SARCOCOCCA Which variety please ?

The only unscented one in my 'bible' is S. saligna which grows to 3 feet tall but twice as wide but the flowers of that are greenish rather than white. all the others it mentions are scented

Thanks Andrew..
I've had a really good sniff of the flowers.
Couldn't pick up any scent at all.
Just sniffed some more, very closely, to be absolutely sure
... but no scent.

This looks like S. confusa to me. I have 2 specimens in my garden at work that are about 10 feet round but max 6 feet tall. They smell devine !!!

They've certainly been there for 30+ years and are very slow growing...they're also in total shade.

Enjoy the scent

Thanks, Andy.
Do you think, looking at the photo, the flowers are finished, and maybe they smelt divine some days ago ?

Morning terratoonie,I bought a sarococca hookeriana, (known as christmas box in england aparently) when I was mouching around a nursery after christmas,it looks like mine.I thought it would look nice with my hellibors as it said on the ticket,it also said VERY scented flowers...but I cant smell anything either!!!

Hi Poppylinda ... Thanks ... that's reassuring...
... didn't think my nose was on strike ..Lol.

Just sniffed my Viburnum bodnantense "Dawn" ... gorgeous scent ! :o)

Hi terratoonie, my sarcococcas smelt gorgeous before and after xmas and i could smell them halfway round the garden.

Now, come to think of it, despite being in full flower still, i can't remember smelling them in the last week despite walking past daily and standing next to them today. I'll have another sniff tomorrow.

Thanks Andy...
maybe I found my flowers too late !

mine have never had any decernable scent to me, though my youngest says it is really nice.
perhaps like me you cant smell it TT.

Bring a piece indoors and put it in water you should find the scent then, might be the next morning. I do think some have better scent than others. I find that in my garden Sarcococca hookeriana has a better scent than the Sarcococca confusa.

Gosh, how interesting. It certainly looks like confusa, but then they all look so similar other than digyna don't they? I shall have to go and inspect my ruscifolia to see if it has a strong scent as well. I'll let you know TT. Could it be that the air is just too cold with you for the scent to carry at the moment? The flowers certainly look as though they are in full flow in the photo. Could also be that you just don't have the right 'nose' for this one? Mum and I find that some 'strongly scented' roses don't seem to have much scent to our brains! :))

Thanks for all your comments.

I've just brought a piece of the sarcococca indoors and when it warms up, I'll sniff it, and report back ! :o)

RESULT !!!

Lovely scent, now that the blossom is in a warm room...

Thanks to all who've answered on this thread :o)))

Thank goodness!! I was just coming on to say that I can't smell my Coronilla at the front door at all this morning...it's a bit chilly out there, even in the lovely sunshine!

Lol. At least we can blame the cold weather, rather than us, losing our sense of smell !

OH yes, God forbid that should ever happen! :))

I was going to suggest that this plant produces a higher scent when warmed!!! I have two in clients' gardens - one by front door and the other in the garden. The one by the warm brick wall gives beautiful scent, but the one down the garden is still scented but less so.

And yet the advice seems to be to plant in the shade... where they would maybe be less warm? Is your client's warm brick wall in the sunshine ?

Perhaps by a shady warm brick wall is the compromise...

After reading about this and it being suggested by a couple of members I finally remembered to get one at the GC. Everyone was raving about the scent yet I was put off! Think there must be something wrong with my nose :))

I guess scent is similar to taste.
Some people might enjoy eating curry, others prefer the taste of cream cakes ...

Some might like the scent of sarcococca, others prefer the scent of roses.. Lol.

Cream cakes every time for me TT :))

Hi Scottish...
I so agree.
Those cream cakes with flaky pastry and apples. :o)))

Hello, and yes, terratoonie, the front door sarcoccoa is in shade all day, being north facing ... warmth is coming from the house central heating! But the garden one is against a fence but open to all the elements from the east and north.

Thanks Avk ... :o)

I bought some of these recently, after asking GOU members for really fragrant plants for my garden. The scent from them is absolutely stunning.