Plants for Fragrance

[Kelena]

My front yard (I have a front yard!!!) is very pretty, and gets the trades very well, as does most of Puna. It is, however, devoid of any plants with fragrance. It was designed with aesthetics in mind, I guess. What plants provide a fragrance that carries well on a nice, lowspeed tradewind. John introduced me to one called, I think, puakinikini. Any others you can think of?

[Carey]

Not native, but beautiful smelling, include the Mexican plumeria & Tahitian gardenia (both of which were in the yard of the house we rented down by shore in HPP) Another non-native that is invasive, hense might not be a good idea, but has a mystical scent is the night jasmine.

[janeadams]

Glen,

Likulia
Fragrant Vireyas!!!! (am I prejudiced or what?)
Native gardenias
Citrus in bloom

Note about plumeria -- they don't like our damp areas much. rust is a constant problem, but the aroma is heavenly.

Jane

[macuu222]

I second on the Tahitian gardinia. We have 2 mature trees in our yard (one in front of the house and one behind it). They continually flower and their fragrance keeps our house smelling wonderful no matter which way the trades blow.

[Mitzi M]

Believe it or not, male halas produce a sweetly fragrant flower. Puna's fragrant halas are even mentioned in ancient mele. Anther fragrant native lovely is Alahe'e (Psydrax odorata). It can make a nice hedge or small to medium tree and has small clusters of very fragrant white flowers. They are also native to upper and lower Puna. I'm partial to gardenias as well. The native, G. brighamii, would probably do well for you and smells divine (and I happened to notice it is one of the plants on Jane's Whitecloud Nursery website) I also just discovered a really neat (but non-native) trailing groundcover gardenia that gets about 8"-1' high and has 2" flowers that look and smell just like larger gardenias (G.augusta). There's even a variegated form. Sometimes Tamala has that one at Maku'u market, first row, by the parking lot.

Uluhe Design
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com

Edited by - mitzi m on 09/03/2007 12:11:01

[missydog1]

I like the Indian or cinnamon gardenia even better than the others. It wafts really well.

Puakenikeni eventually becomes a large tree, so keep that in mind when you choose its location.

I love the fragrant ixora -- this isn't the common orange-red one you see in all the shopping malls. I got mine at Garden Exchange, ask them about the fragrant one.

It ramps up its fragrance at night.

I have to say that night blooming jasmine smell makes me feel literally nauseated -- and your neighbors will smell it too, so I would check out whether you like it and to be a good neighbor ask them. People either love this fragrance or hate it with a passion and think of it as a blight -- as I do. Even Sunset warns that it's too intense for many people -- and not like intense in a good way! To me it smells like something is dead. It is not a true jasmine, by the way; it is a cestrum.

Pikake (Arabian jasmine, a true jasmine) is a great fragrance too.

I love angel's trumpet (brugmansia), but it likes a lot of water, and it too is a potent fragrance, but I find it intoxicating. YMMV

[nanasohana]

Moon flower is a quick growing vine with huge white blossums that open starting in late afternoon, very easy to grow from seed. Fragrance is wonderful and wafts into the house with light breezes. I have it growing on my chainlink fence.

[allensylves]

I am one of those people that loves night blooming jasmine. However I will not plant it when we move to Hawaii because it is known to be an invasive in Hawaii. It even spreads and survives the winters here in Baton Rouge, but is controllable.
Plumeria likes good drainage and definitely not wet feet. I have (had?) a couple on 29th in HPP, but they have never looked that great when I have been there - of course they essentially get no care. I think I would plant them in full sun on a 'turtleback' or ridge of cinder with an organic mulch. Since I have about a couple hundred +/- year-old seedlings here now, I am definitely going to try, especially when I do not have to worry about finding enough space to winter them.

Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[allensylves]

Jane,
What is another common name, or preferably the scientific name, of likulia?
Thanks.


Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[JerryCarr]

We have a small tree called a Pak Lan that is very fragrant without overwhelming. I think it may be related to the Asian magnolias, but I am not sure. Everyone who has been around it wants one, but it doesn't seem to root from cuttings, so we may try to air layer it. Has anyone seen this in any nurseries?

We love our night blooming jessamin, but it does require pruning and pulling up the innumerable seedlings and root suckers that sprout up. The trick for us was getting it just far enough away from the house not to be too smelly, but close enough to be pleasant.

Cheers,
Jerry