What’s The Trouble With DAPHNE...?

Press, Volume C, Issue 29637, 6 October 1961, Page 10

What’s The Trouble With DAPHNE...?

Daphne odora I mean, of 1 course, the sweet-scented i winter-flowering shrub, i There has been a spate of i inquries about it in the last i week or so. The most fre- i quent query has concerned i non-flowering. This is al- i ways a poser to answer with i accuracy, for there fre- 1 quently isn’t a valid reason why a plant doesn’t bloom. 1 Some plants have reputa- ’ tions for being erratic flow- < erers. Gentiana acaulis is one. i It flowers badly in some I gardens, yet parts of the i same plant will often bloom 1 profusely in another garden. 1 Why?—nobody knows. In the case of Daphne I odora and its variety leu- 1 canthe, the poor display 1 which some gardeners have < experienced this season is possibly connected with the i weather. Not the weather 1 now—that which we experi- i enced six months ago! Quite a number of flowering shrubs < are very sensitive to sum- 1 mer and autumn tempera- ’ tures and rainfall. And when I the season is one with less i sunshine and more moisture I than usual—as last season's < was—then the wood doesn’t 1 ripen properly, so that flower i buds are sparser, or even ab- ' sent. The buds develop long < before they actually unfold— 1 during the summer and I autumn, ao obviously the ' weather then has a con- I trolling influence on how 1 well or bow badly the buds are set. Several leading horticulturists with whom I i have discussed this question i give the unanimous opinion ■ that if there is a traceable ; cause for non-flowering, then < this is probably it 1 Fasciation and Mosaic ■ Another complaint to i which Daphne odora is liable t is fasciation. In this trouble f the flowent occur in very i dense clusters cm abnormal stems which develop a strap- i like shape. The cause is un- 1

known, and it is as well to remove these abnormal growths when seen. If they are left they are liable to die out in parts, and also to produce further fasciated growths. New buds developed from below this region are quite healthy, however. The majority of stocks of Daphne odora are infected with mosaic virus, which causes mottled yellow markings on the leaves. On new growth produced in semishaded conditions the leaves very often look healthy, but I have seen apparently healthy plants produce the typical mottlings when exposed to brighter light. Like fasciation, there is little that can be done about this trouble. Most conscientious nurserymen do try to obtain healthy propagating material and this is the best answer. Daphne odora and leucanthe grown in too hot a place are apt to loose their vigour, and become attacked by sucking insects, especially aphis and scales. The foliage becomes yellow, and often is covered with a sooty black mould. This material is produced by a fungus which lives on the secretions of honey-dew the insects produce. Kill the insects with malathion sprays, give ample water and a feed with nitrogen. and your plants should perk up. A Filial Tip Finally, here is a tip given me by Mr M. J. Barnett. recent Director of Parks and Reserves in Christchurch. If you have a plant of Daphne odora which has become rather sprawly—don't be tempted to lift it on a framework to give it a more compact shape. This frequently causes the death of the plant due to its resent ment of ground draughts which result. Put up with the sprawl shape—and keep your plant