Wairarapa
Daphne’s many delights, according to Kerry Carman.
These wonderfully perfumed plants commemorate Daphne, daughter of the river god in Greek legend, who changed into the plant to escape the unwanted attentions of Apollo.
The Daphne family is wide and varied, encompassing species and hybrids ranging from tiny alpines to 2m high shrubs and forms that bloom throughout the year. There are even some that perfume warm summer evenings as they await their particular pollinators, the moths. The hybrid ‘Eternal Fragrance’ is another that brings joy in every season except winter.
However it is the winter-flowering daphnes that bring us the most pleasure, best known in the species Daphne odora. But this can be unreliable as it was prone to disease. ‘Leucanthe’ is an improved, healthier more upright form and the one most often in gardens today. Even longer living is ‘Alba’ with sparkling pristine white blossoms and ‘Aureomarginata’, in which every leaf is delicately edged with gold and the clusters of richly scented pale pink flowers nestle in circlets of foliage. Some, like the ‘Perfume Princess’, start to sweeten the air as early as May in my garden.
Most daphnes require a cool, leafy acid soil.
This makes them ideal companions for rhododendrons, azaleas,
camellias and magnolias. Calcareous (limey) soils are death to most daphnes but, as with all things there are exceptions, such as the prostrate alpine Daphne blagayana with its cream-coloured perfumed stars, and winter flowering Daphne mezereum which revels in cool, sticky, limey soil as it offers wands of sweetscented purplish or white flowers.
The Himalayan daphne ( Daphne bholua) is not fussy about soil as long as it is not waterlogged. It will grow in sun or semishade, producing a mass of spicily-scented little blossoms that are white-tinted lilac or pink on the reverse. This relative newcomer to our gardens is a semideciduous species which – with me – has formed a 2m column covered in bloom all winter. In the UK, two named hybrids, ‘Gurkha’ and ‘Jacqueline Postill’ were raised but seedling forms vary in the way the flowers are presented. The starry blossoms of one are carried thickly along the whole length of the stem, while others will present terminal posy-like clusters. The perfume from these taller bushes is carried on the air around the garden.
A great favourite among daphne’s friends and relations is the relatively new hybrid ‘Perfume Princess’, raised by the noted Jury family of Taranaki.
If you are going to invest in just one daphne, this should be it. This joy of a plant forms a compact mound with long dark leaves that are the perfect foil for the clusters of bloom. It is also very long-flowering. Mine starts as early as May and continues till spring. I love it. Like wintersweet Chimonanthus and sweet box Sarcococca, this new daphne is the most penetratingly delicious of all scented winter shrubs, with an exhilarating fragrance that keeps you inhaling. Perfumed princess indeed!
Cultivation points to note include the right soil conditions and shelter from the hot sun.
Cool leafy soils in part shade away from concrete foundations, driveways and rendered walls is also necessary as the lime can leach into the soil around their roots.
Daphnes may be grown in containers but these should be large enough and not concrete based.
Daphnes also detest being moved once established.
Avoid pruning. Overcutting the precious blooms results in the death of many a daphne, but we must – and do – pluck the delicious blossoms for indoor enjoyment, to gift to friends, or present at hospital bedsides. There is little more spirit-lifting than a bunch of daphne. When you cut, snip only short flowering stems that don’t extend back into the trunk or main branches.
If you have room, why not create a winter daphne garden? There are few plants that are so resilient, smiling and scenting the air through the worst weather and giving us a much-needed psychological boost and hope as we too look forward to spring. ✤