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Darling Daphnes for Winter Scent and Colour
Fragrant, wonderful, winter flowers...Anyone with more than a passing knowledge of plants knows that daphnes produce wonderfully fragrant flowers. And because some of them - typically the most scented - flower in winter, they are condsidered must-have plants in any new garden.There are approximately 50 species of Daphne, many of which make great garden specimens. Their habitats are widespread, ranging from Europe and North Africa to temperate and subtropical Asia. The majority of daphnes are evergreen, but a few are deciduous - these often flower before their foliage expands. The plant everyone commonly knows as daphne is Daphne odora, and particularly the cultivar 'Leucantha', (often misspelt as 'Leucanthe.') This shrub is a native of China and Japan. Partially due to its delightful perfume, Daphne odora sells in great numbers, but also because it's a fairly hardy evergreen bush. Growing to around 1.5m tall, it has leathery, deep green leaves up to 80mm long. From mid-winter on into spring it produces clusters of small, starry, pale pink flowers. Several flower and foliage forms are available and the variety with yellow-edged leaves, 'Variegata' (sometimes called 'Aureomarginata'), is often hardier and easier to grow than the species.
Daphne odora can be quite picky about soil conditions and is slightly frost tender in cold winter areas. Its best growing enviroment is a cool, moist, humus-enriched, well-drained, acid soil in sun or light shade. It is okay to blend in plenty of compost or similar organic matter - it's impossible to use too much. And feed this Daphne regularly with liquid fertilisers and an occasional side dressing of acid fertiliser. Kept healthy, D. odora develops rapidly and is attractive even without flowers., Note that this is not a long-lived bush,expect to have to replace it at least every 8-10 years. Because daphnes are so much in demand, nurseries propagate thousands of them every year. For many years, the plants were nearly all cutting-raised. Unfortunately, with repeated propagation by this method, the cutting stocks declined and became badly infected with viral diseases. Around fifteen years ago Daphne odora 'Leucantha' was refreshed by producing new plants via tissue culture, thus eliminating most of the disease problems. At the time, the improved appearance of these virus-free "high-health" plants was remarkable. But cutting stock method contunes to be used and multi-generational plants may have viral problems. When buying 'Leucantha' ensure that you are getting a tissue cultured plant or a first or second generation cutting from cultured stock. If you are looking for an alternative to what everyone else has, there are several other species similar in appearance to Daphne odora that are well worth growing. Daphne bholua and Daphne laureola come to mind and should be easy to find. Daphne bholua occurs in both deciduous and evergreen forms. It is shrub that reaches up to 3m, sometimes rather narrow and open in habit, and it flowers in winter and spring. The flowers are strongly scented, white-tinged-pink opening from deep pink buds. Black fruits (drupes) follow the flowers. First classified in 1825, but slow to enter cultivation, Daphne bholua is one of a group of four species known as paper daphnes. Why? In their home range (the eastern Himalayas), paper and ropes were made from their bark. It first appeared in gardens in 1938, although it wasn't until the late 1960's that is was widely grown. Daphne bholua is difficult to raise from cuttings and although it can be grafted, seed is the best method of propagation. The seed germinates well and while the seedlings are slow to start into strong growth, they gain vigour with age and usually flower in their fourth year. About the Author: Scott Harker is the publisher of several websites including: Sherlock Holmes Pastiches, Harvest The Sun | Renewable Energy, Bonsai for Beginners, Dieting Help | Move More - Eat Less, and On The Hook | Fishing Supplies.
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