Think of This Beauty as the Perennial Cousin of Daphne

Name:Himalayan stellera (Stellera chamaejasme)

Zones:4–8

Size:15 to 18 in tall and spacious

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day ; well - drained soil

Native range : Northern China and Tibet

This is a bona fide , completely irrational , lust plant . I know I ca n’t arise it in my Kentucky garden ; it ’s too hot here in the summer , there ’s not nearly enough C. P. Snow cover in winter , and there ’s not an Panthera uncia of scree within air mile . But lust is a fickleand despotic creature . Most members of the genusDaphneand its family Thymeleaceae are woody shrubs that are sublimely beautiful and excruciatingly frustrating to grow . The kiss of expiry is noticing how good your daphne is looking , at which point you may be sure it will be half - dead inside of three twenty-four hour period . But the delicate mannikin and fragrance of daphne — there ’s not much that can liken . However , the fact that daphnes are almost impossible to grow make them all that much more beguiling .

Now move that description to a eminent Tibetan alpine vale , make the plant not woody but herbaceous , and you arrive at a horticultural heaven that Kurt Cobain never could have suppose . Himalayan stellera has delicate erect stems and later spring to early summer blooms . The flowers can range from a productive garden pink to an perfectly inspired yellow , and then there ’s the sweetness . I have only get wind this plant doubly in soul , and only once in flush . The sample size was n’t consuming , but if one reflexion counts for anything , this matter should be bottled and sold for half its weighting in amber . It ’s really that good .

The Expert : Paul Cappiellois executive manager of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood , Kentucky .

From Fine Gardening # 193

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