Daphne x bholua Spring Beauty

The Daphne x transatlantica Pink Fragrance is a recent creation with a compact and bushy habit, and an exceptionally long flowering period, as it combines two flowering periods with a short break in summer, for a total duration of almost 6 months! Furthermore, it is both delightfully fragrant and charming, just like the small cushion-shaped shrub on which it blooms. This very hardy Daphne, particularly compact and low-growing, has dense and semi-evergreen to evergreen foliage, and from May onwards it is covered in delicate tubular flowers that are pink in colour with yellow-orange anthers, measuring 2 cm (0.8 in), and highly fragrant, arranged in umbels. Requiring little maintenance, taking up little space, and highly floriferous, this shrub is a true gem for the garden or terrace, in non-chalky soil.

The Daphne x transatlantica is a horticultural hybrid resulting from the cross-breeding between the Daphne caucasica, a botanical species with white flowers and deciduous foliage native to the Caucasus, and the D. collina, evergreen, with pink flowers, native to rocky slopes and scrub vegetation in the Naples region of Italy. These shrubs belong to the Thymelaeaceae family and are cold-resistant montane plants that grow in acidic, well-drained soils that remain moist. It is a slow-growing shrub that does not require pruning.

The Pink Fragrance cultivar was developed by the English Daphne specialist Robin White. It slowly forms a spreading shrub with a rounded or slightly flattened habit, compact, reaching 80 cm (31.5 in) to 1m (3 ft 4 in) in all directions. Exceptionally floriferous, this daphne is adorned with pink buds that open into delicate tubular flowers, pink with yellow-orange anthers, 2 cm (0.8 in) wide, highly fragrant, arranged in small round clusters at the end of each stem. Its flowering is abundant, starting timidly from May and intensifying, with the shrub covered in flowers until July. Flowering slows down in August, then resumes with renewed vigour in September and lasts until October. The lanceolate dark green leaves, with a leathery lamina, are clustered in tufts at the end of the branches, and then spread along the entire length of the current year's stems. They are evergreen in mild and temperate climates during winter, semi-evergreen in cold climates.

The Daphne x transatlantica Pink Fragrance prefers a light, fresh, rich, non-chalky, well-drained soil, in full sun or partial shade. It is a slow-growing shrub that does not require pruning. It is perfect in ericaceous beds, in climates that do not dry out too much, or as a standalone specimen. Its small size also makes it suitable for pots on a terrace, planted in good horticultural compost and watered with non-limestone water. To fully enjoy its fragrance, it is advisable to place it near the house or a pathway. Pair it with Japanese azaleas and acid-loving heathers (Calluna, Daboetia, Erica). Being of mountainous origin, it also appreciates a cool alpine rockery, always in acidic soil, with Lithodora, Roscoea, Liriope muscari.

It is also available in white under the name Eternal Fragrance.

Note: Daphnes can be temperamental plants, and their cultivation can be difficult if the conditions are not suitable. They are best suited for gardeners with experience.