Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa, syn. Potentilla fruticosa) is a small, low-growing, bushy ornamental shrub native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. It is widespread and undemanding, floriferous and cheerful, and worthy of a spot in any garden! It is an adaptable, sun-loving plant at home in most soil types, especially lime-rich soils. The dainty gray-green leaves are the perfect backdrop for the cheerful, 5-petaled yellow flowers that begin blooming in June and continue until fall. They offer both nectar and pollen to the many enthusiastic insect pollinators that visit. The flowers are very popular with butterflies, leading to another common name: Butterfly Shrub. The Gorgone Checkerspot butterfly is particularly attracted to yellow flowers, and since these bloom for so long, it is bound to provide a feast for many butterflies as well for observant gardeners. The enchanting Dorcas Copper butterfly requires Potentilla spp. as host plants for its larval stage. White-tailed Deer and rabbits seem to find this shrub unpalatable and tend to leave it alone.
These bushy little shrubs are well-suited to sunny landscapes in the Midwest and require little to no maintenance. Their woody taproot makes them especially capable of dealing with poor soils, drought, and stress that may disadvantage many other flowering shrubs. They make a pleasing low hedge or barrier planting, massed along sidewalks or driveways, mixed into shrub and perennial gardens, and are an easy-to-grow, unfussy, long-blooming choice for foundation plantings.
Sources:
Native Trees, Shrubs, & Vines by William Cullina
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael A. Dirr
Midwestern Native Shrubs and Trees by Charlotte Adelman & Bernard L. Schwartz
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
The Morton Arboretum
