Daphne

Value to bees

Nectar

High

Pollen

Moderate

As a honey crop

Not a honey source

Which bees, and why

The tubular flowers suit long-tongued visitors, so emerging bumblebee queens and the hairy-footed flower bee are the principal users. Moths visit at night, drawn by the scent.

A narrow tube requiring a reasonably long tongue, which limits it to bumblebees, flower bees and moths.

Worth knowing

A good early nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.

Flowering

In flower

January to April (northern hemisphere)

Very early, with winter daphne opening in January and mezereon in February and March.

Growing it

Conditions

Part shade on moist, free-draining, humus-rich soil. Daphnes resent both drought and waterlogging and dislike root disturbance intensely.

Size

0.5-1.5 m tall depending on species.

Native range

Europe and Asia. Daphne mezereum is native to European woodland; Daphne odora is Chinese and Japanese.

Suits

Small gardens, Containers and window boxes, Large gardens

• Do not move it once planted — daphnes resent root disturbance and frequently die after being transplanted.
• Mulch to keep the roots cool and moist, and do not let it dry out in summer.
• Short-lived by shrub standards; a decade is a good run and sudden death without warning is characteristic.

What it looks like

Small shrubs with clusters of small tubular four-lobed flowers, pink to purple in mezereon and pink-flushed white in the winter daphne, borne on bare or leafy stems and powerfully scented.