Plant profile: Daphne
26 of the most fragrant daphnes selected by shrub specialist Andy McIndoe
Flowering throughout the year, and notably during colder weather, the recurring theme of daphnes is scent
Many gardeners love plants that are a challenge, both to grow and to source. I remember one keen plantsman telling me that half the enjoyment of any plant is in the chase to find it. During my early days at Hillier Nurseries, daphnes must have been the most requested shrubs, but they were never available. Their scarcity undoubtedly fuelled their demand. What was all the fuss about? A question soon answered with just a hint of that intoxicating fragrance.
Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ was raised by Hillier propagator Alan Postill and is the best known and most enduring plant raised at the Hampshire nursery. Its heady, sweet fragrance fills the Winter Garden at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens from early January right through to March. Once experienced, it is never forgotten, so I planted three in our garden at Sandhill Farm as soon as we moved here 17 years ago. Despite our rather dry, sandy soil the plants have thrived and delight every season. A day in late winter spent in their presence kick-starts the gardening year. Pick a few sprigs for the house and they fade quickly, their fragrance is just not for capture. It needs to be free on the cool, outdoor air.
My first encounter with these elusive shrubs was a Daphne mezereum, the species most available when I was a boy. I remember a spindly, unhappy shrub that redeemed itself each New Year when a few purple buds opened to be worshipped for their scent. Undoubtedly, it was a poor
specimen planted in the wrong place; but it was desirable nonetheless. Years later I was amazed to find how easily it is grown on the chalk soils of the Itchen Valley, near Winchester, Hampshire. Sprigs of it appear regularly with hellebores and snowdrops on the ‘plants of interest’ table at our local horticultural society meetings.
The daphne I grow the most, in a variety of situations, is D. odora ‘Aureomarginata’. I planted two in our previous garden. One a medium-sized specimen purchased at considerable expense, the other a rooted cutting acquired at a Women’s Institute market for a couple of pounds. The latter thrived and made a substantial shrub, while the other faded in a few years. The lesson: daphnes hate being confined to a pot and they hate disturbance, especially later in life. Recently, I saw dozens of D. odora ‘Aureomarginata’ being used in an amenity planting scheme outside offices in Southampton’s city centre. This is just not the way to use this shrub. It is not suited to mass planting or lack of care and will never deliver the desired effect.
I have D. odora Rebecca (= ‘Hewreb’) growing in quite a dry spot under a large pittosporum outside the study window. It grows surrounded by Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ and Geranium macrorrhizum. I judged its chances of success as minimal, however, it is healthy, happy and flowers well.
The fragrance of D. x transatlantica Eternal Fragrance (= ‘Blafra’) is sometimes described as disappointing, but that has not prevented me from planting it. I have yet to be overpowered by the scent, but I am impressed by its ability to flower for a long time. Any small, evergreen shrub that flowers for months, rather than weeks has to be good news for a small garden.
Temperamental daphnes, such as D. cneorum and D. arbuscula, are probably best admired by most of us in the alpine house at RHS Wisley, rather than seen struggling in our gardens. These are plants for the dedicated. When you see these incredible little shrubs in flower with such powerful fragrance it is humbling to see the efforts they make to attract pollinating insects.
For those of us bewitched by the magical power of their fragrance, daphnes are impossible to resist. They may not be the most robust garden plants, and they may make you work to meet their demands, but your senses will convince you they are worth it. • Andy’s recommendations for daphnes continue over the next six pages.