There is a study day of the Genus Deutzia at White House Farm in Kent on Saturday the 24th May. These days at WHF run by Maurice Foster absolutely shouldn’t be missed if there is a chance of getting along. Maurice has been a big fan of these plants for decades and has an unrivalled collection which are ideal in a woodland or open setting. There are many complications within the group and it will be helpful for gardeners to hear Maurice’s views and hopefully this will also precipitate an update within Trees and Shrubs online.

At Tregrehan I have collected together a few of the more tender and evergreen species which do well in the Cornish climate such as the two shown below. D. crassifolia has a superb large truss with emerging young foliage a shade of lilac. Bob Cherry collected seed of this plant when travelling with botanists from the Kunming BG in the 1990’s. It was growing next to a waterfall in the Wuliang shan, Yunnan province, China, giving a clue as to its liking of a shady damp position in the garden. Slugs adore the young leaves and branchlets so protect when young.

Deutzia multiradiata is a cracking foliage plant with glossy leaves above and a silvery appearance on the underside. Worth growing for this feature alone it has clusters of terminal flowers in early summer. Two other evergreens that are performing well are D. pulchra from the Philippines collected by Crug Farm and D. taiwanensis from Howick.