Potentilla gracilis
Slender cinquefoil, also known as graceful cinquefoil, is a sweet and long-lived perennial with cheerful pale to yellow, five-petaled flowers that are an important source of nectar for small pollinators who lack the girth to open more complicated flowers. Attractive, sharply-divided, semi-evergreen foliage, with diagnostic silvery-white undersides, sprawls gracefully from its woody crown and hosts many native butterflies.
- Plant type/canopy layer: deciduous, perennial, herbaceous plant
- Size at maturity: generally up to 24" high, 12-24" wide
- Light requirements: full sun to partial shade
- Moisture requirements: moist soil
- Bloom time: May - Aug
- Growth rate/ease: medium growth rate, easy to grow
- Wildlife support: flowers attract and provide nectar to adult butterflies, bees, other insect pollinators and syrphid flies; overall plant is a caterpillar host and larval food source for native moths and butterflies including the two-banded checkered skipper
- Native habitat/range: common in meadows, prairies, open forests, roadsides, and shrub-steppe at low to alpine elevations. Many varieties of this species are found across western North America. A technical key is usually required to tell them apart. Portland Plant List - yes.
- Special features & uses: deer resistant; evergreen; landscape uses include pollinator gardens, meadowscapes, and woodland garden edges
Gardening with Slender Cinquefoil: This adorable cinquefoil prefers full sun to partial shade with seasonally wet to moist soils that are well-drained and rich with organic matter. If planted in drier or more exposed locations, it may require infrequent, but deep supplemental water during the peak of the summer drought. Companion plants include ash and cascara trees, and other moisture-loving wildflowers like blue-eyed grass, lupine, and Oregon iris.
Photo Credit 1: Willamette Wildlings
Photo Credit 2, 3: Nikkie West, Sparrowhawk Native Plants