Reseda Species, Garden Mignonette

Last year, I planted Reseda Odorata seeds from Swallowtail Gardens. They germinated quickly and grew about 18"-24" tall. The flower spike...Read Mores were tall and white, which makes me wonder if they weren't the 'alba' variety mentioned in the comments.

This year I'll be planting the 'machet' variety from Select Seeds in addition to leftover seeds from before. I'm curious how they will differ from one another. From the photos on Select Seeds, the 'machet' flower spikes look shorter, and more of a brown color.

I was disappointed with the scent when they first bloomed last summer. Up close, I could pick up on the imitation grape scent mentioned, but nothing much otherwise. I left them in place because the bees absolutely loved the flowers.

Once fall set in and the weather cooled, things really changed with the scent. I began to notice a wonderful sweet peppery fragrance. It took me a while to realize the scent was coming from the patch of mignonette. Up close, the aroma wasn't that noticeably stronger.

The fragrance continued all through the fall. Frost didn't affect the plants much and attracted bees on warm days. It took a severe freeze to finally kill off the plants and yet they continue to give off some fragrance this winter.

It appears some seed suppliers are selling Reseda alba seed in a Reseda odorata packet. That could explain why no one is smelling anythin...Read Moreg in this blog - see http://www.ilonasgarden.com/2013/02/mignonette/

I don't know this with any certainty, but I suspect that the disappointment expressed here may have more to do with weather and climate t...Read Morehan the plant itself. Many essential oils are quite volatile and prone to evaporation in heat and direct light. So, it may be that the scent is evaporating too quickly in the heat. I've noticed that some of my fragrant roses and lilacs lose their scent in the heat. To combat that, you may try growing it in cool spots and bright shade. Also, try selective breeding through collecting seeds from only the most fragrant flowers. You may even go so far as removing flowers that are scentless so as to weed out those genes in favor of greater scent. If you have luck in this, please share some seeds with me. Also, message me if you have any suggestions of other fragrant flowers that are more reliably fragrant as I too have found that goal sadly elusive. Some flowering tobaccos are nicely fragrant.

I had known about this plant and its famous fragrance, so was really happy to see some for sale last spring. It grew well in a 6-inch pot...Read More on my front porch (the blooms reminded me somewhat of tiarella flowers); and I waited ... and waited for the scent to reveal itself. Nothing! Very disappointed.

A year later, I was lucky to have won a fresh pack of reseda 'Machet' and I will plant them with hope in my heart -- and my nose twitching .