Fragrant native trees and shrubs, from the first bloom of spring to witch hazel in fall
Which native trees and shrubs have the sweetest flowers and when each blooms, which smell in leaf and twig, which disappoint, and where to plant for scent.
On this page
Fragrant flowers, month by monthWhen little else is in bloomScent in leaves, twigs and woodNatives with less scent than people expectWhere to plant for scentCommon questionsSourcesAmong native shrubs, the wild azaleas, sweet pepperbush, sweetshrub and the witch hazels carry some of the strongest flower scents in the East. Among trees, southern magnolia, black locust and the wild crabapples do. Ozark witch hazel opens the year’s scent in January and witch hazel still flowers in December, and the table below fills the months between. Spicebush, sassafras and balsam fir hold their scent in leaf and twig, where it lasts for months longer than a flower’s. Trumpet honeysuckle and flame azalea flower without scent. A sheltered spot by a door, a window or a seat holds scent best.
Fragrant flowers, month by month
Every plant in the table has flowers a source calls fragrant. They run in order of first bloom, with the scent in the source’s own words where it gives any.
| Plant | In flower | Scent | Height, feet | Zones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozark witch hazel | January to March | Far stronger than witch hazel’s | 6–10 | 3–8 |
| Southern crabapple | March to May | Strong, of violets | 20–30 | 4–9 |
| Alabama azalea | April and May | Strong, of lemon | 4–6 | 6–9 |
| Clove currant | April to June | Strong, of cloves | 3–10 | 2–7 |
| Mountain witch alder | April and May | Honey | 6–10 | 4–8 |
| Roseshell azalea | April to June | Spicy, like cloves | 3–10 | 3–8 |
| Southern magnolia | April to June | Strong, of lemon | 60–80 | 6–10 |
| Sweetbay magnolia | April to July | Lemon | 15–35 | 5–10 |
| Sweetshrub | April to July | Strawberry, pineapple and banana | 6–12 | 4–9 |
| Black locust | May and June | Very fragrant | 40–70 | 3–8 |
| Swamp azalea | May to July | Clove and musk, strongest at night | 3–8 | 4–9 |
| Sweet azalea | May to July | Likened to cinnamon | 8–20 | 4–8 |
| White fringetree | May | Sweet | 12–20 | 3–9 |
| Yellowwood | May | Fragrant | 30–50 | 4–8 |
| American basswood | June | Fragrant | 60–90 | 2–8 |
| Franklin tree | July to October | Sweet | 10–25 | 5–9 |
| Sweet pepperbush | July and August | Sweet, intense | 4–8 | 3–9 |
| Witch hazel | October to December | Spicy | 12–20 | 3–9 |
When little else is in bloom
Witch hazel opens spicy yellow ribbons from October into December, as the woods around it drop their leaves:
“Generally, its bright yellow flowers are the only sign of color in woods where all the autumn leaves lay upon the forest floor.” (USDA Forest Service, American Witchhazel)
A moth pollinates it. It grows wild in the understory, and the north side of a house suits it.
Ozark witch hazel follows from January into March, its flowers often red or orange and its scent far stronger. A sunny day opens the flowers, so plant it beside a path or a window you pass in January. Carolina laurelcherry, in zone 7 and warmer, and Carolina jessamine, an evergreen vine for zone 6 and warmer, open fragrant flowers from February. In late summer, sweet pepperbush flowers when almost nothing else does, and Franklin tree blooms from July until frost.
Scent in leaves, twigs and wood
A scent held in leaves lasts for months longer than one in flowers, and in these natives it comes out when a leaf is crushed or a twig snapped:
| Plant | Part | Scent |
|---|---|---|
| Balsam fir | Needles | Balsam |
| Carolina laurelcherry | Leaves and green twigs | Maraschino cherry |
| Common prickly ash | Every part | Lemon peel |
| Fragrant sumac | Leaves | Lemon |
| Mockernut hickory | Leaves | Orange peel |
| Northern bayberry | Leaves | Bayberry candles |
| Sassafras | Every part | Root beer |
| Spicebush | Leaves and twigs | Spicy |
| Sweet birch | Twigs | Wintergreen |
Not every nose agrees: fragrant sumac’s other names run from lemon sumac to polecat bush. Odorless bayberry is the exception among the bayberries, its leathery leaves without scent. Sweetfern, a shrub we do not grow, has fern-like leaves that are very fragrant when crushed. Eastern red cedar, a juniper, has fragrant heartwood, the wood of cedar chests. Scent alone does not keep deer away, since deer browse sassafras in every season.
Natives with less scent than people expect
The fragrant honeysuckles that have turned invasive came from Asia: Japanese honeysuckle and the Asian bush honeysuckles. Native trumpet honeysuckle and limber honeysuckle have flowers without scent, and hummingbirds pollinate trumpet honeysuckle. Yellow honeysuckle, a native vine, is mildly fragrant, and like every native honeysuckle it has solid stems, where Japanese honeysuckle’s are hollow.
