Fragrant plants for shade

Shirley - beautiful pic!!! Someone was kind enough to share some type of Daphne (I think) last year - sadly they didn't root for me :( The scent when I opened the box, though, was awesome!!

Thanks Chantell. I've had Daphne, 'Carol Mackie' in my garden for at least 12 yrs. She does great and her fragrance is divine. I also have Daphne genkwa. Here's a picture of her foliage, put unfortunately I didn't take one of her blooms.

I'm bumping this up! I also need suggestions for fragrant shrubs or perennials that can thrive under shade. I'm in zone 10 though, so I'm sure the plants will be different from above!
WHat do you guys have in shade that smells good? This is right by my bedroom window!
Thanks,
Roberta

Shade? What's that? LOL This one likes shade http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/51598/ ROTFLOL...I'm sorry couldn't help myself - it is fragrant though...just not a pleasant one. You might also want to ask Clare (Plumie forum etc) - she's a good one to talk to about fragrant plants and live out in CA as well.

Chantell, what is ROTFLOL?
hahahhahahhaha! Now that I wrote it I got it!
I'll D-mail Clare, yes, she seems to have great suggestions very often! But you don't have any for me? C'mon Chatell!

Ok now THAT'S funny!!! And ummm...I dmailed Clare the link to this thread - so maybe she'll pop in for us. I'd love to help but since I have NO shade - I have NO idea...very sad, I know. My little ole dwarf Magnolia is the only bit o' shade I get...I've got Lilies of the Valley, Violas, that dwarf Gardenia and a Daphne under it...there you have it...my "vast" (not) knowledge of shade plants with fragrance.

I absolutely love lily of the valley but they refuse to grow in my neck of the woods...

I know...I remember you mentioning that - which is why I hesitated in naming them. They seem to be hit or miss...I've read a few folks having challenges with them...you are not alone.

It's just to hot over here...

Oh to be upset living in San Diego...girl!!!!

Hey guys, I didn't have time to read this whole thread but Sarcococca and Hosta come to mind for fragrant shade plants. Mother-in-law tongue is fragrant when it flowers, and I think some gingers (Hedychium) will do okay in shade. Confederate jasmine grows and flowers in mostly shade as well. Epiphyllums do great in shade/filtered sun, but some hybrids are fragrant and some are not, but most of the species are fragrant. HTH.

Thanks Clare!

If you have room for a small-medium shrub, perhaps you might like Clethra. It'll bloom in the shae and there are cultivars that are as small as 3' X 3'. They have white or pink flowers (some say red but they look pink to me). It's a wonderful sweet scent. I have 'Sixteen candles', 'Hummingbird', 'Sherry Sue', and 'September Beauty'. They're each different and I like them all. I suppose that my favorite is Sixteen candles because it's small and compact and has lots of flowers. They'll be blooming sometime in the next month giving me fresh color and scent.

Sixteen Candles, taken a few days ago

This is a bud on Sherry Sue. This will be the first year that she'll bloom for me. I love the red stems. This cultivar is supposed to get about 5' X 5'.

That's a lovely shrub! What's the fragrance like?

It's very sweet and carries through the air. The common name for Clethra is summersweet---it describes it well. It's one of those plants that when it's blooming and you catch it's fragrance from 10' away, you'll go searching for it's source. Bees love it too! They seem to like a bit of moisture but they're adapting to different areas of my yard very well. I'd like to add one more cultivar to my yard---'Ann Bidwell'. I'm hoping to get her next year.

This page has descriptions of quite a few cultivars
http://members.tripod.com/~Hatch_L/clet0219.html

Wow! That's my kind of plant! The one that carries its fragrance through the air...I gotta have some Clethra! Thanks for the heads up Velnita!

Hmmmm...I just noticed you're in zone 10b. I'm not sure if they'll take that much heat. But it would be worth looking for a cultivar that would work.

California zone 10 doesn't get as hot as other areas of the country that are in zone 10, I think it'll probably do OK.

hey, you think so? I wonder how much hotter it could get. It's VERY hot in here ecrane! I'll have to check on that..I really want a Clhetra now!

I planted one a couple of years ago and it's done pretty well. It hasn't grown yet - I think next year it will leap. I'm hoping, though, for some more nice blossoms this year.

The spot gets only morning sun, lots of light, but no other direct light. The soil is very clay. The spot stays pretty moist. I'm in the foothills, so I get wet, freezing temps in the winter. And the deer ate it some the first year, but are really leaving it alone now.

Mine's about 4' high right now.

I just looked at your weather and it says San Diego is 74 today...not exactly hot by most people's standards! LOL I know there are occasional heat waves, but it's having day after day of super hot (above 90) temps that is really hard on some plants. They would probably prefer some afternoon shade, but I see in the comments in Plant Files that there are people in places like SC, GA, and OK growing them and their summers are warmer than yours so I don't think they'll have trouble.

Awesome!

YAY
Now, which cultivar(s) do you want to try? Hee hee. Just trying to be a good enabler.

Greer carries nine different ones and Forest Farm carries five.

I checked my Wetern Sunset book and there are 2 species that will grow in my zone. The tree type and the japanese type. Funyy thing is I can't find a match on plantfiles. I need to check it at home with my book on the side...
I'm really excited about this find!

Love the pictures of your Clethra, velnita!

I have Clethra, "September Beauty" growing in my garden for easily 10 years. It is a good size shrub and is loaded with flower buds. I'll take a picture of it when it's in bloom in about 6 weeks. I chose it specifically for its flowers in late Summer/early Fall.

I can't wait to see the pic. My September Beauty is only a few years old. I'd like to see what it'll grow up to be. I made the mistake of putting it in full sun but it seems okay (it just gets a bit thirsty sometimes).

I hear it's a pretty slow grower? So should I start off with a pretty good size plant?

"September Beauty" probably started off as a 1 gallon transplant and as they say, "the rest is history". It definitely was not a super slow grower. Hope this helps.

I grow mine in part sun and it has always flowered profusely. I'm sure that it should be fine in full sun too, put as you say, it probably tends to get a bit more thirsty.

thanks!

Now I want another (or two) smaller cultivars. Guess I'll have to look around.

Sixteen Candles is the smallest that I've found so far.
Hummingbird isn't supposed to get too big. It's almost in full bloom right now--the first of my Clethras to bloom.

Oh, I love that!!

Do you guys have an online source you'd like to recommend? I really want one too!
R

Yes, I want a row of them right now.

Vendors of Clethra, "Hummingbird"
http://davesgarden.com/products/ps/go/48907/

Vendors of Clethra, "Ruby Spice"
http://davesgarden.com/products/ps/go/150/

Vendors of Clethra, "Sixteen Candles"
http://davesgarden.com/products/ps/go/132065/

Hope this helps!

Thanks, Shirley. Lazy S looks like they have them all!

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Shrubs/Cl-It%20Shrubs/shrubs_trees_Ci-E.htm

You can also try locally. Our local nurseries usually carry Ruby Spice and two carry Hummingbird. I was even surprised to see one carry Sixteen Candles this year.

I bought Hummingbird from Lazy S's and although it was inexpensive and very healthy, it was small. Then I saw that I could have paid about $20 locally for a shrub four times bigger. I love my plant (and I feel that I got what I paid for) but now I check locally first to make sure.

Thanks, velnita. I will call locally and ask them if they have hummingbird or sixteen candles.

Thanks Velnita, I'll do the same, if not it will have to be online!