Daphne Eternal Fragrance is a new, floriferous and fragrant variety that, unlike most other species in the genus, flowers in summer without interruption until autumn.
Daphne (x) transatlantica Eternal Fragrance
Daphne is a shrub that I really love; it grows in shade, smells divine, and takes up little space, easily fitting into rockeries, near a house, or even in a pot on a terrace. It’s the kind of bush you plant, forget about, and then it reminds you of its presence during flowering with its powerful and heady fragrance. Most species and varieties have a slow growth rate, with some being very slow, flowering from February-March for the earliest to mid-May to early June for the later species. However, a new hybrid has recently shaken things up.
This is Daphne (x) transatlantica, a small shrub resulting from the hybridization of Daphne sericea and D. caucasica. It has all the characteristics of a Daphne: a rounded, bushy habit, small tubular flowers with four petals, and dark green semi-evergreen foliage. It could be vaguely confused with Daphne odora or Daphne (x) burkwoodii, but this one does not flower in spring; it flowers in summer. To be more precise, it blooms from late spring, around June, until the end of July, pauses in August, and then flowers again in September until the first frosts. It flowers profusely AND, icing on the cake, it smells wonderful; its fragrance is actually much stronger when the shrub is grown in full sun.
In summary, Daphne (x) transatlantica flowers from June to October, is highly fragrant (less so than Daphne odora but more than Daphne burkwoodii), and comes in white: 'Eternal Fragrance' and pink: 'Pink Fragrance'.
Daphne Eternal Fragrance in July, planted in a 10cm pot two and a half years ago, the shrub now measures about 60cm in diameter.
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