Scentless mock orange is named for flowers without scent, yet sources disagree on whether they have any. Trees and Shrubs Online describes the flowers as white and scentless, while the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center calls them sweet-scented. Streambank mock orange divides its sources the same way.
Among the wild azaleas, flame azalea and plumleaf azalea have no scent. Oconee azalea smells acrid rather than sweet, and rhodora has little or none.
Where to plant for scent
Scent is at its best on a warm, still evening, and it gathers in a sheltered spot that people pass every day:
- By a door or a window that is often open, or against a wall, which holds the scent in.
- Upwind of a porch or a patio, on the side the prevailing wind comes from.
- Along a walk, steps or a gate for the leaf-scented shrubs, where people brush against them.
- Near an evening seat for swamp azalea, whose clove scent is strongest at night.
For shade, sweet pepperbush, sweetshrub, roseshell azalea and witch hazel all fit. Sweetbay magnolia, swamp azalea and sweet pepperbush take wet ground. Clove currant and black locust take dry ground.
Sweetshrub’s scent varies from plant to plant, and some seedlings have little fragrance or even an unpleasant one, so the advice is to buy one in bloom:
“The aroma is stronger in higher temperatures, and it is best to purchase the plant in flower, as the fragrances vary widely.” (NC State Extension, Calycanthus floridus)
Blue Whale Trees grows sweetshrub from seed, so each seedling’s scent shows only when it first flowers.
The bloom calendar, opened here on ten plants from the table, sets their months side by side and narrows them to your zone, sun and soil. Every plant in the first table is among our flowering trees and shrubs.
Common questions
Which native azaleas are fragrant?
Alabama azalea may be the most fragrant of them, with a strong lemon scent, and swamp azalea’s clove scent is strongest at night. Roseshell and sweet azaleas are fragrant too, while flame and plumleaf azaleas have no scent.
Is there a native honeysuckle that smells good?
Yellow honeysuckle, a native vine, is mildly fragrant, but trumpet and limber honeysuckles have no scent. The sweet-smelling honeysuckles that have turned invasive are Japanese honeysuckle and the Asian bush honeysuckles.
What tree or shrub smells good in winter?
Ozark witch hazel flowers on bare twigs from January into March, and witch hazel blooms into December. In zone 7 and warmer, Carolina laurelcherry adds fragrant flowers from February, and balsam fir’s evergreen needles keep their balsam scent all winter.
What fragrant shrubs grow in shade?
Sweet pepperbush, sweetshrub and witch hazel grow and flower in shade, though sweet pepperbush blooms most in sun. Spicebush, whose crushed leaves smell spicy, takes shade too.
Sources
(8 references)
- Calycanthus floridus: NC State Extension, Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, with its sheets for Rhododendron alabamense, Robinia pseudoacacia, Chionanthus virginicus, Comptonia peregrina, Lonicera sempervirens, Lonicera japonica and Philadelphus inodorus: sweetshrub’s scent, stronger in warm weather and varying widely from plant to plant, Alabama azalea’s strong lemon scent, black locust’s very fragrant flowers, fringetree’s sweetly scented ones, sweetfern’s fern-like leaves very fragrant when crushed, trumpet honeysuckle’s scentless flowers and its hummingbird pollinators, Japanese honeysuckle as very fragrant and highly invasive, and the meaning of inodorus.
- American Witchhazel: USDA Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers, Plant of the Week (Larry Stritch): witch hazel’s pleasant spicy fragrance, its bloom as the leaves of the woods fall, its flowers as the only color in bare woods, its moth pollinator, and its place in the understory and on the north side of a house.
- The Fragrant Garden (PDF): Washington State University Extension, Skagit County Master Gardeners (Everett Chu, 2017): foliage scent lasting months longer than flower scent, a sheltered spot people visit, windows and doors and a wall that holds the scent, the prevailing wind, leaf-scented plants where people brush them, and the warm, still evening.
- Honeysuckle Species in Pennsylvania: Penn State Extension (Susan Marquesen): the fragrant bush honeysuckles and Japanese honeysuckle brought from Asia and now invasive, the non-fragrant flowers of limber and trumpet honeysuckle, and the solid stem pith of the natives against the hollow pith of the invaders.
- Rhododendron prinophyllum: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, with its sheet for Hamamelis vernalis: roseshell azalea’s pleasant, clove-like fragrance, and Ozark witch hazel’s flowers opening before its leaves.
- Philadelphus inodorus: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Database: scentless mock orange’s large white flowers described as sweet-scented.
- Philadelphus inodorus: Trees and Shrubs Online, International Dendrology Society, after Bean: scentless mock orange’s flowers described as not scented, white and scentless.
- Plant Guide: Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica (PDF): USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: fragrant sumac’s leaves, fragrant or at least odorous, and its other names, aromatic sumac, lemon sumac and polecat bush.
