DAPHNE continued
 last updated 19/08/2010


Daphne bholua

Perhaps the most dramatic of the genus, this species and its derivatives flower in the winter. We have even had them flower for Christmas, continuing until March, dependant on the season.

Their scent is utterly intoxicating!

Plant them near the front door for constant appreciation! Most are evergreen so they will enjoy shelter from cold wind. Protection from summer sun helps prevent them drying out. They are happy in sun if their roots are shaded but they perform best in a shady site. We find this group does best for us in a shady site. Try one amongst your deciduous shrubs - when they lose their leaves the Daphne will be revealed shortly to overwhelm the garden with its scent and beauty. Every garden should have one!

Although most are classified as evergreen, they tend to loose their old leaves just before the new growth starts in the spring. This also tends to coincide with the flowers finishing, so they can look rather messy for a while at this time. Overwatering at this point can kill them, so just be patient.
DAPHNE bholua 'Alba'
The smallest and bushiest of the bholuas, at not quite 2m. The leaves are smaller and darker green. The pure white flowers are also slightly smaller, but produced in such profusion that their size is academic! Possibly my favourite…!
Not available this season
DAPHNE bholua 'Cobhay Debut' 
This is our own selection. The late Sir Peter Smithers collected seed from the Daman Ridge, Nepal in 1970. These plants are grafts from a seedling from these plants. As a group they have proved to be evergreen in his Swiss garden and are doing equally as well for us too! Flower colour is slightly paler than the type, whilst I find the foliage distinctive. Slightly more rigid in the way it is held, and a rich glossy green. It just looks "well"...a superb plant in all respects.
Not available this season
DAPHNE bholua 'Darjeeling' 
This geographical variant is reputedly the hardiest and is certainly the most evergreen. The white flowers are flushed pink, although slightly smaller than the other varieties. The leaves are a paler green with white hairs beneath and on the stems.
Not available this season
DAPHNE bholua var. glacialis 'Gurkha' 
This vigorous upright form is totally deciduous. The large flowers are pinkish in bud opening white. This form was collected by Major Spring-Smyth in 1962 on the Milke Banjyang Ridge, Nepal under the collection number TSS 132B After 10 years it was 2.1m by 1.5m.
Not available this season
DAPHNE bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' 
The flowers are even larger, with more pink colouration and equally fragrant. It originated as a seedling of Gurkha in 1982, raised by Alan Postill, propagator at Hilliers. It is truly beautiful.
£25.00
DAPHNE bholua 'Lympsfield'
Roy Lancaster wrote a feature on Daphne bholua in the RHS journal The Garden last winter, which was accompanied in the usual way by a plate showing a photographic comparison between flowers of the various cultivars. For me, this one stood out. Although I have not grown it for very long, and therefore my experience of the plant itself is limited, plants that went in early in the new year (not my preferred time for planting) have done jolly well despite the at times ferocious weather we have endured over the last 6 months.
Not available this season
DAPHNE bholua 'Penwood'
It has superb rich purple buds which open into large flower clusters in the usual way. We actually prefer this one to the popular 'Jacqueline Postill' becasue it holds its foliage so much better after flowering - truly evergreen rather than suffering the unflattering "moult" that afflicts 'Jacqueline Postill' for a couple of weeks each spring. We raised ‘Penwood' as a seedling from a plant of D. bholua acquired from Doug Harris at Penwood Nurseries 15 years ago, hence the name. Just one seedling came from the seed. It stood out not only for the fact that it holds its foliage so well but also for the dramatic contrast between the rich purple buds and the large white flowers, much less pink than 'Jacqueline Postill', with just a little pink colouring seeping in at the edges of the white petals. It has an upright habit, the original plant is 2m tall and 1m wide and the fragrance is superb.
Sold out
DAPHNE bholua 'Sir Peter Smithers'
A superlative selection with large flowers, the darkest coloured of all the bholuas, and an exquisite fragrance as one would expect!
Sold out
Back to Previous Page

More Daphnes

Go Back to Top of Page
Home