February Plant of the Month
This shrub’s wonderfully fragrant flowers are wafting their scent towards my front door today. The scented flowers aren’t showy but form clusters of blooms which are pink on the outside and white within. Flowers February-March.
Daphne ‘Jacqueline Postill’ is an ideal shrub for a small garden because it is slow growing and upright in habit, growing to about 1.8m high and 1m wide. Although it is classed as evergreen, I find it is more semi-evergreen, so expect some loss of foliage. The leaves are leathery, mid-green and oval.
Grow Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. A sheltered portion is preferred. Daphnes dislike transplanting and should only be pruned when absolutely necessary.
Not an easy shrub to find on offer. I spotted mine for sale at a Cheshire nursery a few years ago. The grower said he wouldn’t be offering it again as it was difficult to propagate and slow to reach a decent size. Glad I grabbed it when I could!
