Advice needed on growing Daphne tangutica

[Erik F.]

I've spent quite some time searching the web but was surprised to find scant information that seemed reliable on growing Daphne tangutica. A search of this forum turned up several posts, but none seemed to go into much detail about cultivation. I would greatly appreciate some advice from people who have had first-hand experience with D. tangutica.

• Exposure to sunlight: Full sun to light shade is what most sites mention, but I was wondering if it would do well on the north side of a house where it might be in almost full sun in summer but full shade in winter. It wouldn't be right up against the house, so it wouldn't be in very deep shade.
• Soil: I've found a few recommendations of porous, fertile soil. Well, porous is a given, but would a sandy soil without much organic matter suit it?
• Water needs: "Moist soil" and "don't let it dry out in summer" seem to be common recommendations, but how drought-tolerant would an established D. tangutica be in a Mediterranean climate with very dry summers? And what about tolerance of winter wet, with average winter lows above 0°C and extremes never below -10°C?

Thanks in advance!

Erik

[Darren]

Erik,

We grow many Daphnes and tangutica is extremely vigorous in our garden.

I can't comment on the exposure to sun in your location. We have other evergreen Daphne (not tangutica) close to a north facing fence that are in full shade from november to february and don't seem to mind.

Our soil is very limy silt (pH7.7) with little organic matter. The Daphnes put their roots down into the limestone rubble we call bedrock. This would help them survive drought, though that is rarely a problem in North West England. Tangutica has certainly survived a couple of dry periods lasting a few months without trouble.

Winter wet is something we have lots of and tangutica has no problems at all, though our soil is very free draining so waterlogging never happens.

Tangutica can easily reach over a metre in diameter in just a few years. Ours keeps obstructing a path so we just hack it back with hedge clippers. It re-shoots even from old wood very easily. Retusa is a better bet if space is limited and is very similar but slower growing.

[Martinr]

My tangutica cope with several months of shade in winter and with a heavy clay soil also waterlogged for several months in winter and baked bone hard in summer. Ii suspect it's indestructible!

[Erik F.]

Darren & Martin,

Sorry it's taken me so long to acknowledge your responses, but in this age of instant notifications I simply forgot.

Darren, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share all this extremely useful information. Martin, thanks a lot for your comments about the extremes that D. tangutica endures in your garden, which make me feel a lot more confident about one of my plans.