‘Locked in the tower’ for a decade, and almost forgotten, ‘Perfume Princess’ is set to knock its wicked step mother, Daphne odora, from the throne to reign as the world’s most scented shrub.
Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ has taken more than 10 years to develop and, at one stage, was almost discarded. Having secured limited stocks we are pleased to offer one of the strongest-growing daphne available to gardeners, and customers are already snapping it up! Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ was raised by plant breeder, Mark Jury. The aim was to combine the tough, strong growth habit of Daphne bholua types with the heady fragrance and flowering performance of Daphne odora varieties.
However, Mark found the seed set extremely low, and almost gave up on the project. Finally, he found 6 ripened seeds, yet only one of these went on to germinate. Mark persisted with the offspring but with his focus switching to magnolia breeding, this young daphne plant was left forgotten in a corner of the nursery.
The plant secretly flourished, but it wasn’t until Mark rediscovered it and set it out in the garden that it really came into its own. ‘Perfume Princess’ was a true breeding success, and demonstrated both the characteristics that Mark had hoped for; compact, shrubby foliage growth and heavy flowering. Plants reach a manageable 90-120cm and produce flowers between each leaf, double the size of those on usual odora varieties. Scent is improved too, with flowers offering an alluring fragrance with citrus undertones.
Michael Perry says; “This is one of the most important shrub introductions for many years; this unique hybrid has brought daphne to a new level. ‘Perfume Princess’ produces tough plants, and each stem is literally dripping with potent blooms through spring. No wonder they often call daphne the most fragrant shrub in the world!”
Browse our full collection of scented shrubs, including jasmine, gardenia, lavender and of course daphnes.
Terri works in the e-commerce marketing department assisting the busy web team. Terri manages our blog and social media pages here at Thompson & Morgan and is dedicated to providing useful advice to our gardeners. Terri is new to gardening and keen to develop her horticultural knowledge.
My daphne perfume princess has wilted and the leaves are turning brown is it dying or can I save it
Hi Caroline, I am sorry to hear your daphne is not flourishing. It sounds like the amount of rain we have recently had has been too much for the plant and I would assume it is now dead. Daphnes don’t like too much water and with the inclement weather it has probably damaged it beyond repair. However, if you want to put a picture on our Facebook page I will ask our horti expert to see what he thinks. Kind regards, Wendie
Hi, I just saw Don Burke talking about this plant on Tv. He said it could be grown in Brisbane Do any nursereries up here stock it – I am on the Sunshine Coast. Or can it be purchased online?
Hi Robyn, stocks will be available nationally through Bunnings. Kind regards, Terri