Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

Shrubs

Daphne gnidium

flax-leaved daphne

A slow-growing evergreen shrub, up to around 1.5m high, with a strongly upright habit and narrowly oval-shaped grey-green leaves. Clusters of small, fragrant white flowers are produced from late spring to early autumn, sometimes followed by small red berries

Save to My plants

Ultimate height

1–1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

5–10 years

Ultimate spread

1–1.5 metres

Chalk

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained, Well–drained

pH

Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun
Partial shade

Aspect

East–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Thymelaeaceae
Native to the UK: No
Foliage: Evergreen or Semi evergreen
Habit: Columnar upright
Potentially harmful: TOXIC if eaten, skin irritant. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Genus: Daphne can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs with small, usually very fragrant tubular, 4-lobed flowers, often followed by colourful berries
Name status: Correct
Plant range: Europe, N Africa, SW Asia

How to grow

Cultivation

This species needs excellent drainage, a sandy loam with a roughly neutral pH is ideal. May need winter protection. See daphne cultivation for more details

Propagation

Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings in summer, or by grafting in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Gravel garden
Mediterranean climate plants
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

See pruning groups 1 and 8; pruning is best kept to a minimum

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely), phytophthora root rot, fungal leaf spot and virus diseases

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.