If you want beautiful florals and fragrance in your garden from late spring, all through the summer, Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume should be on your radar!
How to grow Philadelphus Pearls of PerfumeFlowering time: May to August Location: Mixed borders Soil: Well-draining soil Light: Sun or semi-shade Water: Water well throughout the growing until plants are established Care: After flowering, cut back stems to a healthy bud and remove a fifth of the old stems to ground level Size: 120cm (height) x 60cm (width) |
What’s different about this plant?
Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume is a breakthrough in breeding, being the first Philadelphus that flowers all throughout the summer. How? It flowers on both old and current growth, which results in a super long flowering season.
Its large, double blooms balloon to around two to three inches in diameter and feature an intoxicating scent that would make any passerby want to stop and have a sniff!
With small, mid-green leaves, this Philadelphus really lets the flowers do the talking. They bloom all along the length of the branches, making the plant appear dense and robust.
How was this plant created?
Rick Grazzini of GardenGenetics in Pennsylvania, USA, is forever on the lookout for what is, in his opinion, the perfect Philadelphus – and Pearls of Perfume ticks a great many of his boxes.
In 2005 or 2006, Rick harvested seed from the variety ‘Minnesota Snowflake’. Back then, he knew philadelphus as a May-flowering, somewhat gangly shrub, but with a really intense floral fragrance. In his eyes, it was one of those common border plants that had potential, but needed much work for improvement.
When he launched GardenGenetics in 2007, one of the first packets of seed he sowed was that which he collected from Minnesota Snowflake. He made a few seedling selections in 2007, and in the same timeframe, also collected a dozen or so philadelphus varieties available in their regional nurseries or via mail order. He began to hybridise those first seedling selections with the commercial plants, and began a typical inbred (breeding) line development process (inbred development is a process by which the breeder envisions a final hybrid across five or more generations in the future, and methodically builds the eventual parent lines needed to create that hybrid).
Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume was selected for its ability to branch quickly and densely from its base; ease of rooting from softwood cuttings; healthy foliage for an entire season; compact habit (less than 150cm); top-to-ground leaf covering; and novel flower form.
Rick said, “As an ornamental plant breeder, I am rarely completely satisfied with a released variety. I already have potential improvements on the way, and am continuing to make new hybrid crosses.”
Where can you plant Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume?
A medium-height, dense shrub, Pearls of Perfume would look incredible standing out in a border as a landscaping or specimen plant. For bonus points, place it by a path, seating area or doorway so that you can catch a whiff of its beautiful scent as you walk past.
This plant suits a sunny area, or a location in semi-shade. Plant it in well-draining soil to allow it to thrive.
Where can you buy Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume?
You can buy Philadelphus Pearls of Perfume in the UK from Suttons and Thompson & Morgan, and in Ireland from Gardens4You.
Plant of the Month is sponsored by Plantipp, a company based in The Netherlands who handle the introduction of new plants into Europe.
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Images courtesy of Plantipp.
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook. You can also listen to The Plant Based Podcast with Michael and co-host Ellen-Mary on iTunes, Spotify and Google.
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Catherine Farrell
I liked the fountain and the Philadelphus and have spent ages looking for them on the net today (30th April), but they are all sold out…everywhere.
Is that the result of the new “Perry Effect” ?? Suppliers must be loving you!
Well done for building up to being such a Horti Influencer.