Re: favorite fragrant plants
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: favorite fragrant plants
- From: d* f*
- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 23:52:30 -0800 (PST)
I came across the topic of fragrant plants with scents
that waft on another web site about fragrant plants.
I thought it might be interesting to put a
mediterannean climate twist on this, as most of the
posts were about plants for more temperate climates.
I'd be interested to hear what some other people's
favorites are...
It also might be worth noting that scents don't seem
to waft nearly as well in cooler climates like that
found in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is noticeable
when we do get that rare warm night how much better
some scents carry. Some of the plants that are
reliable for fragrance here without warm days/nights:
Pittosporum tobira/Mock Orange- not as deliciously
fragrant as P. undulatum, but still quite nice
Pittosporum undulatum/Victorian Box-it seems to need a
certain critical mass of flowers to be really
noticeable, but the scent can carry for a whole block.
Osmanthus fragrans/Sweet Olive-more noticeable either
very early in the day or in the evening, and just as
easy to grow as a house plant in a bright sunporch.
Daphne odora- especially welcome for coming so early
in mid winter
Brugmansia suaveolens and B. versicolor
hybrids/Angel's Trumpets-the scent is stronger on
warmer evenings, and the white forms and the orange
yellow 'Charles Grimaldi' are usually more fragrant
than 'Frosty Pink'...
Hymensporum flavum/Sweet Shade- smells much like
orange blossoms in late spring/early summer
Jasminum polyanthum/Pink Jasmine-best appreciated
outdoors, as the scent can be overpowering if brought
inside
Trachelospermum jasminoides/Star or Confederate
jasmine- one of those classic smells of summer for
Californians, as it is so ubiquitous throughout the
state
Salvia clevelandii/Cleveland Sage- this one perfumes
the coastal mountains on a spring sunny day, and the
foliage is also strongly scented
Coleonema pulchrum/Breath of Heaven-you have to brush
against this one to catch the scent, and it is the
foliage not the flowers, but a very clean citrusy
smell, and nice winter bloom as well
Beaumontia grandiflora/Easter Lily Vine- better in
warmer southern California, but can also bloom in the
SF Bay Area, and fragrant
Rhododendron occidentale/Western Azalea-very clean
mildly spicy scent, R. fragrantissimum is also quite
nice
Hedychium
flavescens/gardnerianum/flavum/coronarium-are all
equally fragrant, but more scented when blooming in
warmer weather than when still blooming through
winter. The H. flavescens which is still blooming is
barely noticeable for scent now in February compared
to early October, when it was still warm
Luculia intermedia/pinceana-Luculia-both are superb
winter blooming shrubs for cooler mediterannean
climates, and the scent is both strong and clean
Crinum powellii and C. moorei- both are sweetly
fragrant and just right for indoors
Some of the plants mentioned in previous posts that
some might find objectionable:
Cestrum nocturnum- this one is just too powerful for
my taste, and verges on sickly sweet, as can Jasminum
polyanthemum if planted too close to the house
Clerodendrum trichotomum/harlequin Glorybower- I must
admit I never realized that the flowers were fragrant,
but the foliage to me is reminiscent of wet dog rather
than peanut butter to my nose, similar to Melianthus
major
Clerodendrum phillipinum-flowers very fragrant but the
foliage also smells like wet dog
Amaryllis belladonna/Pink Naked Ladies-this one is a
visual knockout when it blooms, but the scent can be
overpowering if brought indoors as a cut flower
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