hi there :)
in my experience peonies smell bad or have no smell, are you sure they're supose to smell good, ? its prob. different from cultivar to cultivar, some might have been breeded for looks and some for smell, just like roses. :)?

Lilyfinch, there's a lot of beautiful peonies that aren't scented but then there's a lot that are. Most of mine are and I love their fragrance. A friend had a white oldie that smelled just like lemon custard. Most catalogues tell which varieties are fragrant, but then fragrance is a very personal thing some of us smell things differently. I remember a time judging the most fragrant rose, we had to bring in a third judge because we couldn't agree on which one had the strongest fragrance. Could it be the peonies where you couldn't detect a fragrance were ones that were the non-fragrant type?

Annette

Well I'll be honest, aside from Martha Stewart and my mom I've never heard anyone say they smelled good, I just assumed I guess! My dh and I were visiting my mom and he could smell them but couldn't describe it. Maybe I'm not missing out after all? Lol

A diminished sense of smell *could* be because of a deficiency of zinc which can be taken as a supplement or by eating foods that contain zinc.

You might want to test these flowers with someone else to see if you really have a problem or the flowers are unscented.

Here is a link that might be useful: foods that contain zinc

There aren't any fragrant plants that I CAN smell. My sense of smell has just faded away through the years, probably due to chronic sinusitis. Zinc didn't help and neither did sinus surgery, so I guess I'm stuck with it. Oddly, every once in a while I have a day where I can smell things, at least at the 10 of 20 percent level.

When my flower customers remark on the great scents of my flowers, I just smile and nod.

Good thing I'm not a chef, huh?

ThinMan

I know someone who never is able to smell nor taste most things. It's a disability not too well known. Your sense of smell and tastes are tied together. If you cannot smell your taste buds have been affected as well. Anyhow if it's any consolation.. I too haven't detected much fragance from peonies and I actually have a very strong and sensitive sense of smell. There's a bit of a bloodhound in me. I can detect an odour and trace it back to it's origin. I can discern ingredients used in a favorite food. And yet, I have chronic sinusitis and suffer migrains, sinus attacks and feel nauseated if I am faced with strong fragrance or body odours from poor hygiene habits. So for me, I am very sensitive about flower fragrance because there are many that don't suit me..

How interesting the human body is! I had no idea it could be a zinc deficiency . And that it was connected to your taste buds! I have heard people say everyones nose is different but didn't know why. And thin man, I think you made me realize I should be growing them for their beauty , not fragrance. I'm sorry you can't smell your flowers, I think it's something I take for granted. And ianna , I feel like I have a sharp sense of smell for food but flower scents sometimes escape me. this has been a helpful thread for me, I'm so glad I asked! Thanks everyone!

I have some peonies that scent the entire yard especially at dawn and dusk. No kidding! I can smell them from across the street, and the fragrance is a wonderful flowery scent that makes me joyful about spring.

BUT I also have some that, like you, I can stick my nose into them and can barely tell there's a flower in front of me. So it really does depend on the variety.

I think my old-fashioned pink Sarah Bernhardts and my Bowl of Beauty have the most fragrance, while my white Festiva Maxima has no scent to it at all.

I would have to say all my peony varieties are fragrant, and I enjoy the smell very much.

As far as I know my "smeller" is fully operational when it comes to flowers.

I cannot smell moon-vines, or epiphylum tho others can smell them when they open the door. Also, it is usually white blooms (other than gardenias) that I cannot smell. Weird, I know.

I LOVE fragrant plants and am trying to build the garden around them.

The one fragrant plant I can never smell is witch hazel. I've stuck my sniffer (which is very sensitive to smells) into some "fragrant" witch hazel and nada. I don't get it...

I'm not usually a huge fan of the scent of peonies, but I don't find any super fragrant and certainly haven't come across one that wafts. (sandyslopes, what variety is your wafter??)

I grew one peony about 7 years ago and finally decided it smelled like bug spray and gave the plant away to a friend who loved it.

aftermidnight---yum, I want the peony that smells like lemon custard!

littlesmokie, Both the SB and the BofB are out front, but I have several Sarah Bernhardts so I'll give them credit for being the big wafters in my front yard. It seems some years they are stronger than others. I think they put out more of a scent during a cooler spring.

Not all noses are created equal. About 30 years ago National Geographic had a "scratch & sniff" article that included several different scratch off squares. Several of the squares smelled the same to my wife & I, some she could smell & I couldn't, others smell putrid to me and either sweet or no smell to my wife etc.. I don't remember the specifics about the article except that it's normal for folks to perceive odors differently.

I can't barely smell phlox. I can't smell phlox at ALL. Period. And nobody tell me about zinc. I can smell everything except phlox. There isn't another of the flowers (or spices, or anything) I cannot smell if they have a smell. I also cannot taste BitrexTM. There are a few percent who cannot. I'm disappointed. It's supposed to be so murderously brutally bitter, and I can't find out. And yes, I can taste other bitter things. Dandelions, yuk, methylsulfonylmethane ugh; Tylenol, arggh, etc. Bitter soda water, nicely bitter. Swedish bitters, yup (but no thanks). Etc.

I discovered about phlox some 20 years ago. My sister said, 'Ohhh... PHLOX!! I LOVE the smell of phlox". And she goes and bunches a bunch together and sticks her face in it. "Mmmmm!!"

I try it and I'm like Dang! she's playing me. The stuff has no smell and she's pulling my leg...

Interesting tubeistdan.

To me fragrant phlox is similar to scent of sweetpeas. Can you smell sweetpeas?

There are quite a few phlox that— disappointingly!—have little to no fragrance.

There’s an online nursery called Perennial Pleasures that specializes in Phlox. Their list of most fragrant phlox:

Cinderella, David, Ending Blue, Fairy’s Petticoat, Franz Schubert, Katherine, Midsummer White, Mile High Pink, Miss Pepper, Miss Universe, Old Cellarhole, Russian Violet, Starfire, Widar.

Maybe try sniffing one of those varieties...?

I’m enjoying revisiting this thread.

I finally discovered a witch hazel I absolutely LOVE. Showy yellow blooms visible at a distance, great sweet smell up close (& scent wafts) and bright reddish orange long lasting fall color:

Sandra

I discovered at my local speciality nursery—thank you Garden Fever!—but I’ve seen online at Forest Farm & Gosselar and Song Sparrow (currently having their peony sale...) which I linked above.