Balcony Garden – Blooming this Week
July 12, 2010 – 10:10 am
Potentilla shrubs are native to Alberta and the common yellow-flowering variety is considered by some to be a ‘gas station’ shrub, because they are tough, drought-tolerant, can survive in poor soil and be completed neglected for a while before they final succumb.
But take this much maligned shrub and shrink it down to an alpine variety and you get a pretty rock cinquefoil with a white flower that looks right at home nestled up to some rocks in a trough.
Potentilla rupestris nana is in bloom on the balcony right now. It will grow to be about 10cm (4 inches) high and wide. I really like the dark green foliage and although the first blooms on this young plant are going to be short-lived, the bold yellow centre is quite lovely. I have grown the yellow-flowering variety, and the spectacular red- flowering Potentilla atrosanguinea. Common indeed, but a balcony gardener favourite.
