 g/m², half the label rate of 100 g/m²: a handful round each plant, or 25 g per plant along a hedge planted at two per metre. Once a year.
March, pots
2 g per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, on the surface and watered in: about 40 g for a 35 cm pot holding roughly 20 litres. Once.
Signs to watch
Lush leafy growth with sparse flowers
Excess nitrogen or heavy shade
No feeding, full sun, Mar trim
Yellow older leaves between the veins on light soil in Aug
Magnesium short
Epsom salts drench at 20 g per litre
Pests, diseases and problems
Red, orange or pink flowers open pale or fade to yellow
Strong sun and heat bleaching the pigment; it is not a disease
Plant red, orange and pink cultivars where they get light shade in the afternoon. Colour returns in cooler weather in September.
A bare, woody middle with leaves and flowers only at the tips
Years without pruning
In March cut the whole plant to 15 to 30 cm, or take out a third of the oldest stems each year for three years. It regrows and flowers the same summer.
Grey-white powder on the leaves in late summer
Powdery mildew on a plant that is dry at the root
Water deeply in drought, mulch in spring, and thin congested stems at the March trim to let air in.
Whole branches brown and dying back
Waterlogged soil over winter killing the roots
Cut out dead wood to live growth in March. If the site lies wet, move the plant in winter to drier ground or raise the bed; it will not tolerate standing water.
The bush looks brown and dead from November to March
Nothing wrong; it is deciduous and holds its dry seed heads and peeling brown bark all winter
Leave it. Scratch a stem in March: green under the bark means it is alive, and new leaves follow in April.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Flowers on the current year's growth, so trim in Mar: shear the whole dome over by a third and cut 1 in 3 of the oldest, woodiest stems to the base to keep it dense. Low hedges are clipped the same way once in Mar; a light tidy in Aug is optional and costs a few late flowers. Overgrown plants renovate to 15 to 30 cm in Mar and regrow fully in one season. No staking or winter protection; it is hardy t
Good to knowTrim lightly in spring; tough and long-flowering. Makes a good low hedge.
Growing potentilla in pots
Potentilla is happy in a 30 to 40 cm pot of loam-based compost with a little added grit, in full sun. It tolerates the odd missed watering better than most shrubs, but flowering stops if the pot dries out repeatedly, so water when the top few centimetres are dry. Trim by a third in March as in the ground, scatter the 4-4-4 on the surface once, and replace the top 5 cm of compost each spring. Repot into fresh compost every three years. It is fully hardy and needs no winter protection, though the pot should stand on feet so it drains.
Potentilla: common questions
When should I prune potentilla?
Prune in March, just before growth starts. Shear the whole bush back by about a third and cut a few of the oldest stems out at the base. It flowers on the current year's growth, so a spring trim costs no flowers and gives a denser plant.
Can I cut potentilla back hard?
Yes. An old, woody potentilla can be cut to 15 to 30 cm from the ground in March and will regrow and flower the same summer. Mulch and water it afterwards. If you would rather not do it in one go, remove a third of the oldest stems each March for three years.
Does potentilla make a good hedge?
Yes, as a low, informal flowering hedge up to about 1 m. Plant 45 cm apart, two plants per metre, between October and March, and clip once a year in March. It will not make a crisp formal line and is bare in winter, but it flowers for four months and copes with exposed and coastal sites.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.