Quackin Grass Nursery

Daphniphyllum himalaense var. macropodum (UNSEXED) - Gorgeous broad-leaf evergreen with heavy-textured 8-inch green elliptical leaves and bright candy red petioles. Large shrub is hardy to coastal Connecticut, no doubt up to Boston. (We haven't attempted it inland yet.) Males set lovely pink flowers from red-purple buds arranged in numerous racemes at the leaf axils; females set green flowers at the petioles followed by chains of blue fruits with a glaucous bloom which are in glorious contrast to those red leaf stems. They flower on old wood. This remarkable shrub has a distinctly tropical appearance but exhibits surprising hardiness (USDA zone 6b). Though we do not know who may have introduced this beautiful plant to western cultivation none other than Dan Hinkley gives high praise to this species and the genus at large. Site in dappled to open shade in more southerly haunts though we expect it to be more sun-tolerant in the north. It may be possible to prune this beauty into a single-stemmed small specimen tree. Plant Daphniphyllum himalaense var. macropodum in fertile moisture retaining soil. It would be wise to shelter it from winter's desiccating winds especially in the northern range. Daphniphyllum grows 7 to 8 feet tall and quite possibly taller in the northern zones but larger in the south. Established shrub, seed grown.