As I walk around my garden anticipating the start of spring, I notice three outstanding plants in bloom: the Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata), the Winter Jasmine (Jasmine nudiflorum) and the Winter Daphne (Daphne odora).
The Star Magnolia is a glorious small, deciduous tree native to Japan which displays its white, star-shaped flowers profusely in late winter or early spring before the leaves appear. It can reach a height of 24 feet and form multiple trunk. The Star Magnolia is best grown in full sun in a moist, well-drained soil in zones 4a-8a, and it attracts pollinators.
Winter Jasmine
The Winter Jasmine is a slender, semi-evergreen shrub native to China with arching shoots bearing bright yellow ½-¾ inch flowers before the leaves appear in winter and early spring. It spreads by rooting where the stems touch the soil and can grow up to 4 feet high and 7 feet wide.
Winter Jasmine makes an excellent bank cover. It is drought tolerant and can tolerate partial shade in zones 6a-10a.
Winter Daphne
Last but not least is the Winter Daphne. This heavenly-scented small broadleaf evergreen shrub native to China, Vietnam, and Taiwan is grown for its very fragrant, fleshy, pale-pink flowers. Blooms appear in winter and can be planted in sun to partial shade in moist, very well-drained soil that should dry out between waterings.
Daphne is a slow grower and can reach a height of 4 to 6 feet and 2 to 4 feet wide though mine has never reached that tall. Bees are attracted to the nectar and pollen and butterflies, moths and flies to nectar in winter. It can easily be propagated by stem cuttings. Zones 7a-9a.
Resources
The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk, 1996.
hpic.clemson.edu – Clemson Cooperative Extension, Clemson University, February 2, 2021.
plants.ces.ncsu.edu – North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
