Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.
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It is surprising how some plants get a bad rap that stays with them from one generation of gardeners to the next.
A rap that they do not deserve, just a bad name from hearsay, unrealistic expectations or past failures.
One of these would be Daphnes. The whole group of them are all tarred with the same brush as being difficult to grow, temperamental and hardly worth the effort.
Though in reality, Daphnes are easy to grow, give great reward and thrive on neglect.
More times than not they are killed with kindness, being overwatered or over-potted.
We so often have people say that their grandparents had a beautiful Daphne, but no matter how hard they try, they cannot grow one themselves.
The truth be known though, the grandparents’ Daphne was probably sitting on a shady verandah in a terracotta pot, pot bound to the max or in a dry neglected part of the garden.
Most Daphnes just require good drainage, a partly shaded to shaded position and a slightly lower soil pH.
Some of the newer varieties of Daphne can grow in full sun and even handle wetter soils, and yet, they still get the same bad rap of being hard to grow.
Daphne odora is probably the most commonly known Daphne, and in our region they are about to flower in the next few weeks.
They are well known for their beautiful sweet, spicy fragrant flowers and are the Daphne that gives all the rest a bad reputation.
When overwatered these plants quickly suffer root damage, causing their foliage to wilt and hang down.
People then think their plants need a good water, and so the decline continues.
If you keep Daphne plants on the drier side, you will know then that if they start wilting, they genuinely need a drink.
Daphne odora comes in either pink or white flowers, with the white being considered slightly lemony in fragrance.
They grow best in an easterly aspect or semi-shaded place in the garden.
The recently released Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ was awarded Plant of the Year in 2016 and is the longest flowering of the Daphnes.
Starting in mid-winter and going through to late spring, it has the same beautiful fragrance as Daphne odora, but flowers right along the stems, producing a lot more flowers.
It can grow in full sun and has a stronger root system, meaning it is less susceptible to wet feet.
Growing slightly taller yet still compact in habit, it can be planted as a wonderfully fragrant hedge or grown individually as a neat bushy shrub.
Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ is also available in a white-flowered form that performs just as well.
Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’ is a compact fine-leafed Daphne that is the product of over thirty years of research, development and breeding.
Growing to about one metre high, it has an olive-green leaf and clusters of small white, sweetly fragrant flowers.
The main flush of flowers appears in late winter, but they will then flower again in early summer and then early autumn.
Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’ grows in either full sun or part shade under a light canopy of foliage and will compete well with other plants.
It is also available in a pink flowering form called Daphne ‘Spring Pink Eternal Fragrance’.
All these varieties of Daphne are available in good numbers in the Garden Centre now in a range of sizes, but once they start flowering, they will sell out rather quickly and like most years, become hard to supply until the next batch comes through.
Another plant that really signifies the fragrances of spring is Boronia, especially the brown Boronia.
They are also another plant that comes with a bad rap as being difficult to grow, and probably rightly so, as they can be a bit tricky at times.
But given a dappled shaded position with protection from wind and afternoon sun in free-draining soil, they are well worth a try.
The pink, purple and red Boronias are considered easier to grow than the brown and yellow Boronias, but they do not have as strong a fragrance.
Many gardeners will plant the brown and yellow Boronias like annuals among the other varieties so they can enjoy the typically Aussie bush fragrance over spring and summer, then treat it as a bonus if they survive from one year to the next.
Like a lot of the shade-loving plants, Boronias like a slightly acid soil with a pH around 5.5.
They will struggle in heavy clay soils, so be sure to build them up to give them the drainage they require.
So next time you are visiting the Garden Centre, don’t just stop and smell the roses, be sure to check out the Daphnes and Boronias as well.
Anyway, enough about all that.
Time to get back to modifying part of our gift shop to make way for a whole new range that will be coming very soon.
Growing For Success