Potentilla ‘Starlight Orange’ is a striking hardy perennial producing masses of vibrant orange flowers with rich red centres and golden stamens. The cheerful, five-petalled blooms are carried on slender stems above attractive, finely divided, silvery-green foliage, creating a beautiful contrast of colour and texture.
Flowering throughout early summer, this unusual Potentilla is perfect for sunny borders, cottage gardens and naturalistic planting schemes. Easy to grow in well-drained soil, it brings a wonderful splash of warm colour to the garden and is particularly attractive to bees and other pollinators.
When to Sow: Mar–May & Sep–Oct
How to Sow Potentilla:
SEEDS REQUIRE COLD STRATIFICATION.
Sow under cover: Surface-sow the seeds onto moist, well-drained seed compost. Press them gently into the surface and cover with only a very fine layer of compost or vermiculite.
Place the tray or pot in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse. Allow the seeds to experience the natural warmth of autumn followed by winter cold. Germination should begin as temperatures rise in spring.
Keep the compost lightly moist but never saturated. Germination may be irregular, so do not discard the tray if seedlings do not appear immediately.
Transplant seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on under cover, then gradually acclimatise before planting outside once well established and the danger of frost has passed.
- Classification: Hardy perennial
- Expert level: Requires some Experience
- Germination time: Germinates in spring following autumn sowing
- Flowering time: June–August
- Site: Full sun or partial sun
- Soil type: Chalk, sand or loam
- Soil acidity: Acidic, neutral or alkaline
- Moisture: Well-drained
- Care: Water regularly while establishing. Once established, water during prolonged dry Times and deadhead to encourage continued flowering. Cut old stems back to ground level in spring.
- Use: Cottage-garden borders, wildlife gardens and cut flowers
- Harvest: Cut when several flowers on each branching stem have opened but plenty of buds remain
- Vase life: 5 Days Approx
- Height: 60–75cm
- Plant spacing: 40cm

