Anne,

I have a feeling it's more about a change in the way you're smelling it rather than a change in actual fragrance. I suppose it's possible you're feeding it something that might change the fragrance (though I've never heard of this...) I suspect it's more likely your sense of smell has changed. Can you describe any changes other than watering more?

Denise in Omaha

No changes except the yellowing of leaves on the sun side. Im pretty consistant with everything even the once a week watering. I work in a winery and have a sensitive nose, but this just smells like a musty dirt. Should I change the dirt?

Do you mean that the leaves are turning bright yellow and falling off or that they are simply becoming very pale and faintly yellow? It is normal for carnosa leaves exposed to very high light (such as against a bright windowpane) to turn a light green almost yellow color.

I can't imagine what the cause of the smell change is. Could it be you simply smelled them at the wrong time of day? That seems a little too obvious...

When I googled it I found some interesting articles. For example this one, which has the following quote: It has been suggested that specific compounds in floral bouquets are designed to attract specific pollinators, and that some flowers can change their floral scent composition over time to attract more general pollinators if the flower has not yet been pollinated. In addition, it has been hypothesized that some flowers emit certain chemicals designed to repel insects that are non-beneficial to the plant (e.g. the so-called pollen or nectar "thieves," or generally destructive insects). Although specific changes in floral scents that follow diurnal, nocturnal, or circadian rhythms (and separate patterns may apply to different compounds in the same flower) or some other specific program over the lifespan of the flower have been well documented (Dudareva et al., 1999), our knowledge of how insect pollinators respond to specific floral volatiles is so rudimentary that it is not yet possible to assign specific adaptive values to such changes.

And this one, which says: According to the heads of a recent research review, "the world may already be becoming more fragrant, as plants have already begun emitting more smelly chemicals" known as biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), the BBC's Earth News service reports. Higher temperatures not only cause plants to produce more BVOCs, they also often lengthen their growing seasons, prolonging the period over which they generate the fragrant compounds.

Or this article, which claims: Flowers produce volatile scent molecules that bond with pollutants such as ground-level ozone, in the process breaking down the plants' sweet smell.

With more pollution in the air, the aromatic molecules don't remain potent as long and travel shorter distances on the wind.

Of course these scientists are discussing changes that occur over decades not years, but it's still food for thought.

When did you last repot the plant? Have you changed your diet lately? Do the blossoms look any different than usual?

Not meaning to pry, but are you on any medications or have you changed medications recently (that can affect both taste & smell)?

Interesting articles, thank you. I'm going with that. I have everyone that comes over smell it and they agree on the stink. The flowers are beautiful and there are lots. In fact, it blooms several times during the summer. The yellowing is as you described, so I will take it as normal. Thanks for all the responses.