Daphne Perfume Princess named Plant of the Year

LAWNDALE, Calif. -- Tesselaar Plants’ New Daphne Perfume Princess was awarded Plant of the Year at the 2016 Australia Nursery and Garden Center Industry Association’s National Conference, held in Adelaide, South Australia.

"Over the years the awards program has continually evolved, requiring much more from the entrants. This is principally due to the changing industry environment and the subsequent demands put on businesses. Their conscious choice to strive for best practice, sound management, exciting marketing and uncompromising green life quality is particularly commendable" said Mike Mehigan, president of Nursery & Garden Industry Australia.

Perfume Princess var. ‘DapJur01’ was bred by renowned New Zealand plant breeder Mark Jury. The Jury name is synonymous across the global plant sector with magnolias and camellias. With Perfume Princess, Mark’s goal was to combine the sturdy growth habit of Daphne bhuloa types with the heady fragrance and flowering performance of Daphne odora varieties.

A low maintenance and easy-care plant, Perfume Princess produces an abundance of large blush-pink sweetly-scented flowers along each stem. The flowering season is also longer than most daphnes.

“This is both the first and the last daphne to bloom each year in our garden” said breeder Mark Jury. It is evergreen and a vigorous grower that produces attractive large, glossy dark green leaves. Add its capacity to flower down the stem, the sweet citrus undertones of the blossoms and ability to grow in full sun, and Perfume Princess is a daphne that is perfect for containers and in the garden, growing to 4 ft high and 3 ft wide.

During Tesselaar’s extensive trialing, Daphne Perfume Princess has been found to perform best in a well-drained soil and only moderate-to-low watering is required. Their trials have shown that this variety will tolerate full sun (unusual for a daphne), and it has performed well in temperatures ranging from -2°C (28.4°F) through to 40°C (104°F).

Daphne Perfume Princess var. ‘DapJur01’ was released in Australia in March 2015. It’s currently in commercial trials and production in the U.S. and will be released across suitable climate zones as grower production matures. Sales of Daphne Perfume Princess in Australia, New Zealand and Europe have exceeded expectations and the plant has been touted by Australian horticultural expert and host Don Burke as “The Holy Grail of horticulture.” As a result, not only was production increased with the their current grower network, but additional licensed growers were appointed to cover the high demand.

For more information and U.S. availability of Tesselaar’s award-winning Daphne Perfume Princess, visit www.tesselaar.com.