Sigh. DIsappointments.

I tried migonette this year, have read of it's legendary fragrance.
Alas, to me, NOTHING.
Anyone else care to share their disappointments?

Had to look that up (Reseda odorata ) as I'd never heard of it. Funny (not really) that other DGer said the same that you did re scent. Wish I had some insight but as I said this is the first i've heard of it. Have you tried catching it's scent at various times of day/night?

I can relate to your disappointment. Mine is Freesia. Lovely flowers and fragrance, but the flowers are so floppy, I should have planted them in hanging baskets!

Artemiss- I tried the mignonette as well. Also nothing. I won't say it was a credible seed source, however. I didn't know about the plant until I foudn the seed packet at a craft store. The flowers were very tiny, the plant was difficult to grow, and it had a tiny bit of fragrance off and on on a good day. I eventually yanked the plants out of the pot because I thought they were a waste of good soil.

chantell, reseda is used greatly in perfume making. I thought it was a warmer climate kinda plant, but can't say fer sure. I know a lady in a nearby town that has this huge patch of reseda. I haven't been interested enough in getting some, but I think I need to change that.

Well now...go take a "sniff test" for us and report back...ok? ^_^ Always happy to add another fragrant plant to the "wish list" LOL

That sounds like a funny thread we could get going. "Fragrance disappointments"! Mine were Freesia. Ok, they're pretty. But you have to almost stick one inside your nostrils to feel the scent!
Rob

Rob, I had that problem the first time I grew them. The ones I got this year are very fragrant. I just hate the floppiness of them. I even followed the temp guidelines I found online to keep them from flopping. They are like boneless plants!

Yep. Mine were in planters and I still had to stake them. But do you feel the fragrance from afar or do you also have to get super close? I like plants that SPREAD their perfume, like cestrum nocturnum....know what I mean?

Hmph...wish I knew what you meant but year 3 here attempting to grow that and NO blooms yet....grrrr

I can smell these from a few feet away. Actually I think they smell like a man's cologne..lol

Woooo Hoooo....now that would be a fragrance I'd like...anything spicy

Hello Everyone
I was reading your posts and thought about 'distance' fragrances.....my vote for long distance is edgeworthia. I have a shrub in the back and when I get home from work in the winter ---and on certain days/early evening it greets me at the front door. For the longest time I wondered which neighbor was doing their wash at that time of day and what the heck they were using in the dryer because it smelled so great.

Too funny! I love it. Interested in trading any cuttings? PLMK!

I've not been able to get cuttings to survive. Sometimes a sprout will come from the root and if I yank it --a small amount of root will come with it and that does well. If I have one, you can have it.

dmail me to remind.

Great photo of edgeworthia, my friend has one and is ready to yank it out--bloomed great the first year, then nothing for 2 years, he says it may be our heat?

So glad I wasn't alone on the freesias & mingonette. Another disappointment was "Angel Trumpet" 4'o'clocks. Please see my thread on fragrant annuals by seed, I had a long talk with Select Seeds today!
Vi

I've one facing west so gets lots of heat and right next to foundation so lots of reflected heat. The others on each side of the back deck stairs --east facing. Maybe hot enough cold as opposed to heat since it blooms dead of winter.

Reseda odorata was a disappointment for me. I posted an article in another thread that talks about the necessity of finding first generation seed bred from reputable sources. I suggest trying a cultivar like "Machete".

Chantall knows I have a different nose for some kinds of scents. I enjoy the fresh fragrance of jasminum nitidum, but it's very mild to my nose. I find buddleia too sugary, kind of cloying. The same with passiflora caerulea, which to me has an undertone of mothballs.

I have learned to love the fragrance of daturas (I have a history of descriptions regarding their fragrance.) I can't say it smells any better to me when the flower first opens. It still curls my nosehairs when I sniff it right in the flower, but I love the fragrance wafting on the breeze.

Gardenia jasminoides var Veitchii, or at least the plant I have, is a pale imitation of gardenia fragrance. I love the fruitiness of Kleim's Hardy. For me, Veitchii up close has that odd, off-putting smell that Kleim's totally lacks.

Fragrance is a very subjective thing. :)

-Joe

Adding to the list: Sweet Autumn Clematis...just "ain't" doin' anything for me. I've had it 2 years now. It's covered in blooms currently...and nada....considering the space it takes I'm just not thinking it's a keeper....not when I can replace it w/another honeysuckle that both the hummers and I can enjoy

Na-an Chantell! Don't say that! Yesterday I got my first SA Clematis blooms and I was so happy with their fragrance! OK, i give it to you that it's not a gardenia or jasmine like perfume..but a light "pretty" scent! Plus, it's blooming for me on the North side of the house where it gets very little sun! Anything that blooms in the shade gets my vote!
R ; )

R - now I wasn't saying I was going to compost it....mercy!! But will probably cut it back - dig it up and see if someone wants to swap something good for it. I'll do another sniffer test tonight...but honestly thinking it needs replaced...maybe the scent on yours is different since we have different climates/soil etc.

