Looking like it’s covered by a dusting of snow is our garden specimen of Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Kaori Hime’. This amazing plant is adorned, starting in early November, with thousands of sweetly scented, small white flowers. In Japan, the word “hime” literally translates to young lady of nobility, such as a princess. In plant names, however, it’s used to denote plants that are smaller than normal for the species. In the case of Osmanthus ‘Kaori Hime’, the only thing small is the size of the leaves and flowers. Although it’s often listed as a dwarf, it’s anything but that. Our twelve year-old specimen measures 9′ tall x 14′ wide, and shows no signs of slowing growth. We absolutely love the plant, but be sure to allow enough room. We think it’s great as a specimen plant, or a screen, where you have plenty of width. Hardiness is Zone 7a-9a, at least.
Plant names are always a moving target and specs on tags vary widely. I think I saw a Daphne variety called Perfume Princess but it wasn’t any smaller in habit or foliage than Daphne odora, in fact it is promoted at having denser foliage and flowers and as more disease resistant than other Daphnes but in my experience it is just as sensitive or more in NC zone 8a, Garden Treasures Nurseryman Pat McCracken tells the story of the ‘dwarf’ characterization of Osmanthus h. Kaori Hime being another plant tag misinformation faux pas,; still I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a specimen of Kaori Hime as large and rounded as yours at JLBG. It must really like your conditions . I have a few Karori Hime that have been in the ground 2 -3 yrs and are approx 2-3ft W X 4-5Ft T in full sun, part-shade and light-shade. All seem to be flowering equally well, I do expect the plants that get less direct sun to grow slower and be more leggy. If the ones in full-sun reach similar size as yours I will have a nice wall of rather tall & robust princesses to deal with, that can be a tough job. A least they’re not Queen Bees, I’m allergic, thankfully I just refilled my Epi Pens.
Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ is a beautiful plant, but is better in cool summer climates, since it is half D. bholua, which will not live here. Our Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ lasted 2 years in the crevice garden.