A striking representative of the Pink family is the erect cinquefoil (Potentilla erecta). Its aboveground part is used to decorate the site. A root with beneficial properties is used in folk medicine to treat many diseases. Cinquefoil Uzik, Dubrovka, erect cinquefoil and galangal are the names of the same plant.
Description
The erect cinquefoil is a perennial bush 10–40 cm high. The culture is distinguished by a thick rhizome, which easily propagates in nature.
Plant Cinquefoil from the family Pink
The botanical description says that the flowers of the upright are bright yellow, with a diameter of about 1 cm. A pleasant aroma reminiscent of them, reminiscent of the smell of a rose. The buds are solitary on long pedicels. The life cycle of flowers is from May to September.
Additional Information. The name cinquefoil received for leaflets similar to the legs of birds.
Planting a plant
An upright cinquefoil is planted in a well-lit place. The soil on the site should be light, nutritious.
Seed planting
The potentilla is sown in spring or autumn. The peculiarity of the seeds of the culture is that they require stratification. Only after keeping at low temperature can they hatch and develop well. With autumn sowing in open ground, the seeds will undergo a natural stratification.
After being kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 months in the spring they are sown:
- Loose soil is poured into a shallow container.
- Seeds are placed on the surface.
- Cover them with film or glass.
- When the sprouts hatch, the shelter is removed.
A container with seeds is kept in a warm room. When the 3rd leaf appears on the seedlings, the bushes are planted in separate pots.
Seedling upright
Planting seedlings in open ground
When the earth warms up well, they begin to land. To do this, dig holes with a depth of 20 cm at a distance of 30 cm from one another. Potato seedlings are planted in them along with a lump of earth. Bushes are watered, mulched.
How to care for an upright cinquefoil
The culture needs watering, top dressing, loosening the soil, removing weed grass around it. To maintain a decorative look, faded buds are removed.
Watering
The potentilla does not need plentiful irrigation. Water the plants only during drought. If sufficient rainfall occurs during the season, additional irrigation is not required. To save moisture in the soil, the trunk circle is mulched.
Top dressing
Fertilizing contributes to the development of plants, helps them withstand various diseases and pests. Shrub galangal is fed several times during the season: in early spring, before flowering, in early autumn. Use mineral substances intended for fertilizing decorative flowering plants.
Important! Before top dressing, the root system is watered with plain water.
Pruning
Sanitary pruning is performed throughout the season. In this case, dry, broken, diseased branches are removed. In autumn, the aerial part is cut off.
Breeding methods
Dilute galangal upright cinquefoil on the site in several ways: seeds, cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. The first method is used in spring or autumn. In summer, cuttings and propagation by layering are used.
The plant has a powerful rhizome, with which it easily propagates.
If the bush of the cinquefoil is 4 years old, it can be divided into parts. For this, the plant is dug up from all sides, divided by a shovel into 4 fractions. Each dividend is planted in a separate hole.
Transfer
Transplanted cinquefoil in spring or autumn. Procedure:
- Dig a hole 2 times the size of an earthen coma.
- At the bottom lay drainage of small stones, broken bricks.
- Then pour a substrate consisting of garden soil, humus, sand.
Bushes are planted so that the root neck is not deepened. They are covered with earth, watered, then mulched with wood bark, sawdust or mowed grass.
Diseases and Pests
Potentilla erecta rarely infects diseases and pests. With overhead irrigation with cold water, bushes can become infected with powdery mildew. In this case, the leaves and shoots become as if powdered with flour.
To prevent disease, the bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid at the beginning of the season. Against the main pest of culture - butterfly scoops - they use insecticides.
Flowering period
Inflorescences of the plant begin to bloom in May. Without a break, flowering culture lasts until September. In botany, it is indicated that in the erect cinquefoil, the flower has 4 bright yellow petals. After flowering, a box with seeds is formed.
Flowering plants
Winter preparations
Kalgan is a winter-hardy plant, therefore it does not need shelter for the winter. Mulch the basal circle of only those bushes that are planted in the fall. So the cinquefoil can safely transfer the wintering.
Use in landscape design
Upright cinquefoil, the pink family is a stunted culture. Its properties are used to decorate an alpine hill, a rocky garden. Kalgan goes well with white daisy, lily and reseda.
The culture can be planted as a stand-alone bush or combined with other types of cinquefoil, for example, goose, Nepalese, Apennine. The green leaves of the galangal will be in original contrast with the leaves of the silver cinquefoil.
Beneficial features
Root cinquefoil or galangal is widely used in folk medicine. He was treated when antibiotics were not yet invented. Now the following diseases are treated with the root of the plant:
- inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract;
- jaundice;
- thyroid disease;
- inflammation of the oral cavity;
- skin diseases.
Galangal root
Due to the large number of useful elements, galangal root is used as an astringent, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory agent. Apply it in the form of a decoction, infusion.
Pay Attention! Before starting treatment, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since in some cases the use of a sea otter can harm.
Upright cinquefoil is not only a beautiful, but also a useful plant. It is used for landscaping the site. In folk medicine, cinquefoil, the root of Kalgan, is used to treat many diseases. It is not difficult to grow a bush. It is enough to plant it in a well-lit area, occasionally watering, feeding, cutting off faded buds.