Cestrum nocturnum, the night-scented jasmine has a very strong, sweet scent from hundreds of tiny flowers that open at once. On a small plant, maybe a foot or two high, the scent will definitely fill a room. However, the scent requires darkness.

It's not really an indoor plant, but if you have a sunny south or west window, you can probably grow and bloom it, tho you will get lots more flowers and scent if you can put it outside in summer.

Once the plant gets large-- 8-10 feet high (tho I don't think it would get that large indoors), the scent becomes overpowering.

Some Brunfelsia are also night scented, with beautiful white flowers becoming scented at dusk, and wafting for at least several feet. These can also be grown indoors. Be sure to get one of the scented varieties.

Brassavola nodosa, an orchid with white flowers, is also scented at dusk, and the scent will waft thru the whole house. It also needs darkness to waft.

Oncidium intergeneric Sharry Baby, another orchid, is also beautifully scented, and does waft in the daytime. It wouldn't fill a room unless a very large plant, but you can definitely catch the scent just walking by.

The easiest to grow, flower and bloom would be Murraya paniculata offered by Logee's. This plant is scented in the daytime. However, this scent would not fill a room.

All of these plants need sun to grow, bloom and put out their scents.

All of these plants need sun to grow, bloom and put out their scents.

Very though then since the window that is facing south doesn't get enough sunlight since it's being blocked by neigbhor's house. The west side has the door towards the patio. I'll convince wifey to open the curtain daily. Looks like I like the plant you mentioned first. Can I cut them when I bring it in before winter?

Thanks! :)

I just searched for Cestrum nocturnum and found out that it's the same as Dama de Noche! My neighbor back when I was very young have these plants in front of their house. OMG, the scent is definitely very strong! :) I'll continue searching to find out where to buy. I'm thinking of ebay. Any suggestions?

The Murraya paniculata offered by Logee's is out of this world..I have one and they are easy to grow..One flower will carry a sweet fragrance as far as two rooms a away..
My favorite..

Next is any Citrus is just as awsome!

Mike

Dogwooderitternet on ebay, he offers blooming sized cestrum at a cheap price (and with low shipping charge).
This plant is definitely very fragrant, but i found its scent artificial and it gave me a headache :)

Murraya is also strongly fragrant, a much better scent than cestrum imo, though it can get too 'sweet'.

Grow tuberose!!! In zone 5 you probably won't get enough sunlight for them to rebloom, but even as an annual this plant is definitely worth the money.
Tuberose is my most favorite fragrance (second only to the scent of lotus). (Get the blooming size bulbs, search for Tennessee Tuberoses, they have them for very cheap).

I remember in the Philippines, during December, we would walk go to different houses to sing some carols, we would always smell Dama de Noche. Someone would say, "a dead is visiting in the air". LOL! Then all of us would run away. HAHAHA. I was between 10-12 yrs old back then.

I am so curious about "Murraya paniculata". Your post meyermike_1micha is better than a sales person. HAHAHA! I will definitely look at it. :)

Thanks kemistry too for sharing your thoughts about them!

Question on the Tennessee Tuberoses, can I treat them like cannas where I dig them once they're hit by hard frost?

Also, is Murraya paniculata easy to grow from seed? Do they grow fast? Will I be able to enjoy it in its first year?

sorry, Tennessee Tuberoses is the name of the vendor. But yes, Tuberoses will need protection from the hard winter. Just dig them up when the foliage die back in the Fall. They are bulbs so treat them like lilies. (I'm not familiar with cannas).

Murraya, there's two varieties. One is a dwarf and the other is the regular kind. The regular Murraya will take roughly 2-3 years to bloom from seed. The dwarf can bloom within 2 months. And they are all easy to start from seeds, took about 2-3 weeks to germinate.
Search for dwarf orange jasmine on ebay, last winter i saw seeds being offered there.

Will the dwarf smell the same as the regular?

The dwarf is very fragrant. (Some said it is even more fragrant than the regular but i haven't smelled the regular variety so i can't say for sure). It's compact, a slow grower and keeps wanting to bloom if it gets enough sunlight. I say go for the dwarf if you are growing it in a pot. It's extremely adorable :)

Per mehitabel & mike's description, i think Logee is selling the dwarf variety. Or check back with me next Spring if you would like to wait, I will probably have some seeds to send you by then.

Oh cool! I can always wait. :D

Thanks so much!!! :)

I love your thread I found on a different site, LOL! I am so excited to receive those dward seeds from you!!!

