Content
Cinquefoil, or shrub cinquefoil, is an unpretentious plant of the Pink family with an extensive growing area. In the wild, it can be found in mountainous and forest areas, in river floodplains, along riverbeds, among stones and in damp, swampy places. Due to its good decorative properties, the plant has been cultivated for a long time. Currently, about 130 varieties of Potentilla shrub are known, differing in stem height, crown density, foliage structure, and color shades. Very interesting is the cinquefoil Belissimo - a dwarf form belonging to this species.
Description of Potentilla Belissimo
Cinquefoil Potentilla Fruticosa Bellissima is a compact, low shrub with a branched crown. Its height does not exceed 30 cm. At the beginning of summer, it throws out a large number of semi-double, bright pink flowers up to 5 cm in diameter. Replacing each other, they bloom all summer, until the arrival of October. Light green leaves of Potentilla Belissimo over time, darken, acquire a silvery shade and slight pubescence.
Belissimo cinquefoil loves sunlight. For good growth, she needs a loose, fertile, sufficiently moist soil. The shrub is hardy, tolerates adverse weather conditions and can grow even in permafrost conditions. The variety is very decorative, loved by many flower growers, is widely used in the construction of landscape compositions.
Planting and caring for Belissimo Potentilla
Planting and caring for Belissimo Potentilla is pretty simple. She responds to attention and fence with lush and long flowering.
Landing site preparation
Preparatory work begins with the choice of a suitable landing site. The light-loving plant likes open areas, illuminated by the sun most of the day. But for a brighter flowering, slightly shaded places are chosen.
Like all representatives of the Pink family, cinquefoil shrub Belissimo grows well on light, sandy, moderately moist soil. Areas with dense, clayey soil should not be chosen for it. In order for the plant to take over as soon as possible, it is planted in a nutrient mixture, which is prepared independently according to the following scheme:
- sheet land (2 parts);
- compost (2 parts);
- sand (1 part);
- complex mineral composition (150 g per well).
The pH of the soil should be in the range of 4.5 - 7. Higher values of the plant are contraindicated. Excessively moist and too calcified soil is also not suitable.
Before planting Potentilla Belissimo, you need to take care of organizing a drainage system from large pebbles or rubble to protect the root system from decay. Alkaline earth is not an obstacle to planting.
Landing rules
The holes for planting Potentilla Belissimo begin to be prepared in advance, so that the soil has time to acquire the required density. They make indentations or trenches, taking out the soil half a meter. A layer of drainage 15 - 20 cm thick is placed on the bottom. It is best to use lime gravel for this, but you can take pebbles or fragments of bricks. After completing the preparation, the holes are left open for a while.
Starting the planting of Potentilla varieties Belissimo, the holes are half filled with the prepared nutrient mixture. Planting is carried out as follows: the seedling is placed in a hole, the root system is carefully straightened and sprinkled with earth taken out during digging so that the root collar remains on the surface. About 30 cm (when forming a hedge) and about 1 m (when planting single specimens) should be left between two adjacent plants.
Potentilla seedlings Belissimo are also prepared for planting. Look at the roots and prune them a little. A branched root system will provide good survival.
Watering and feeding
One of the prerequisites for good growth of Potentilla cultivar Belissimo is a loose, sufficiently moist soil. The culture is drought-resistant, but, at the same time, it does not tolerate prolonged overdrying of the roots.
During the rainy period, natural watering is enough for adult plants. During a drought, they are watered twice a week, the norm for a bush is 3 liters of water.
After watering, deep loosening is carried out to saturate the roots with oxygen. The trunk circle is covered with mulch.
Top dressing of bushes should be done carefully. The introduction of too much nutrient mixture will cause rapid growth of the green mass, but will inhibit flowering.
The first time they feed the cinquefoil shrub Belissimo a year after planting. This is done in three stages: in May, July and the end of August. It is recommended to choose a complex mineral fertilizer for flowering plants with a potassium-phosphorus composition. You can also use organic matter (aqueous solution of ash and humus).
