RE: favorite fragrant plants
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: RE: favorite fragrant plants
- From: N* M*
- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 10:30:59 -0800
David hit most of my favorites. These below don't
all waft, but I like them anyway:
-Trichostema lanatum/Woolly Blue Curls: the leaves
smell like bubblegum when brushed against
-Pelargonium Tomentosum/Peppermint-Scented
Geranium: again, fragrant when brushed against
-Narcissus/Paper White: naturalizes here
-Jasminum sambac/Pikake: probably not a
Mediterranean plant, but will grow here and
is one of my favorite fragrances
-and finally, many citrus trees
Nancy M. Mueller
Fallbrook, CA
Sunset Zone 23
>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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