Our SA clematis had a wonderful, sweet scent. Stronger in the afternoon/early evening. But, ours was old. The trunks were about 3" in diameter. Maybe age has something to do with it?

Still, hubby dug it up because it was just too invasive for our tiny yard. It took him two years to get the roots out so it wouldn't come back.

Man, whoever that was said they couldn't smell autumn clematis, your nose is broke! Have you noticed if you can smell *anything*?

I sympathise anybody with SA clematis who doesn't want it. There's no cutting back, sorry. It's either all over your yard or you've agent oranged the whole place and you're starting over. It's what we had to do. Never seen anything so invasive. It was up the house, over the roof, up all the trees, all over the chain link, popping up in the middle of the lawn...

The one good thing I could say about it is when I let it screen off my porch on the front of my house, every bird for miles came up and made nests in it and I had more little wild babies on my porch that year than my whole life put together. What fun! Pulled all kinds of nests out of that thing when I finally pulled it down.

Melis

The first time that hubby tried to chop down the SA it only came back stronger. This was taken a year ago. It had come back, climbed the 6' fence, and what you can't see is that it also climbed over our cable wire (if you look real hard you can see the wire coming out the side at the right). At the bottom you can sorta see how big the trunk was.

The bees and butterflies sure did like it. If it would stay put, I'd love to grow it again. But it made me feel bad when I saw it invading the yards of my neighbors on both sides.

HEY, Datura metel Black Currant Swirl is DELICIOUS. :) I am so happy to have found a dat I don't have to compromise with. Her perfume wafts on the breeze, and it is exquisite. Very much like a spicy citrus scent. Black currant swirl is an UNcompromise for me. :)

-Joe

It's probably the individual differences between noses. That, together with people fiddling with the breeding of different kinds of plants. I've noticed as people breed roses they so often lose the scent as they reach for different forms, colors, kinds of foliage and such. As they reached for more colorful flowers and double flowers, they seem to have lost the perfume of a lot of the daturas for most people.

As for individual differences, I know most of my friends can't seem to smell anything around petunias, but they smell overwhelmingly spicy to me, and I can smell them a block off if someone's got some planted and the sun's shining on them. But not the 'wave' ones! There's nothing there that I can smell!

If our noses were all exactly the same, we'd all be highly paid perfume specialists and coffee and tea tasters and such.

Melis, sniffing her petunias.

I've always wondered about petunias. Sometimes I can detect a scent and sometimes I can't.

Regarding Petunias gotta check em' out latter part of the day...early evening into the night...their spiciness fills the yard...BUT only some of them. Sure everyone's tired of hearing me say it...but the plain ole cheapo dark purple generics at your big box stores...smell heavenly.
Joe!!! You mean you like one...you really like one...so if you have seeds to share please dmail me - signed the begger

Chantell, "your nose is broke", hahaha! That was so funny Melis! : )
Joe, I've ALWAYS wanted to try Black Currant! Can I join in the begging? hehe... I have Belle Blanche covered in seed pods if you'd like some! Chantell, I can get you some if you like too!
Roberta

Let's pray the growing season lasts long enough for the seeds to set. These have grown like crazy for me. I will post pics later. Yah, I'll share seeds. I am thrilled with the fragrance of these.

-Joe

Awesome!

Does anyone recognize THIS one? I know I can post in the Dat forum as well just wondering cuz I haven't really taken a sniffer of this one. LOL Not a great pic as I sorta missed the peak on the one but at least you get the idea. FYI - I'll have PLENTY of seeds of this - there are about 5-6 seed pods on it now.

This message was edited Aug 21, 2008 3:02 PM

Isn't that black currant???

Ohhhh Jooooeeee....does this bloom look like yours?

That looks like a double. Mine is triple. :)

-Joe

So sad....well put me on the list if you do get seeds, please and thank you.

What's sad, C?

Ees not sad, I'll trade you trips for doubles. :))) Ees happy! :)

-Joe

Ahhh I was just whining that I didn't have what Joe did.

Joe - sounds like a good trade to me!!! Any trick as to when those pods are ripe though?

I too would like a datura that's both purple AND fragrant. the 'metel' ones are all too often scentless, I'm told.

I've been dying to try a datura. I'm a little scared of them, but am in *love* with the idea of a moonlit garden full of perfume. Shoot, I'd sleep out there if I could get that going! I used to sleep out there sometimes, just to enjoy the cool breezes. There was no rose garden then... of course there was no compost pile and no critter raiding it either so maybe I'll just stay inside in the air conditioning!-M