Pruning
Proper care of the Belissimo Potentilla bushes is impossible without regular pruning of the bushes. It is necessary to remove weak and diseased shoots, long, thin branches that break the shape of the crown and reduce flowering activity. Three types of pruning are used:
- Sanitary pruning - carried out regularly during the entire growing season. When carrying out it, carefully examine the shrub and carefully cut off dry, thin, damaged shoots, as well as faded buds.
- Formative or stimulating pruning - held in spring and early autumn. It stimulates the growth of powerful young branches that form the base of the crown, shortening the branches by about a third and thus creating a beautiful, rounded crown. In addition, some of the lower, leafless shoots are removed.
- Anti-aging pruning - carried out for old plants once every few years: the branches are shortened by about 10 cm to give rise to the development of new shoots and crown renewal.
Preparing for winter
Shrub cinquefoil Belissimo belongs to frost-resistant varieties. Adult plants are not covered for the winter. Preparation for cold weather consists for them in sanitary pruning and cleaning of withered foliage.
Young seedlings are spud up in the fall, pouring a thick layer of peat or humus to the trunks. Top covered with spruce branches or special covering material. To protect the cinquefoil shrub Belissimo from severe frosts, an air-dry shelter is made under a plastic wrap.
Reproduction of Potentilla shrub Bellissima
Description of the cinquefoil shrub Belissimo will be incomplete without a story about the methods of reproduction. There are several of them, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Seeds
The seed propagation method is rarely used for the following reasons:
- the period of development of seedlings from seeds is quite long (up to 4 years);
- there is a possibility of loss of varietal traits.
Sowing seeds of Potentilla Belissimo is carried out in greenhouses or individual containers using a moistened nutrient mixture. In winter, they are grown in a warm room, transplanted into the ground is carried out in the spring, after the morning frosts leave.
Cuttings
The planting material is obtained as follows: cuttings from 8 to 10 cm long are cut from the powerful lateral shoots of the bush so that each of them has a so-called "heel" - an area covered with wood. They are treated with a root formation stimulator and left for the winter, rooted in a nutrient mixture of peat and sand (the height of the "crown" above ground level is 2 cm). You can also store the cuttings in a shady, well-ventilated area at temperatures between 5 ° C and 10 ° C. In the spring, the rooted seedlings are placed under a film and grown throughout the year. After a year, the matured plants are planted in a permanent place in open ground.
By dividing the bush
For reproduction of Potentilla Belissimo, powerful 3 - 4-year-old bushes are chosen by dividing. They are carefully dug up, cleaned of the earth. The roots are washed and divided so that each has 3 to 4 renewal buds and a small root. The root part is treated with a root formation stimulator and planted in specially prepared holes so that the renewal buds are not buried in the ground. The distance between the bushes should be kept - about 40 cm.
Diseases and pests
With proper care, cinquefoil Belissimo becomes a healthy, strong plant that is not susceptible to disease and pest attacks.
The most common cause of disease is the wrong planting site and the wrong soil. Too heavy waterlogged soil and lack of sunlight cause root rot. In this state, the plant can get sick with a fungal infection: rust, leaf spot, powdery mildew.
Belissimo Potentilla bushes planted in close proximity to conifers are also in danger: conifers are carriers of rust fungus spores.
Having found signs of fungal infection, measures are taken to drain the soil. The bushes are treated with preparations based on copper, boron or manganese (Fitosporin, Bordeaux liquid).
Of the pests, gnawing scoops are dangerous to Potentilla Belissimo. They are fought with by spraying plants with insecticides (Decis or Fitoverm).
Conclusion
Cinquefoil Belissimo, due to the long flowering period, is successfully used in the construction of garden compositions, the creation of hedges, mixborders, alpine slides, goes well with low, bright flowers. The testimonials of flower growers are vivid proof that the cinquefoil shrub Belissimo is a good option for breeding in small private farms.
