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Cinquefoil Danni Boy is unpretentious and compact, it is perfect for creating rock gardens and decorating borders. It is used to decorate flower beds, flower beds, and garden plots. Landscape designers use culture in their compositions. The bright, lush and long-flowering cinquefoil bush Danni Boy always occupies a central place in it. The plant easily comes into contact with creeping perennials and looks interesting in hedges. For its healing properties it is also called Kuril tea, and for the shape of its leaves that resemble a paw - five-leaf tea.
Description of Potentilla Danni Boy
Potentilla Danny Boy is a shrubby, densely branched plant with bright crimson flowers, the diameter of which is about 5 cm. The petals are wavy at the edges. The crown is erect, formed from many branches covered with small light green paw-shaped leaves, divided into 5, less often into 7 leaflets, 2-2.5 cm long. They are twisted and grow close to each other. When pubescent, the leaf darkens and acquires a silvery tint.
Cinquefoil variety Danni Boy is a deciduous, low-growing plant with abundant long-term flowering, which lasts from June to the end of October. An adult bush has a height of 30 to 80 cm, and the same in diameter. The variety was bred in England, it is unpretentious, tolerates shearing well, and is frost-resistant. Overwinters easily, withstands frost down to -30°C.
Cinquefoil Danni Boy can be grown in pots or flowerpots - on a balcony, windowsill, gazebo or winter garden.
How does Potentilla Danni Boy reproduce?
Cinquefoil Danni Boy propagates by layering, cuttings and dividing the bush.
Cuttings and propagation by layering are carried out in the summer - from the end of July to the beginning of August, and by dividing the bush in the spring (April, beginning of May) and autumn (in the first half of September). It is preferable to use the autumn period for this purpose only in warm regions.
Cuttings from the Danni Boy cinquefoil are best done on a cloudy day. Cuttings must be cut early in the morning, before sunrise. They are cut only from a healthy plant, along with the leaves. It is advisable to use small shoots with two or four internodes that do not have flowers.
The lower cut line should be no higher than 10 mm from the living bud, and the upper one should be located immediately above it. Then it is recommended to place them in a growth stimulator, which will significantly increase the quality of the selected planting material. If planting is done directly into the ground, then the cuttings must be used immediately so that the leaves do not wither. You are allowed to delay for a maximum of 2 days. Ideally, if the weather at the time of planting the Danni Boy cinquefoil is rainy or cloudy.
Cuttings will take root in 6-8 weeks.With good care, in 1-2 years they will reach the required size for transplantation to a permanent place of growth.
Layerings are made from strong, healthy and flexible shoots. The branch is bent to the ground and a small cut is made where it comes into contact with it. Having buried the layer with earth, press it down with a stone. Within 10 days it will take root. The cuttings and the parent bush should be fed and watered together. Separating cuttings for transplantation to a permanent place is possible only the following spring.
For propagation by dividing the bush, a root fragment 20-30 cm tall is required. Having dug up the roots, you should select a healthy branch with three buds and cut off part of its root system with a shovel. The parent bush is buried again and watered. The resulting planting material must be planted in a hole prepared in advance, watered and the surface slightly loosened. It will be ready for transplantation next year.
Planting and caring for Potentilla Danni Boy
Gardeners recommend planting Danni Boy seedlings in well-drained, humus-enriched soil. The variety is unpretentious in care. It is enough to carry out the following activities:
- water and weed the plant;
- loosen the soil;
- Apply fertilizing 3-4 times;
- remove wilted flowers.
To prevent diseases, cinquefoil bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture after flowering. Seedlings should be covered with film for the winter, but adult plants no longer need this.
On balconies, gazebos and winter gardens, the flower does not require additional protection from the cold, either in winter or in summer. The care requirements are the same. Abundant flowering continues until late autumn, after which the flowers fade along with the leaves.
Recommended timing
It is advisable to plant Danni Boy's cinquefoil in the ground in the spring, in the ground that has warmed up after the snow has melted.Usually this is the end of April. The holes for it need to be prepared two weeks before planting. In autumn, it is allowed to plant cinquefoil only in the first ten days, so that the seedling has time to adapt before the onset of cold weather.
