SWEET DAPHNE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1010, 28 June 1930, Page 30

SWEET DAPHNE

' How many times have you stood in j I the garden and then exclaimed, “All, J I there's a ds.phne bush not far away.’' j ilt is wonderful how even a small I daphne shrub will perfume the air. j There are many varieties of daphne. j but the sweet-scented kind so delightfully familiar is a native of China. Two of these are most popular —rubra, which bears sweetly-scented crimson, flowers, and alba, with the underside of the petals creamy white. Daphne plants are quite hardy. They may be transplanted into the open ground from pots when established, or they may be grown in tubs. A par-tially-shaded position is best. The , best time for planting out is in the j early spring. See that the soil drain- | age is good, whether growing the l daphne in pots, tubs or the open ! ground. \ The propagation of the daphne is | by layering or by growing on from j cuttings. Layering is usually done in November when the side growths are pegged into the soil. To strike cuttings, take them from wellripened wood, making the cuttings about three inches long. Insert in sandy soil under glass till rooted, when they should be carefully lifted with a ball of earth and replanted in a pot for growing on. The flowering period for daphne is front May till August.