Is a Daphne suitable?
MrsDangermouse
Posts: 31
I didn't want to hijack the other Daphne thread - but some of the comments on that thread have prompted some questions.
We will be totally re-doing our front garden soon and as part of that we want to plant something at the side of our front window to provide a bit of privacy from next door's driveway.
The front of the house faces south but the wind does blow up the street so it can get a bit windy at times.
I want something winter flowering which will grow upwards rather than outwards - Daphne bholua Jacqueline Postill seems to tick all the boxes. RHS says full sun is ok, but exposure = sheltered.
So I was wondering....is a Daphne going to do ok where we want to put it? I'd hate to spend a significant amount on decent sized one and then have it die on us :-(
Posts
Thanks I'll check them out.
We don't need something that will create a solid block - just something that will break up the sightline a bit. And it doesn't have to be a windbreak - it just needs to be able to survive a sunny and probably slightly windier than normal location.
The main challenge I have is that I don't particularly like yellow or orange flowers - and lots of the winter flowering plants seem to be those colours :-(
So if anyone has any suggestions...I'm looking for something winter flowering (ideally pink, purple or white flowers), full sun, can take a bit of wind, grows to about 2m tall but not too wide.
For companions it'll have a pink flowering cherry, a white spiraea, a purple syringa and a few hebes.
I have (had) 2 Daphne and I love them but they are short lived, one has died this year (7 years old I believe) and has now left a big hole in my border unfortunately. The fragrance is to die for (as they say) and I wouldn't be without one. Perhaps worth taking a chance on for 7 years of pleasure.
I'm afraid I'm not keen on the Mahonias or Berberis - wrong colour flowers, thanks for the suggestion though.
I'm still tempted to plant the daphne and see how it goes, the main thing though is that most of what I've read mentions a sheltered position and the more I think about it I don't think that our front garden could be called sheltered. Its not open fields or anything (we're on an estate) but we do sometimes get a bit of a wind tunnel effect along the street.
I've also found a couple of Viburnums which might fit the bill: Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn' and Viburnum × bodnantense 'Charles Lamont' RHS describes both of them as Exposure: Sheltered or Exposed. From the pictures I've seen so far they don't look as pretty as a daphne, but they're a lot hardier.
I have one of these, it is really quite lovely too.
http://www.aberdeengardening.co.uk/diary/2010/11/viburnum-plicatum-mariesii/
Hi Mrs Dangermouse. What about sarcococca. Sweetly scented white flowers in winter followed by shiny black berries. It is an evergreen and doesn't intrude very much.
Viburnum bonariensis? - sweetly scented pink blossom through winter - quite densly leafed from spring to autumn. Will grow up to around 2.5m high fairly quickly but can easily be pruned lower - nice vertical growth - not too much lateral. Sturdy plant doesn't mind an exposed site.
Last edited: 12 May 2016 19:16:26
I have that too and like it very much, wouldn't call it shrub though. I have it a the front of one of my beds as it is nice to peer through it and see what is hiding behind.
The choices are endless aren't they.
viburnum bodnantense 'dawn' is lovely, mine is young and only a metre high so far, unsure how high you need, ceanothus? obviously I'd choose a rose over anythin else!! a nice rugosa, roseraie de l'hay? maylower?queen of denmark? sorry, just lost myself there, prob no help! hope you get something lovely