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Burkwood Daphne

Daphne (DAF-nee berk-WOOD-ee-eye)

Family: Thymelaeceae Non-native Shrub (3-15 ft)

Burkwood Daphne is a hybrid daphine with D. caucasica and D. cneorum as parents. It was bred in the 1920's by the English nurserymen Albert and Arthur Burkwood. It is a rounded, dense semi-evergreen shrub that grows 3-4 feet tall and nearly as wide. Daphnes can be difficult to grow and are reported to sometimes died for no apparent reason. The early summer blooms are quite fragrant and beautiful but the red berries that follow are poisonous to mammals. Give your Daphne a well-drained area and moist soil and mulch to grow in. They need protection from the hot afternoon sun and cold winds. Once planted it is best to leave it undisturbed as they are slow to establish. Use in a woodland garden, as a specimen or foundation shrub. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Potential diseases include leaf spots, canker, twig blight, crown rot and virus. Potential insect pests include aphids, mealybugs and scale.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 51 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 3 - Shrub (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Clematis x hybrida Lonicera x heckrottii Zabelia tyaihyoni

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Shrub
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Mounding; Multi-stemmed; Rounded; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Semi-evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Oblanceolate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Lanceolate dull blue-green leaves are 1-2 inches long by 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Umbel
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Pink-tinged flowers which open white in 2-inch umbels in May-June. May rebloom in early fall.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit color
Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Small red drupes in summer to fall. Poisonous to mammals
Bark color
Light Brown; Light Gray
Bark detail
Smooth light gray to tan.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Asia, Europe, N. Africa
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Drupe
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Woodland
Landscape theme
Asian Garden; Cottage Garden; Garden for the Blind
Design feature
Border; Foundation Planting; Specimen
Garden tags
#deciduous #summer flowers #white flowers #fragrant flowers #shrub #semi-evergreen #pink flowers #poisonous fruits #well-drained soil #partial shade tolerant
Problems & Resistance
Propagation
Seed; Stem Cutting

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.