Common Name: daphne
Type: Broadleaf evergreen
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to September
Bloom Description: White with a golden eye
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Culture
Best grown in moist, rich, sandy-humusy, well-drained soils with a neutral pH in part shade. Sharp soil drainage is essential. Consider raised plantings in areas of heavy clay soils to insure good drainage. Best sited in locations protected from cold winter winds. Winter root mulch is advisable. Do not allow soils to dry out. Established plants have some drought tolerance, but dry soils may reduce summer bloom. Daphnes are often slow to establish and are best left undisturbed once planted.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Daphnes are well known for their intensely fragrant flowers. This daphne hybrid is a cross between D. caucasica (deciduous female) and D. collina (evergreen male).
Genus name originally used for laurel (Laurus nobilis) but later transferred to this genus. Originally, from the nymph of the same name from Greek mythology, but could come from an Indo-European word meaning odor.
'Jim's Pride' won a Gold Medal Plant award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1990 and was named for Jim Cross of Environmental's Nursery, Long Island, NY. It is a fine-textured, rounded shrub with semi-evergreen, gray-green leaves, although it may be completely deciduous when grown in cold climates. It has clusters of very fragrant white flowers with a golden eye comprised of yellow anthers. Its flowers emerge from pink buds, sometimes giving the flowers a pink flush. ‘Jim’s Pride’ has a long blooming season, flowering from late spring until fall. It grows 3 to 4 ft. tall and 3 to 6 ft. wide and may be sold as Daphne caucasica.
Problems
Daphnes in the St. Louis area often suffer significant winter injury in severe winters, particularly if improperly planted in locations exposed to cold winter winds and full sun. Plants weakened by winter injury are more susceptible to disease problems. Potential diseases include botrytis, leaf spots, canker, twig blight, crown rot and virus. Potential insect pests include aphids, mealy bugs and scale. Plants can be temperamental and unpredictable. Michael Dirr reports that daphnes sometimes die very quickly for “no explicable reason.”
Uses
A small, rounded shrub for rock gardens or other smaller gardens. Effective edging plant or small hedge. Also effective in border foregrounds and foundation plantings. Plant near doors, decks or patios for maximum enjoyment of the super fragrant flowers.