Potentilla anserina
Silverweed
Common names: Common silverweed, Goose tansy
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 30 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Apr–Jun
- Harvest
- Jun–Aug
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Water need
- Medium
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Rasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
Potentilla anserina, commonly known as silverweed, is a native wildflower of the rose family that grows on meadows, along roadsides, and in pastureland throughout the DACH region. It forms low, spreading runners with feathered, silvery‑haired leaves and produces bright yellow, five‑petaled flowers from May to August. While traditionally valued in folk medicine, it does not replace professional medical advice. In the garden, it is a low‑maintenance groundcover suitable for sunny to partially shaded areas and provides valuable habitat for wild bees and other insects.
Care instructions
Silverweed requires little care: provide it with a sunny to partially shaded spot and fresh, slightly compacted soil, such as along a roadside or on a meadow. Water newly planted pieces, then the plant copes well with normal rainfall. The runners spread quickly; place a rhizome barrier or container rim in the bed if you do not want it to spread. Cut the leaves as needed for harvest; a winter pruning is unnecessary. The plant does not need fertilizer.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Jun
HarvestJun–Aug
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 2 °C, ideally 10 °C
- Days to sprout
- 30 to 90 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, nutrient-rich, loamy
Silverweed prefers to grow on compacted, moist to alternately moist and dry soils with a good supply of nutrients, such as you find at the edges of paths or on pastures. The plant tolerates loamy soil with some waterlogging without problems, whereas decidedly dry or sandy sites slow it down. A spot without dense competition from other ground cover promotes runner formation most.
Feeding
Light feeder
As an undemanding wild perennial, silverweed needs practically no feeding. A trowelful of mature compost in spring is quite enough to supply the soil with humus over the summer. On poor sites this even promotes flowering, because the plant puts less energy into leaf growth there.
Overwintering
Silverweed is completely hardy and withdraws its above-ground leaves by itself in autumn. You do not need to cover or protect anything; the rosette reliably shoots again from the rootstock in spring. Cutting back the withered leaves in late autumn is purely cosmetic and not necessary for the plant itself.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- Runners
- From seed
The easiest way to propagate silverweed is via the long, creeping runners, which root by themselves at the leaf nodes. Separate a rooted section and place it directly in the new spot; it usually establishes without difficulty. Alternatively, divide strong clumps with the spade in spring or autumn. Sowing works as well, but takes much longer until the first flowering.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Silverweed yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
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