Fragrant Plants for the Shade

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by Monica Brandies

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Fragrant Plants for the Shade

Someone recently asked me what fragrant flowers would grow in the shade. This was one list I hadn't thought to put in any of my books. So I got the person's email, rubbed my hands together, went home, and compiled the following for those of us who want to sniff happily even in the shade. The plants marked with asterisks have fragrant foliage rather than flowers, which means they are always fragrant, not just when they are in bloom. A few of these, Dracaena, some orchids, and Sansevieria have blooms that are only fragrant at night. NCS after the name means that it will grow in North, Central, and/or South Florida. I have tried the sweet woodruff and had it survive only for a short while. You might try it through the cooler months if you bring home a free plant from a friend. And many people grow orchids in central Florida and cover them during cold weather.

Crinum lilies will bloom in full sun to light shade. Mine just had four blooms at once and it gets no direct sun.

Botanical name	Area	Kind	Common name(s)	Amount of shade it likes
Brugmansia species	CS	Shrub, small tree	Angel trumpet	Sun to partial shade
Brunfelsia australis	CS	Shrub	Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow	Sun to light shade
Calycanthus floridus	NC	Shrub	Sweet shrub, Carolina allspice	Sun to full, shade
Cestrum nocturnum	CS	Shrub	Night-blooming jessamine	Sun to light shade
Citrus species	CS	Shrub or tree	Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, etc	Sun to partial shade
Clematis ternifolia	NCS	Vine	Sweet autumn clematis	Sun to partial shade
Crinum	NCS	Perennial	Spider lily, swamp lily, tree crinum	Partial shade
Datura species	CS	Shrub	Angel trumpet	Sun to partial shade
Dracaena fragrans	S	Shrub	Fragrant dracaena	Full shade to sun
Eucharis amazonica	CS	Perennials	Eucharis, Amazon lily	Light to dense shade
*Galium odoratum	N	Perennial	Sweet Woodruff	Partial to full shade
Gardenia species	NCS	Shrub	Common gardenia	Sun to partial shade
Gelsemium sempervirens	NC	Vine	Carolina yellow jessamine	Light shade to sun
Hedychium coronarium	NCS	Perennial	Butterfly ginger	Partial shade to sun
Hedychium flavum	CS	Perennial	Yellow ginger	Partial shade
Hedychium gardnerianum	CS	Perennial	Kahili lily	Partial shade
*Illicium	NCS	Shrub, Tree	Yellow, red, Florida or Chinese anise	Partial shade to sun
Ipomoea alba	NCS	Annual vine	Moonflowers	Sun to partial shade
Jasminum species	NCS	Shrub, Vine	Jasmines	Partial shade to sun
Lonicera species	NCS	Perennial vine	Trumpet and coral honeysuckle	Light shade to sun
Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'	NCS	Perennial	Creeping Jenny, Charlie	Partial to light shade
Magnolia species	NC	Tree	Magnolia	Sun to light shade
Mahonia, some species	NC	Shrub	Holly grape, Oregon holly olive	Partial to light shade
Mirabilis jalapa	NCS	Perennial	Four o'clock, can be invasive	Sun to full shade
Neomarica gracilis	CS	Perennial	White walking iris	Partial to light shade
Orchids, some species	S	Perennial	Certain orchids	Partial to dense shade
Osmanthus species	NC	Shrub	Tea olive, wild olive	Light shade to full sun
*Plectranthus amboinicus	NCS	Perennial	Vick's salve plant	Partial to deep shade
Rhododendron, Vireya, some	CS	Shrub	Tropical or Vireya rhododendrons	Partial shade
Sansevieria species	CS	Perennial	Snake plant, mother-in-law's tongue	Partial to full shade
Trachelospermum species	NCS	Vine	Confederate jasmine	Coastal sun to deep shade
Tropaeolum majus	NCS	Annual	Nasturtiums	Sun to partial shade
Zingiber zerumbet	NCS	Perennial	Pinecone ginger, lanolin lily	Sun to deep shade

Gardenias won't bloom as much in shade, but they do well as long as they get a few hours of sun a day.

The last is one of my favorites because it grows easily anywhere I've planted it and a few places where I didn't. It spreads quickly but is not rampant. It goes dormant in the winter so there is no worry about frost. It comes up again in the spring and starts blooming by July 4. The same "blooms", which are actually bracts, stay on the plant until cold weather and turn gradually from apple green to bright red. But the best part is that every time you pass them, you can squeeze the bloom gently and get a hand full of lanolin-like, sweet smelling lotion that is great for hands, face, or hair. The bracts make an ideal focal point for bouquets where you can squeeze them inside for two weeks, after which they will dry in the vase and can then be cut up for potpourri.

Above: Pinecone gingers don't smell until you squeeze them.
Then they give a lotion that smells wonderful.

Left: Dracaena fragrans or fragrant dracaena is one that only smells at night.