What height? Small or large flowered? Most daylilies don't have much of a scent, although many are registered as fragrant. Except for a few, you really have to stick your nose right next to the bloom to notice a fragrance. The old fashioned species lemon lily (not a rebloomer) is one that is truly fragrant. I have one named Techny Peace that is sweet smelling. Other than than I don't notice "fragrance" coming from any of my other 700 cultivars.

Debra

I was cheered by your questions about height and flower size, as that implied that there are options at any size. But if there are only two that are fragrant enough to mention, then I can't be picky about size (which fortunately I'm not.)

Any other suggestions?

Actually, in my climate and garden, I have recently noticed several that are fragrant...but until I started live-heading, I had not noticed it. I supposed picking the bloom brought it closer to my face, so I smelled it. Let me think, Drink the light...but it is ruffled

also, Cosmic Traveler also purple and not a simple flat bloom:

The scent is a honeysuckle type, but not strong.

The only other one I can vouch for at this time is Paul Owens Polkville Princess...it is a stronger scent than the others, and I smelled it just walking by it. It is also a honey suckle type sweet fragrance.

{{gwi:658573}}

I thought I caught a faint fragrance from Spacecoast Behavior Pattern, but I had just handled Cosmic Traveler, so it could have been carryover.

Sorry but these are all ruffled or eyed since that is what I tend to like.

As far as rebloom goes, my undestanding is that it is more common in the warmer zones and a lot less common in cooler zones.

I will say, I probably made a funny picture standing in my garden, pulling the Radio flying Wagon and picking blooms, holding them to my nose then tossing them in the wagon:)

Good luck in your quest.

kay

I agree with Debra that scent is barely noticeable and it's not a trait I even give any thought to.

Here's a search link you can select very fragrant and other traits.

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS database

I think I'll loosen my "no ruffles" restriction, since I'm seeing some ruffled flowers I like. Thanks for sharing your photos, kay. Some ruffles look beautifully opulent, while others just look cluttered to me.

That AHS database reveals over 1000 "very fragrant" daylilies for me, so there's a lot of narrowing down to do. That search tool is great, but it would be even better if I could search by more traits. Nocturnal daylilies are intriguing.

Then I can see the problem being finding actual plants.

I had Spanish Fandango at the back of my border and last year the clump finally got big enough(kept dividing and giving away along the years) that I could smell that wonderful fragrance from several feet away. So even before it finished blooming I brought it up to the patio. Can't wait to smell it this year.

I'm afraid it is not a rebloomer, but for me it blooms from late June through mid July (according to the pictures I've taken).

SPANISH FANDANGO - height 26", bloom 8.5", season M, Dormant, Diploid, Fragrant, Rose and cream bitone with cream and orange eyezone and green throat

Pic from 2009

Vickie

Thanks for the help, everyone. I'm only on page two of my search results in the AHS database, and I've already come across the problem of hunting down actual plants of the varieties described so appealing there. Any advice on how to find plants?

Hello, theloud.

I was an AHS judge back in the 1980's, and wrote a few articles for the Journal (and our Newsletter) about daylily fragrance and the Plouf Award. As one of the few interested in this trait, I made a habit of sniffing blooms at Shows and at peoples' Display gardens and nurseries. I was also in the Fragrance Round Robin (back in those days before computer forums), so I got to correspond with a dozen or so likeminded others.

The most fragrant daylily of all is the species H. citrina, which you should try to grow if you want to really get into this subject. All of the best named fragrant ones have this or H. lilioasphodelus (lemon lily AKA flava) in their backgrounds. A few notables for scent are IDA MILES, PANNED GOLD, SO SWEET, and PUDDIN'.

Rebloom is something more hybridizers are working on; can't think of any offhand that I'd call fragrant.

Vanilla Fluff is fragrant but I only noticed it in the house. I broke the stem by accident and brought the flower in the house to put in a vase. The fragrance was very nice, but you have to be close outside. A good sized clump of Cashmere, an old old one, is fragrant enough to notice from a distance outside. I have noticed my four o clocks which are very fragrant at night were not as fragrant in the drought. I think humid air helps fragrance.

I can notice a scent on most daylilies, its a medium floral scent, not sweet. Its a fragrance I enjoy in fact, Ive had a few seedlings exude a heavier scent enough to smell a foot or so away. Ive been to a few hybridizers that have like 20k-50k or more daylilies, there were so many there, that I could notice the daylily scent wafting in the air.

However, I wouldnt compare its quanity most of the time to roses, or lilium or lavender or something.

I have to ask.. do you NORMALLY get rebloom? Unless its instant, it would be a odd year for my dayliles to rebloom. Every once in awhile (1 out of 8 or something) I might have a extended enough season to see a few reblooms.

I also think instant rebloom is more of a vigor trait then a reblooming one, but I wont quibble with that. I think in the north its way more important to have fast forming clumps with ablilty to throw off alot of scapes then it is to worry about a rebloom trait, that may or may not happen for you.

Silverkelt