Fragrant Daphne, Winter Daphne                   DAF-ne o-DO-ra

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, grows to 6 ft (2 m) high (occasionally much higher) with a similar spread, mounded, densely branched in sun, much less so in shade.  Leaves simple, alternate, crowded at ends of branches, oblongish to elliptic, 5-8 cm long, narrowed at both ends but bluntly pointed, thick and glossy green.  Flowers appear in early spring, in 2.5 cm terminal heads, they are rosy-purple to deep red, (also a white alba form), with creamy pink throats, very fragrant.  The most fragrant of all the daphnes.  Fruit red and spherical, but uncommon on cultivated specimens.
• Sun, but best in partial shade.  Adaptable to many soil types, but needs good drainage.  Variegated form (i.e., ‘Marginata’) more widely grown than the species.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Native to Japan and China.