Potentilla nepalensis 'Miss Willmott'

Description: Sprays of rich pink flowers with cherry red centres from June to August amongst strawberry-like leaves. This charming easy and low growing plant is ideal for the front of herbaceous or cottage style borders.

Climate/Position: Full sun

Height/Spread: 35cm x 60cm

Soil Requirements: Poor to moderately fertile, well-drained soil

Pruning: Trim off flower stems after blooming to encourage a further flush in late summer.

Special Requirements: Lift and divide large clumps in autumn or spring. Apply a mulch of compost in spring.

'Miss Willmott' is named for the English gardening fanatic Ellen Ann Willmott (1860-1934). She was the wealthy patron of Alfred Parson, whom she commissioned to provide botanical paintings of the specimens in her rose garden.

These watercolors illustrated her two-volume overview of The Genus Rosa (1910, 1914), now held at the Lindley Library at the Royal Horticultural Society in London. In 1987 with the support of the RHS, a splendidly reproduced volume of all these watercolors was issued as A Garden of Roses.