Site selection and soil preparation
For Potentilla Danni Boy, you need to choose well-drained, fertile soil. Since the plant is a light-loving plant, it is planted in a well-lit place, but direct sunlight is harmful to it, the bush will wither and wither, and the flowers will burn out. If the planting site is located in an open sunny area, then to protect the plant from the aggressive midday sun, artificial shading must be created.
The soil for seedlings is prepared in advance. Having dug a hole, pour drainage in a layer of about 20 cm. It is better if it is limestone gravel, it is saturated with calcium necessary for the growth of cinquefoil. The drainage should be filled with soil consisting of 2 parts humus, 2 parts earth and 1 part sand.
How to plant correctly
It is advisable to plant shrubs in the evening, with high air humidity. The hole for planting needs to be made twice as large as the container with the plant. The depth of the hole should be at least 50-60 cm. Water the pot with settled water at room temperature and carefully remove the seedling from it. Having placed the bush in the hole, straighten the roots and dig in, the root node should protrude 1 cm from the ground. The soil around it should be lightly crushed and mulched with sawdust or peat to retain moisture longer. For the first month after planting, Danni Boy's cinquefoil must be regularly watered and loosened the soil around it.
When planting several bushes, you need to maintain a distance of at least 70 cm between them.
Growing rules
Cinquefoil Danny Boy is tolerant of urban conditions. However, the first winter may be difficult for it; it is better to take care of insulating the bush. After hilling it up and insulating it with humus or peat, you need to put a covering material on top. Adult plants do not need these measures; they only need to remove dry leaves and flowers. Compliance with the basic rules of care: watering, loosening, removing weeds and choosing the right place for planting will allow you to achieve the desired results. To compare the results and then work on mistakes, experienced gardeners recommend keeping a diary of caring for the Danni Boy cinquefoil and taking photos every year.
Watering
The Danny Boy variety is drought-resistant, but does not tolerate dry air well. Young cinquefoil seedlings are watered once a week; at least 3 liters are required per bush. On hot days, water 2 times a week. Care must be taken to ensure that the water for irrigation is not icy. An adult plant is moistened only in hot weather; it only needs moisture from rain. During the rainy season there is no need to water at all.
Loosening, mulching
After each watering, the Danni Boy cinquefoil must be loosened and mulched. A mulched plant creates less hassle and further maintenance will be minimal. Mulch retains soil moisture and makes it difficult for weeds to grow. Mulching is carried out in a layer of 5-6 cm, within a radius of half a meter. You can use straw, sawdust, and peat for this purpose. You need to loosen the bush carefully, trying not to touch the roots, to a depth of about 10 cm.Loosening provides air flow to the roots, so it is very important to do this immediately after watering, when the soil, driven down by the weight of water, lies tightly on the root system.
Top dressing
It is recommended to fertilize Potentilla Danni Boy 3-4 times per season:
- in the spring, for active plant growth, a phosphate mixture is added 1-2 times (30 g of potassium sulfate and the same amount of phosphate fertilizer per 1 bucket of water);
- Before flowering, when the buds are formed, the bush is fed 1-2 times with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers; a mixture of ash and mullein can be used for feeding.
For 1 bush it is enough to apply 1 bucket of nutritious fertilizer.
Pruning, bush formation
Pruning Potentilla Danni Boy is enough to do once every 3 years; old bushes over seven years old need to be rejuvenated annually. Damaged, diseased, weak and dried branches are pruned at the end of April. Additional shaping of the bush with the removal of branches that violate the shape of the crown is carried out in early September. 1/3 of its length is removed from the shoot. The Danni Boy variety of cinquefoil has good regenerative ability, so the branches can be cut quite low.
Plants take longer to emerge from dormancy, and it is often difficult to determine which branches actually need to be removed and which ones should not.
Pests and diseases
Cinquefoil Danni Boy is resistant to diseases and pests. The most serious for her are 3 types of lesions:
- The cutworm is a butterfly that is similar in appearance to a moth.
- Insecticides will help in the fight against it: “Fitoverm” or “Decis”.
- Caterpillars - you can get rid of them by treating the cinquefoil twice with Oberon, Actellik or Akarin insecticides. A two-week break must be maintained between treatments.
- Fungal disease - rust. For treatment, you can use a soap, boron solution or 5% potassium permanganate.
Conclusion
Cinquefoil Danni Boy is surprisingly hardy, disease resistant and very beautiful. It will decorate any landscape and interior. An additional bonus for gardeners is its ease of care.
