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Herb growing guide
Himalayan cinquefoil is a hardy, clump-forming perennial from the subalpine Himalaya and Tibet, grown for its deep crimson flowers. Raise it in cool conditions with light cover, and expect flowers from the second season.
Sow fresh seed in a pot or tray of seed mix. There is no published germination study for this species, so this guide gives practical advice and labels the only relative data used. Sow thinly so that seedlings can be lifted individually.
Not needed. There is no evidence that the seed coat stops water getting in, so do not nick or sand the seed.
Not needed as a first step. If nothing has come up after several weeks of cool, damp conditions, put the sealed, still-moist pot in the refrigerator for a few weeks, then bring it back to a cool, bright place. This is a common approach for mountain perennials, not a tested protocol for this species.
Not needed. Sowing onto a damp mix and keeping the surface moist is enough.
Cool to mild conditions suit this subalpine plant. In India, sow in autumn or late winter on the plains and in spring in the hills; avoid the hottest months.
Scatter the seed on the surface, press it in and cover with no more than a dusting of fine grit.
A free-draining seed mix with added grit or sand. The grown plant tolerates most soils but needs good drainage.
Keep the surface damp but never waterlogged; mist or water from below.
Bright light. In the close relative Potentilla fulgens, seeds germinated under every light treatment tested, including darkness, at 11-52%, so a light cover does no harm.
Expect slow, uneven emergence. Outdoors, Potentilla fulgens seed germinated slowly over 4-5 months, so keep pots for a full season before discarding them.
Prick out seedlings into individual small pots once they have two or three true leaves. Plant out when the roots fill the pot, during the cool season, into full sun and well-drained soil.
The first season is mainly a leafy clump. In the Himalayan relative Potentilla fulgens, seedlings flowered in their second growing season. RHS gives the grown plant a height and spread of 0.5-1 m (20-39 in), so space plants accordingly.
RHS recommends full sun and any well-drained, moderately fertile soil, acid, neutral or alkaline. Rich, wet soil is not needed.
This is a very hardy plant: RHS rates it H7, hardy below -20 °C (-4 °F). It thrives in Himalayan hill gardens; on the plains it is best treated as a cool-season pot plant.
Once plants are established, RHS suggests division in spring as the easiest way to increase them.
Simply tidy away dead leaves and old flower stems.
Sow Himalayan cinquefoil in the cool season for crimson flowers in sunny, well-drained beds.
Not as a first step. Sow on the surface in cool conditions; if seed stays dormant after several weeks, a few weeks in the refrigerator is a sensible second try.
Usually not in the first season. In a closely related Himalayan Potentilla, seed-raised plants flowered in their second growing season.
It is a subalpine plant that prefers cool weather and well-drained soil. On the plains, grow it in pots during the cool season and keep it out of waterlogged monsoon soil.
