Daphne odora Sweet Amethyst

The Daphne odora 'Sweet Amethyst' is a delightful variety of Fragrant Daphne recently obtained in New Zealand. It is distinguished by the purplish colour of its flower buds, the soft pink of its flowers, but also by the abundance, duration, and intense jasmine fragrance of its flowering. The bush blooms in late winter and early spring, at the end of branches adorned with beautiful foliage that remains decorative all year round, even outside of flowering. It is a hardy, rare, and precious plant for adding colour to shaded areas of the garden or rockery in winter. Offer it a very well-drained, dry soil in summer, poor, neutral to acidic, and a gently sunny exposure.

The Daphne odora, also known as 'Winter Daphne', is an evergreen bush of the thyme family native to Asia, mainly China and Japan. While this beautiful shrub is sensitive to frost, it has generated many cultivars that are much more cold-resistant, easier to grow, and with enhanced ornamental qualities.

The sweet-scented Daphne 'Sweet Amethyst' was discovered in 2009 as a mutation of branches that appeared on a plant of Daphne odora 'Cameo'. The bush has a fairly slow growth and a bushy, spreading, semi-dwarf habit. At maturity, it will reach about 1m (3 ft 4 in) in height and 1.20m (3 ft 11 in) in spread. Its upright 'candelabra' branches are composed of smooth, bare, grey lower branches, and upright branches carrying evergreen foliage. The entire leaves are elliptical-ovate in shape, they are thick, glossy, and measure 8cm (3.1 in) in length by 2cm (0.8 in) in width. Their colour is a very bright light green, almost acid at bud burst.

Flowering takes place from March to April, for about 6 weeks. The small waxy-looking flowers are grouped in clusters of 7 to 12 units, in inflorescences measuring 18cm (7.1 in) in length by 25cm (9.8 in) in width, at the end of branches. Each one, arising from a pointed bud of dark reddish-purple, opens into a tubular corolla with 4 petals of a soft mauve-pink. Their fragrance is both very powerful and intoxicating, capable of perfuming the garden within a radius of 20m (65 ft 7 in)! This fragrance, complex, both sweet and rustic, reminiscent of carnation, jasmine, hyacinth, enhanced with a spicy hint of cloves and lemon.

Whether in the ground or in a container, place the Daphne odora Sweet Amethyst near a walkway to enjoy its intoxicating fragrance, in shade or partial shade, in an acidic soil rich in humus. This bush does not tolerate heatwaves but is fine with dry soil in summer. Perfect in a semi-shaded rockery, it blends well with ericaceous plants such as Kalmia, dwarf Rhododendrons, Japanese maples, Chinese azaleas, autumn or Japanese camellias. You can also pair it with heathers as well as winter aconites, daffodils, or crocuses.

Note: Daphnes can be high-maintenance and difficult to cultivate. They are best suited for experienced gardeners.