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td1026

Moonflower vine -- scent dissapointment

td1026
12 years ago

I've seen ipomoea alba listed under "the most violently fragrant plants" thread on here and I have no idea why! The scent is very, very faint and not very pleasing. Smells like sunscreen to me. Does anyone on here have a moon vine that smells strong or wafts?? I was let down after all the hype.

Comments (16)

  • mersiepoo
    12 years ago

    I've never had luck growing moonflowers so not sure how they smell, they always got mowed down by some sort of insect. Daturas are super fragrant with a lovely scent, especially the white ones, if you want a super fragrant night bloomer. Though it's not a vine.

  • blutayle
    12 years ago

    I was very disappointed too. I saw where is was listed to smell like Tommy cologne from Tommy Hillfiger. It was pretty close. To me it was very crisp and clean, almost astringent to the nose. I was hoping for a very heady, gardenia, jasminy, brug type of smell. And I had to stick my nose right in it to smell it. No wafting like the tea olives do. That was just my experience so I no longer grow them. In Florida, with the warm, muggy nights the fragrance alcohols tend to break down nicely, not in this flower, for me anyway.

  • td1026
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Same for me blutayle. I was expecting a luscious perfume and exquisite waft from what I've read around here. Good thing I have night blooming jasmine in the backyard also. Now that plant wafts!

  • mehitabel
    12 years ago

    I tried moonflower about 5-8 years ago. I found no particular fragrance, either.

  • jeff_al
    12 years ago

    i guess fragrance is subjective but i do like the scent. and, i think this is one of those plants who fragrance is a function of temperature and humidity, probably for pollination. they are similar to nicotiana to me in that respect with a heady, almost baby powder note to the fragrance. i can smell these from about 5' away on a calm night so maybe further if it is more breezy. they are very showy in the moonlight, too, and the vines would reach over 10' in length. this trellis is only 6' tall and they reached the top then grew downward to the bottom. flowers are almost 5" across. sphinx moths are attacted to them.

  • Donna Perch
    6 years ago

    I love the flowers they are beautiful. I planted next to my screened in porch and they are climbing up near the screens and blooming, but the scent is so weak that you actually need to put your nose deep into the flower to smell it. I'm waiting for my sweet peas flowers to also climb, but they haven't as yet bloomed or gotten tall enough. The morning glories are beautiful, but no scent. hopefully, next year the honeysuckle will bloom to be tall enough.


  • tom_d1026
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Ha, I'm the one who posted this 6 years ago! I totally forgot about that account. And yep, moonflowers are beautiful but they are weakly scented. Epiphyllum oxypetalum or night blooming cereus smells just like moonflowers but the scent is much, much stronger! One flower perfumes my back porch.

  • Starlette Reynolds
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I love my moonflowers too. I've always said they have the scent of copper tone suntan lotion‼️

  • Donna Perch
    6 years ago

    Tom, I’m in NJ. I’m not sure that the one you like would bloom up here.


  • Chrissy- zone6B/7A
    6 years ago

    I'm in NJ too! My bf brought a MoonFlower Vine home this summer, I had never even heard of it before. They're my fave flower now! I find them gorgeous and (although it is very weak, I def have to stick my nose all the way in to get a whiff) the scent is heavenly. I even tried to find a perfume or body spray but looks like the only one was discontinued years ago. Bummer!

  • menagre
    5 years ago

    my Mom grew Moonflowers (smell of original Coppertone)- i planted seeds this year- there is no scent!

  • Chrissy- zone6B/7A
    5 years ago

    Thats so strange. I have a very poor sense of smell, I can barely ever smell anything (sometimes thats a good thing!)but I sure can smell the moonflower. Its not overwhelming, I have to put my nose within a couple inches of the flower. Do you have the white moonflowers or purple?

  • menagre
    5 years ago

    i bought these as seeds (Burpee) they are white,as was mom's. bummer!

  • Patricia Sahs-Muzik
    5 years ago

    .

  • C M
    5 years ago

    I grow moonvines here in north central Tx. They don’t bloom much in the bad heat (July-Sept usually). Sometimes only 1-2 flowers per night. However when the worst of the heat breaks, then they have quite a few blooms. The vines themselves grow like crazy all summer.

    Moonvine flowers have a light, sweet fragrance, yes, it does have a “beachy” quality to it.

    The more blooms the more the scent wafts over the patio. What I can’t get over, is once you pick a flower, that flower loses all scent. It’s very weird. I’ve even tried cutting 5”-6” of vine still attached to the flower, but nope. No scent at all! Anyone got any ideas on how to capture the Moonvine scent? I’ve purchased several room sprays and candles that all said “moonflower scent” and none were even close to a real moon flower.

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