A trait I don't often find in discussion.. Are there really fragrant daylilies? Mine don't have any particular fragrance, most of them seems to smell of... nothing! I know DLs aren't known for their fragrance but I'm curious to know if there is some cultivar that can be considered really fragrant.

Lots of them are really fragrant, usually not to the point of making a rooms smell, but if you actually sniff the bloom, it is scented. My dh can't smell them. to me they are strong, so it may depend on the sensitivity of each person.

I see a lot of people post about fragrant daylilies, and when I am among the daylilies down in the garden I can often get a whiff of the daylilies, but never seem to be able to pinpoint which exact variety it is coming from. There are three or four mentioned in the thread "July blooms" as being very fragrant and some won awards for it.
http://www.daylilies.org/LErne...

Usually my nose is really sensible, I can smell odors when others can't, so probably the ones I have are not really fragrant.
Larry, thank you for that link! I will read through the thread too.

I apologize for this thread, I did a research for "fragrant" prior to opening it, but the similar thread popped up just only after searching for a known fragrant DL.
Sorry.

Starting a new thread is fine...in fact a good thing with bloom season fresh on our minds and the scent of those cultivars we smelled lingering in our noses. I love the scent of daylilies and wish it was something hybridizers worked for more often.
Here is a link to the previous thread on fragrant daylilies....
The thread "What are your fragrant daylilies?" in Daylilies forum

Now that bloom is beginning here I hope to add to this thread in the next few weeks!

My most fragrant daylily by far is Spanish Fandango. It smells like honeysuckle, although it doesn't quite fill the air with fragrance like honeysuckle does.

Vickie, that's an interesting observation, and one I was thinking to myself just the other day as I was smelling some daylilies in the garden. Smelling like honeysuckle is great description!

Lots of my daylilies I would call slightly fragrant which means stick your nose in to smell. Some actually don't smell all that good to me. Some smell strongly only in hot humid weather. However, off the top of my head I have 3 that are very fragrant: Early Fragrance, Ebony Circle (didn't bloom this year but last year could smell it a few feet away) and Gold Helmet (large flowers with typically several open and VERY fragrant.

I have many seedlings and 80 registered cultivars. But I've barely ever noticed a scent coming from any of them ....until recently. A new cultivar that I received this past Spring has started blooming and it definitely has a scent. A very nice scent. Not like honeysuckle (as mentioned earlier) but a softer scent. A very pleasant scent. It's lovely bloom seems to match what I would imagine it to smell like. The cultivar is Tylwyth Teg. I have only had 1 bloom at a time on this cultivar. I bet if there were bloom clusters on it, it would fill the air. I do not have to stick my nose in it, to catch the scent. Just leaning towards it to photograph the bloom is when I caught the fragrance. Then I stuck my nose closer because I was so surprised to catch such a delightful scent. Now I want more fragrant cultivars!

I LOVE fragrant daylilies, and remember reading somewhere that most very fragrant daylilies are either doubles or have very large flowers. The idea behind this concept apparently is that larger surface area (i.e., larger petals and/or more petals) will produce and release more fragrance molecules. And I have noticed that a lot of very fragrant ones tend to be yellow, although there are many exceptions.

Many of Judy Davisson's big/tall UFs are highly fragrant. The other day I had several open blooms on OSTERIZED and the beautiful fragrance was wafting at least 10-15 feet away on a still, humid afternoon. Other very fragrant Davisson intros include MISTER BUTTERS, DIVAS IN DIAMONDS, LEAN GREEN FRAGRANCE MACHINE, TOWER POWER and MISTER GREEN JEANS. I have several of my own seedlings out of Davisson genetics that are highly fragrant.

This spring, I planted Virginia Peck's classic HUDSON VALLEY because of multiple reports of its wonderful fragrance. It has a scape with several buds forming, so hopefully I will soon be able to experience its famous fragrance for myself!

Among diploids, I have fond memories of the scent of Hemerocallis citrina wafting lightly on summer evenings. The best form I found was called "Yao Ming" sold by Plant Delights.

Thank you Char!
I just noticed Victorian Days has a pleasant smell of violet. I had to get really close to smell it but it's stronger than the others. I only have a fan of it and there's just one flower blooming, maybe a big clump will give more scent.
I'd love smelling more scent, the little garden is just in the front of the kitchen and living, so it would be nice to have wiffs of fragrance under the nose!

I also noticed Spanish Glow has a nice fragrance, I can smell it more because there are five blooms open. It happens that I have two seedlings growing just from the cross of Spanish Glow and Victorian Days, so it will be interesting to see if the blooms will be nicely scented!

My most fragrant daylily by far is Lilioasphodelus. It flowers early and I think it smells a bit like daffodils. Another fragrant one I absolutely love is Longfield's Beauty, it blooms over a very long period. When we get warm sunny days (rare around here!) you can smell it from several yards.

Lots of my daylilies I would call slightly fragrant which means stick your nose in to smell. Some actually don't smell all that good to me. Some smell strongly only in hot humid weather. However, off the top of my head I have 3 that are very fragrant: Early Fragrance, Ebony Circle (didn't bloom this year but last year could smell it a few feet away) and Gold Helmet (large flowers with typically several open and VERY fragrant.


Edited to add a photo of Gold Helmet.

Mainly I just notice fragrance in the air. People walk by, some say to see the colors, but others say they come for the fragrance. I think daylilies and iris are about the same. Some have fragrance, some do not and some not so great. During both their bloom times I say, YES! But I have to go around plant to plant. Is it you? So Lovely smells good. My Hyperion is a newer conversion? No fragrance. When I get a real Hyperion the old will go, cause I wanted it for the fragrance. I wish fragrance was easily searchable, but I understand if the info on fragrance was not required. So it is great to get everyone's input! May you be blessed with a wonderful day!

Yes, 'Osterized' can be very fragrant, as in walk-by-the-clump-and-smell-the-sweetness fragrance.

'Sears Tower' is also fragrant, but it is more of a stick-your-nose-in-it fragrance. Fortunately, since the blooms can meet you face-to-face...

I'm glad to hear that many of Judy Davisson's daylilies are fragrant; I'm probably going to order some for fall delivery.

We should really sticky a "daylilies-with-fragrance" thread (or maybe just a list, as opposed to a thread) as the topic seems to come up periodically, and I (at least) consider it an important one. (I'd say "ditto" to an additional thread on rust resistance, but that's just me... )

Gudrid, Phenomenal Phoenix and Erin Farmer are very fragrant.

Had to edit to add Darla Anita to the fragrant list. While deadheading I noticed a nice fragrance from her.

Does anyone on the forum (who is in the south - zone 9b) grow any of Judy Davisson's fragrant introductions? If so, which ones and how do they do for you? Perhaps @Davi might have some suggestions of any that might grow successfully here in central Florida. (Or maybe I am just too far south for them to thrive here?)

I always forget to write down the fragrance of my cultivars. Every year it is on my to do list.

But I think my most fragrant is the species H. citrina. Quite impressive.