Comarum palustre
Marsh cinquefoil
Common names: Purple marshlocks, Bog cinquefoil
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 30 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- Jun–Jul
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −35 °C
- Water need
- High
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Jmp48 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Marsh cinquefoil, botanically Comarum palustre, is a native perennial of bogs, wet meadows and reed-fringe zones. It grows from creeping rhizomes, from which rise shoots 30 to 50 cm tall bearing pinnate leaves with five to seven leaflets. From June to July it produces unusual dark purplish-red flowers, whose pointed sepals are larger than the small petals; their dark colour explains the German name Blutauge, meaning 'blood eye'. In gardens it belongs at the pond edge in the marginal zone and in shallow water, at about 0 to 20 cm water depth, and it is an eye-catcher for natural ponds and bog beds. In the wild it has become rare because bogs and wet meadows are disappearing: buy plants from a nursery and never dig them up at natural sites. Expect it to spread by its rhizomes.
Care instructions
Plant marsh cinquefoil in the marginal zone or shallow water of your pond, ideally in a planting basket with nutrient-poor pond substrate, at about 0 to 20 cm water depth. It tolerates full sun to light partial shade and flowers most abundantly in sun. It is important that the roots never dry out, as drying out sets the plant back. Do not fertilise it. The rhizomes spread: in a small pond, confine marsh cinquefoil with the planting basket, and every few years divide the clump in spring and pass on the surplus. Cut back spent flowers and dead shoots in late winter. Common mistake: nutrient-rich garden soil in the pond, which promotes algae and disturbs the water balance.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJun–Jul
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, humus-rich, lean
Marsh cinquefoil grows in permanently wet, humus-rich, nutrient-poor soil, as found in bogs and at silting-up margins. In a pond, use nutrient-poor pond substrate or sandy loam for it; ordinary garden soil is usually too nutrient-rich and encourages algae. The soil should be slightly acidic to neutral; a pH between 5 and 7 suits it well. The plant does not tolerate drying out, and the roots must always stand in wet.
Feeding
Light feeder
Marsh cinquefoil is not fertilised. It is adapted to nutrient-poor bog and marsh soils, and any extra application mainly feeds algae in the pond. Plant it in nutrient-poor pond substrate and leave it alone; even in a container pond, fertiliser is taboo. Nutrients have no place in the water.
Overwintering
Marsh cinquefoil is completely hardy and stays in the pond. In autumn the shoots die back; the rhizomes overwinter in the mud and shoot again in spring. Cut off the dead shoots in late winter, before growth begins. In a container pond, make sure the root zone stays wet and does not dry out; in severe frost, a wrapping of fleece or leaves protects the container.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- Cuttings
The easiest way to propagate marsh cinquefoil is by dividing the creeping rhizomes. In spring, shortly after growth starts, take the plant out of the planting basket or the ground, divide the rhizome into pieces with several shoots and roots and replant them in a new place, in a pond into nutrient-poor substrate. Shoot pieces with nodes can also be rooted in wet substrate in summer. Always buy plants or seed from a nursery, and never dig up or pick them at a natural site. Sowing is hardly worthwhile in the garden.
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 Marsh cinquefoil yourself
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