Why is my Escallonia not scented?

A few months ago I bought an Escallonia Iveyi. Part of the reason I bought it was because I was specifically searching for scented shrubs to plant in my borders. However, it has flowered really nicely, but it isn't giving off any scent at all.

Is this because it's still fairly young (it was in a 3L pot so not very big) or is there some other reason?

I bought another couple of plants (can't remember which ones) from a garden centre as well and it said on the label that the flowers would not be scented, even though on t'interweb it said the flowers normally are scented. Would this be for the same reason?

 

Oh bum :(

I went off the advice on the www.crocus.co.uk and another site here which also says it's fragrant:

Escallonia 'Iveyi' - Gardening Club

One of my Escallonia gold laevis is just about to flower but the other one produced only one flower (it's a young plant) and that didn't smell of anything either.

 

But I thought you knew everything, don't shatter my illusions

 

it's like Yankee candles ... (my wife is hooked on these)

to me, some smell strong and others such as one called 'clean cotton' does not smell at all (to me), yet she says it has a strong fragarance and is/was the Yankee candle best seller?

some flowers only smell at certain times of day such as the night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum .... in the UK will only survive in a conservatory and only smells at night but is very powerfull and some say it's the most fragrant flower in the world)

however, according to the scented shrubs site, they say Edcsllonia iveyi has a 'delicate' perfume .... thats a dead giveaway for me .... that means only someone with a 'dog nose' will smell it

Escallonia iveyi at ScentedShrubs.com - Scented, Aromatic and Fragrant Plants, Shrubs, Roses and Climbers

I tend to look at plants that have the keywords: 'strong scent' or 'powerful fragrance', etc as my nose is old

 

I have 80ft of Escallonia hedging. Sorry, I don't know which one, it was here when I moved in several years ago. When it's flowering (unfortunately near hedge trimming time) it has a deep pink flower which is sweetly perfumed. The leaves when crushed have a citrus smell.

 

Any chance of a photo please?

Thanks everyone for the advice

 

Merleworld I've just seen the post above. I will take a picture or two tomorrow as the light has gone now. You're just in time, it's getting a 'haircut' tomorrow too.

 

I'm glad I looked in on this thread, just because I'm looking for a good hedge plant that isn't privet.

On the scented issue though, I know nothing of Escallonia, but here goes.

I've planted loads of flowers in my front garden. I have several different marguirites, correopsis, strawflower, some daisy thing, sunflowers, ostespurmums, a climbing rose and one dahlia. There is a constant pleasant fragrance coming from the flower bed, and it must be strong because I can smell it and I'm a dirty smoker. I'm not the only one, my wife and several of my friends and family have commented that it smells lovely. BUT here's the twist. Several of us have tried to identify which flower is emitting the fragrance by sniffing really close up, and none of the flowers really smell of anything. Perhaps its some sort of chemical reaction among the different emissions that makes it perceptible to us human sorts, I really don't know, but the scent is string and very pleasant.

 

Pictures as promised Merleworld. This one is on my neighbours ground, but with a break for a garage it then continues on another 40ft in my garden. Makes no difference though, it still has to be trimmed.

The individual flowers are about 1/2 inch across, but as you can see they grow in clusters.

The depth of the hedge is about 4ft across, but needs to be pruned back hard every few years.


More pics to follow..........

 

More Escallonia pics..........

 

on a side note, as far as scented evergreen hedges, it is said that Burkwood Osmanthus is very fragrant, but grows slow

Burkwood Osmanthus (Osmanthus x burkwoodii) - Hedging www.hedgenursery.co.uk

 

Thanks Sheal, it's lovely

I have half a dozen Escallonias which I've bought this year, so am hoping they will survive over winter with some fleece on (the ones in containers are going into the greenhouse). They are such lovely plants and if nothing else I love the smell of the leaves.