Daphne

[angie]

Just wandering can I grow dwarf Daphnes in my greenhouse. I have a bed in my greenhouse that has succulents in it and I want to do away with these. Just thought these small daphnes would be nice in there.
Some advice would be welcomed .

Angie 

[Martin Baxendale]

A greenhouse bed is probably the ideal place to grow dwarf daphnes. They like glass cover to keep the rain off, will appreciate the free root run of a bed rather than being in pots, and a glasshouse is the best place to enjoy their scent. I used to love visiting Joe Elliott's nursery near here when his stock plants of Daphne petraea were in flower. The smell in his daphne glasshouse was amazing.

[mark smyth]

My Daphnes have all suffered this year. Their flowers are bleaching. Is the sun doing it?, the warmth or rain?

[tonyg]

Angie - I agree with Martin.  I have a clone of D. x  hendersonii in a large pot in my plunge.  It has merrily rooted through the base into the plunge and is now immovably established.  It thrives!  I have taken cuttings which do OK in a pot inside but do not do so well outside, tried raised bed and troughs with poor results.  I would plant yours in the bed and enjoy them there!

Good luck!

[David Nicholson]

Well worth buying is Robin White's book "Daphnes: A practical Guide for Gardeners" Published by Timber Press 2006. It has a good section on cultivation under cover. Even more so worth while given the price of Daphnes so it's costly to make mistakes.

[razvan chisu]

I bought this Daphne today as D. sericea.
From the pictures I've seen on the internet D. sericea should be smaller and be more of a cushion type plant. Mine is about 60 cm tall, with variegated leaves. Any idea what it might be? If it is D. sericea, how hardy is it considering it is of Mediterranean origin?

[David Nicholson]

Some information from Robin White's book Razvan:-

"Turkish plants have a sturdy upright habit which produces a plant 1.2-1.5M in hight, somewhat less in width, while the Cretan forms are bushier and more compact, reaching 1-1.2M in height and width"

"Areas which experience long, dry summers without too cold a winter would find this a useful, drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub."

"The hardiness of plants is almost certain to vary according to their origins. I suspect that the less hardy forms will not survive long periods below -10C, while plants from an area such as the Omalos Plateau on Crete may well tolerate temperatures down to -17C "

[angie]

I have the bed ready for planting tomorrow. Got out all the succulents and Agave's out. Had my first disaster. I had the tray of Daphne's balanced on the edge of the bench and I knocked the whole lot down, that's three Daphne's that I will have to wait till they flower to put the labels next to them. God I am hopeless.

David that book seems familiar to me. Not sure if I have just heard about it or is in our club library. Guess who has the library books  

Angie  

[Tim Ingram]

Martin - that reference to Joe Elliott brings back precisely the same memory - I even have an old photograph of Daphne petraea 'Grandiflora' in that greenhouse! Outside was a shallow raised bed with Daphne cneorum. I agree they are likely to make wonderful, and probably often much more free-flowering plants under glass (or in a polytunnel which is where Robin White grows many). But I am having quite good success with several forms of x hendersonii outside on our sand bed, and some do really well in tufa.

[razvan chisu]

Thank you David. Such a promt answer. I guess I will come back when the flowers open, see if they match the sericea type.
I ask about hardiness because apparently this plant was imported from Hungary, but it withstood the -25C we had in January, just in that pot (if I can trust the seller) with no protection.

Whatever species it is, I am glad I found it. Daphnes are very seldom seen in garden centers here.

[David Nicholson]

If I could travel back in time a visit to Joe Elliott's nursery would be high on my wish list, together with seeing Huddersfield Town win The Cup

[Martin Baxendale]

Tim, yes I certainly didn't mean to suggest that the small daphnes can't be grown outside. Robin grows them well outdoors as well as under cover. The three things I remember most about Joe Elliott's nursery are the Daphne petraea in the glasshouse, the Primula allionii in another, and the frames full of Gentiana verna.

[Darren]

Well worth buying is Robin White's book "Daphnes: A practical Guide for Gardeners" Published by Timber Press 2006. It has a good section on cultivation under cover. Even more so worth while given the price of Daphnes so it's costly to make mistakes.

Superb book - the AGS were selling it very cheaply at the Ponteland show last year so I snapped one up.

You are showing excellent taste in plants Angie!

Happy to say even here in the cold damp North West virtually every Daphne we have tried (and that is a lot - we both love Daphnes   ) does well for us out in the garden - on a west facing slope on extremely well drained soil on limestone. I have my few precious plants of petraea and arbuscula under protection but x hendersonii is perfectly happy on a raised bed outside and flowers well. Cneorum 'Velky Kosir' is really well flowered this year after the winter of 2010/2011 killed the Dierama which was shading it. In fact I had real trouble finding non-flowering shoots to send to a forumist who wanted grafting material.

I really regret never being able to visit either Joe Elliot's nursery, or Robin White's.

[Martin Baxendale]

I miss Robin's nursery, Darren. I used to love calling in there and always coming away with a boot full of lovely things even when I meant to buy very little. It was soooooo easy to just pick up rare dwarf daphnes and plop them in the basket. So tempting. Wish there was another nursery within reasonable driving distance with the sort of range of delicious daphnes that Robin sold.

[Lesley Cox]

If I could travel back in time a visit to Joe Elliott's nursery would be high on my wish list, together with seeing Huddersfield Town win The Cup

The pre-confrerence tour in 1981 went to Broadwell Alpines, a most magical place. Must dig out the ancient photos and have another look.