Potentilla erecta Seeds | Tormentil
LATIN NAME: Potentilla erecta
COMMON NAME: Tormentil
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Tormentil, Potentilla erecta is a perennial in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to Europe, including britain, from scandinavia south and east to north Africa, western Asia and siberia. Plant spreads slowly into neat mat, and it likes sun, and moist, well-drained soil. Its flowers draw a steady traffic of bees and other beneficial insects. It is the sort of plant that quietly justifies the space it occupies.
Science & Biotechnology
Within the rose family, Potentilla erecta is of continuing interest to researchers working on plant diversity, seed biology and the selection of improved garden forms. Four-petalled flowers of tormentil give it a recognised place in research on meadow herbs of rose family, and erecta species appears in studies of tannin-rich plants and acid-meadow growth. The upshot for anyone sowing it is reassurance — cultivated stock of this plant has a long, well-documented track record.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Tormentil for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. In meadow and rock garden, tormentil coins summer meadow with yellow flowers. Blooms open for bees, roots have served traditional remedies and dyes for generations, and plant makes neat, bright mat. It grows well in moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Routine care after establishment is refreshingly light.
Cinquefoils are astringent folk herbs of Europe for digestion and sore gums, and potentilla tormentil root remains official in European herbals; the garden types are tough, long-blooming perennials.
Growing from Seed
Tormentil grows readily from seed. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Once the seedlings have made true leaves, pot them on individually and plant out when they are sturdy and conditions are right.
Our Take
It grows as a perennial, so its place in the garden is easy to plan. From then on, routine care is all that is required.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Tormentil often pair it with these related subjects: