What kind of daphne are we talking about? IME, some daphnes are more prone to random failure (sudden daphne death) than others. Summer blooming daphnes (D. xburkwoodii, D. xtransatlantica, D. 'Lawrence Crocker') seem to be far less prone to this ailment than the winter or very early spring bloomers like D. odora or bholua.

And with all daphnes, sharp, fast drainage is the key.

It is Daphne Odora. Wonder how it was doing in the pot it came in. Looked almost like a normal potting soil. If needed I will keep it there only as long as it can survive for a year or two.

Good luck! All the ones I bought were awesome until they just died for no reason after trying 6 for several years. None lasted more than 2 years(

I am thinking of putting it in 511 mix to get the fastest possible drainage. But the thing is that I do not have guts to bare root it. Plonking the root ball as it is in the 511 mix does not seem very wise.

As far as raised garden beds is concerned, all the spots under the trees are awash with roots waiting to invade the bed. So kind of dropped the idea.

Is the plant currently in regular nursery potting mix or is it a clay B&B rootball? If the former, you can safely gently loosen the rootball and shake off much of the current mix. If a clay rootball, I'd avoid tampering much as it will pull off a lot of the fine feeder roots and they really dislike root disturbance. Just make sure the clay rootball is very well hydrated and the container is sized large enough to accomodate both it and additional potting mix.

The 5-1-1 mix is a good choice.

So I decided to put in a elevated garden bed of sorts. It is a different spot with not so many roots crowding it.

This is a black colored extra large lawn edger. I rolled it into a cylinder and pinned the ends closed. The result was put on the bare ground and then filled up with garden soil. Gave it a good soak of water. So scared of putting water in it. Damn this plant.

If this one does not survive then I am so going to put a camellia in it.

Also how do I rig this one up to my watering system to it? My watering system is right now on 10 minute every second day. I have choices. I can put a drip in the pot with very slow drip rate. Or I can put a small ring of soaker pipe around it. I cannot put this one on something like 10 minutes per week while others are on 10 minutes per 2 days schedule. Do not have that advanced controller.

I have good luck with Daphne Lawrence Crocker. They are small shrubs so they might work for a container.

Zero luck with Carol Mackie, but I'm sure I'll try it again.

@ctgardenguy (Zone 6) Well I will keep everyone posted as how it is going.

@unclehippie That is a nice looking shrub. Hoping mine also survives for a bit.

Now thinking on how to put it on drip irrigation without killing it.

I'd go lightly with the drip. IME, Daphne odora is quite drought tolerant and doesn't have high water needs. It does very well in my modified Mediterranean climate that remains very dry in summer and without supplemental irrigation. Have never tried to grow in a container though and without the heat you may get in Sydney. The real key is the drainage but the 5-1-1 should address that well.

To be perfectly honest, I do not favor drip irrigation for containers. I don't care to rely on a schedule for any watering needs and it's hard to judge how much water is enough (how long to run the drip). I would prefer to water by hand as needed, flushing the pot fully when I do and then allowing it to dry to a reasonable degree before watering again.

LOL!! This all sounds rather nebulous but how and when to water containers is very much a specific situational issue and every case will be different :-) I would just err on the side of caution until you become accustomed to the plant's needs.

Good luck!

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) The problem is that when we travel there should be something to activate which will keep the plants alive. Drip system is the only solution for me.

What about soaker ring around it? I can put in a tap on the connecting tube to reduce the flow.

Hi guys

Just to chuck my 2p's worth in.

I find it hard to agree with what I am reading. In my limited experience D. odora is easy. I first grew it in S. Devon, England (Zone 8/9). Never got any supplemental watering, and was just plonked straight into the ground. One of the first plants in my first garden. Still going strong 15 years later when I moved to Australia.

In Sydney, I grew one there. The bed consisted of rock, masquerading as ancient, compacted alluvial clay, overlaid with 8"-12" of pure compost. I had attempted to cultivate the "soil", but chucked in the towel when I snapped the blade of a mattock. I decided to let the worms do the work. Supplemental watering, only during long dry periods, consisted of SOAKING the beds every 2-3 weeks. D. odora grew and flourished.

Fof

Edited just to say that D. mezereum, is another matter. I look at one, and it dies.

Looks like they don't like much water. That is good news for me. I put a soaker ring around it and connected it to irrigation pipe which feeds lots of drippers. Well it was an exercise in futility. Nothing came out of the rubber soaker ring anyways. Drippers took away all the water. Lol. Lesson learnt. Don't mix and match.

Will update thread with pics once something good/bad happens.

@Just Started(Sydney)

He he. The joys of "try and see what happens". Done it all my life. :-))))))

It was only after I posted, previously, that I noticed you were in Sydney. Just posting this to give you a frame of reference. I was at Marayong, a bit west of Blacktown, in the middle of the ancient Cumberland flood plain. Very good soil once you manage to get LOTS of organics in - minimum 50% soil/50% compost.

Fof

Ok, so did I again..lol

Just ordered it.

Does anyone have a good suggestions as to how I should plant it and weather I need to protect it in my winters ?

Would you leave it in a pot and bring it into a cold porch for the winter?

I have had 3 tries at these and for some reason they just croak in the summer((

Thank you

Hi Mike

Long time no see.

similar climate to you....I'm on my second Carol Mackie. The first lived at least 15 years even after a tree fell on it and it split. I got rid of it because it was starting to decline in the middle and was getting ugly.

On my second and it's in its 3rd or 4th year; looking fine.

I never protected them in winter. I left them alone watering only the first year and off and on the second. I even pruned the first and it did not falter or get peeved.

Maybe it's one of those plants that does better if it's ignored.....

Hi Marie. It’s been quite a while. Thank you. I think I’ll do what you do. Going to make sure I put some compost and sand to keep it well draining too. I’m glad you are back and I hope you are well. Boy does time fly. Be happy and safe

Off topic

I just took the winter off, but certainly post less at other times,.

I still like to mix up a big batch of 5 1 1 once in a while.

Thanks for good wishes. You could stop by some time.

Time for an update.

Some leaf drop. But overall looks like it will survive first few months.