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jackiev938

HELP Most fragrant plants,

jackiev938
18 years ago

Need some help from you plant experts, i want to have very fragrant plants around my yard, that will survive in zone 7.

I presently have mini china girl liliacs under my windows, but they are so short lived, i would love to have afew gardenias and some vines, jasmine come to mind, but not sure it would survive out winters. Not a big rose fan.

also since i live on a busy corner i'm looking for some pvt. bushes that will remain dense and green year round. I plan on mounding them or berm? to take away from the stripped ground flat development look.

ALL SUGGESTIONS WELCOME,thanks

jackiev938

Comments (5)

  • risingpower1
    18 years ago

    Hosta guacamole/plantaginea, azalea arborescens, azara microphylla, passiflora incense, chimonanthus praecox, clethras(recommend this species, especially the alnifolia), osmanthus heterophyllus, loniceras, not to mention countless others in the fragrant plants faq.

    Osmanthus species are evergreen and are ideal for bushes also.

    Some gardenias are hardy, quite a few jasmines will survive frosts, officinale for one.

    For vines, mandevilla laxa is root hardy for frosts so it should come through especially if it's sheltered.

    I can't think of any reason to exclude roses, especially david austin roses which have the most fantastic scents including:

    Benjamin Britten - Very strong fruity scent, can't think of many scents I prefer

    Brother Cadfael - Gorgeous old rose scent, very strong
    Jude the Obscure - Lovely strong kiwi scent

    RP1

  • jackiev938
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks so much RP1
    will be looking these names up on sunday when im not so tired, thanks so much for your input,
    jackie

  • CoolPlants
    18 years ago

    Why not try some tropicals as annuals? Give White Ginger a try. My grandmother grew them in Montgomery, Alabama and just covered the rhizomes with 'pinestraw' if the ground froze. She may have been in zone 8.
    kevin

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    To add to the previous suggestions, you could try Itea virginica (Virginia sweetspire). I saw some for sale last year at one of the local nurseries and was blown away at the cultivar they had that had some waftingly fragrant flowers. Plus it has good fall interest when its leaves color up. You might also want to try some of the hardy southern magnolias that are amazingly fragrant. And if you can find a blooming one and can confirm it has fragrance, the sweet autumn clematis is a good one too. Sometimes the young ones take awhile to become mature enough to bloom and then it might take awhile before exuding their fragrance, but when they are ready, you get a nice late-summer-into-fall white-flowering fragrant vine.

  • Darael
    18 years ago

    Perhaps star jasmine..I think it's at least hardy to zone 8, but I'm not sure about z7. However, it'd be worth it to try as they can be in bloom for a very long time (from march to november for me) and it's very fragrant all day long. They put out literally hundreds of flowers. They're pretty cheap here, like $4.00 for a gallon size plant. Please try it. :)