Marsh Cinquefoil (Potentilla palustris / Comarum palustre) - UK Native, Wine-Red Stars - Pond & Bog-Edges (Peat-Free, Pesticide-Free)

A striking UK native bog plant bearing deep wine-red, star-shaped flowers with silky sepals from late spring to midsummer. Marsh Cinquefoil weaves through shallow, peaty margins and wet meadow edges (it’s not a deep aquatic), offering early-mid season nectar for bees, hoverflies and beetles while stems and foliage give low cover for amphibians and invertebrates. Rhizomatous but well-mannered, forming clumps/colonies 30-60 cm tall where soil stays cool and wet.

Where it thrives

Light: Full sun to light/partial shade
Moisture/Zone: Shallow marginal (0-5 cm over crown) or constantly damp bog-edge; prefers acid to neutral, low-nutrient mineral loam topped with washed gravel; best with rainwater
Setting: Front/mid shelf, rain-garden pockets, seepage lines; beautiful with sedges, ragged robin, cotton-grasses and meadowsweet

Planting & care

• Plant into a nursery basket or directly into the shelf/bog bed using peat-free, low-nutrient loam; top with gravel

• Keep consistently wet; avoid drying out in hot spells (mulch with leaf-mould to hold moisture)

• Spreads slowly by short rhizomes; divide in spring to propagate or contain neat patches

• Trim spent stems after flowering; leave some seedheads for structure if desired

Safety (important & honest):
Ornamental use only - do not ingest. Generally low-risk; wash hands after gardening. Keep plant material and soil out of natural watercourses.

Truth-first wildlife note:
Performs best in cool, acid/neutral, low-nutrient conditions with steady moisture. On chalky/hard-water sites or rich compost it can sulk. Not suited to deep water or fast flow - choose a true marginal for those spots.

Joel says…
“Set Marsh Cinquefoil on the front shelf and let the wine-red stars reflect in the water. Keep it wet and lean, and it’ll knit the bog or pond edge beautifully.”