I love your seedling with the bloom! That is sooo awesome!!!

Murraya thread

According to my nose, the dwarf Murraya is definitely more fragrant than the full size version. Each individual blossom can be smelled about 20 feet away.
Hoya obscura has one of the most beautiful and pleasant fragrances and it is very easy to grow. The other hoyas (like H. carnosa, H. nummularioides and H. lacunosa), unfortunately, were so overpowering to my nose that I thought them to be gag-worthy. I remember I had looked forward to smelling H. nummularioideds for so long and lovingly tended a huge (and expensive) specimen that I had found. At the end of October, it produced dozens and dozens of bloom peduncles and burst into glorious full bloom in November. I gave the plant away the very next day.

Some excellent fragrant plants that I recommend for both strength and quality of fragrance are Aglaia odorata, Chloranthus spicatus, Magnolia alba, Brunfelsia (any of the white night-scented species), Brassavola nodosa and Hoya obscura (mentioned above).

I grew datura from seed outside which I think is Brugmansia. They are fragrant and the scent is sweet. I fee like eating the flowers. hehehe. However, I can only smell the fragrant scent once I put my nose close to the flowers.

Some excellent fragrant plants that I recommend for both strength and quality of fragrance are Aglaia odorata, Chloranthus spicatus, Magnolia alba, Brunfelsia (any of the white night-scented species), Brassavola nodosa and Hoya obscura (mentioned above).

They will be ok inside the house right?

Hi kemistry,

I asked for few seeds from boon. Hopefully still have extra of the dwarf murraya. :)

Thanks.

Neil

hi v1rtu0s1ty, Yea, he'll probably have the seeds sooner than I do, so goodluck!

i recommend the aglaia odorata. It smells very pleasant. Magnolia alba is great too but only if you have a south-facing window or can bring it outdoor during the warmer months. The jasminum sambac 'maid of orleans' is also great. :)

Yes, all of the plants I recommended will be fine indoors. That said, Brassavola nodosa will benefit from the most intense, baking light levels you can give it whereas Chloranthus spicatus will thrive and bloom even in a shady north window. My own Magnolia alba has been doing just fine in a slightly shaded southeast window. Hope this helps.

kemistry,

boon replied and he told me his plant needs 5 months for the seeds to become ready. :)

I was so very excited, I purchased seeds of murraya exotica this morning. :) I hope I'll be successful.

Any suggestions on a grow light in bulb, not the flourescent?

v1rtu0s1ty, from flower to ripen fruit it does take quite a while. : ) But i''m glad you've found some seeds, this is the dwarf variety seeds right, not the regular?

I'm not an expert on grow light, maybe a visit to the Growing Under Lights forum will be helpful for you. I do have two 125-w compact flourescent bulbs that i use to supplement for the cloudy days; the plants do get through the winter with them so they seem to work okay; we have gloomy winter here in the pacific northwest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing under lights forum

Yes, from my research, the exotica is the dwarf variety. I'll try these 10 seeds and if they don't make it, I'll request some from you if it's ok. :)

The only area I have is the kitchen which faces west. Our south windows are being shadowed by my neighbor's house. My kitchen window starts to get sunlight around 1pm.

How tall are your dwarf murraya plants now, the one you started from seed?

By the way, I just learned today that the Sampaguita my brother used to grow/currently growing for more than 30+ years is also in the jasmine family. I'm very familiar with the scent. It's very fragrant but not my type. I love the fragrance of the Datura I started from seed. I planted it outside. However, the fragrance isn't really that strong. I have to sniff it.

The west window will work. If you have a gloomy winter then supplemental lighting might be necessary.

The one plant that i currently have, it was a 4-5" little plant last Fall. Now a year later it's around 1 foot tall and much fuller looking, so yes very slow growing but always in buds. i think it would bloom every 2 months for me if i haven't been neglecting it.

I did attempt to grow datura (the dwarf kind) two times, but had to throw them out before they could bloom. Its cousin, the Brugmasia is also very fragrant, so many cultivars to choose from too though i haven't sniffed one yet to comment on the scent.

I think Sampaguita is the jasminum sambac? (I'm obsessed with sambac ;) )

AAh, try lavender too! I had some dwarf lavender growing from a Walmart seed pack earlier this year, they smelled very nice. Great for tea! :)

Yes, Sampaguita is jasminum sambac. In the Philippines, people make necklaces out of Sampaguita flowers. They sell it for P10 which is 20 cents in US. :)