Plumeria - to me- smells like newly cut peaches- perhaps very very sweet peaches as there isnt any bitter element

I have a few Plumerias but it's hard to describe, when I went to Maui I stayed at a Hotel where the grounds were a Plumeria plantation, when we would come home at night it was very warm and humid and all you could smell was the plumeria blooms...... it was very strong and very heavenly.
It's hard to describe, have you ever smelled plumeria oil or lotion in a store? We have a a hawaiian store in our mall that carries all the same items they sell on the Hawaiian islands. It has a soft tropical scent that is like any other, it's not obnoxious, here is an article I found on the internet to describe the scent also I included a picture of my plumeris that is in bloom. The Plumeria blossoms would fall from the tree and land on the ground I would go collect them and float them in a bowl to fill the room at the condo we were staying at, it was woderful

The Plumeria flower fragrances can be described as the fragrance of the sweetest smelling rose. The fragrance is so powerful you can smell it almost from anywhere in the garden on a warm balmy evening. The flower is a tropical soapy soft smell. Smells like Hawaii to me.

Plumeria
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It depends on which plumeria you get. Some have a citrus scent, some have a jasmine scent, some have a coconut scent, some have a chocolate scent, some have a rosey scent, etc. I have found that the common yellows that I've grown had a citrusy scent. You can actually pop by the Plumeria Forum and ask around regarding which ones people have and what scent they get from them to find one that you might like.

I had one called "Hurricane" that I swear smelled like a Mounds bar!

So they can all smell different? Hmmmm :)

Flowersandthings - do come on over to the Plumeria Forum. Check out the neat blooms in the Gallery section of the Plumeria Forum.

Kasie

This list comes from a posting on the Maui Plumeria Gardens Forum. I can only attest to 'Vera Cruz Rose' which really does smell like a rose.

Lemon/Citrus/Fruity Scent:

Lemon Drop - lemon scent
Thornton Lemon Drop - lemon scent
Celadine - Citrus Scent
Aztec Gold - peaches
Singapore - lemon, bitter lemon
Keane - lemon
Apricot Delight - lemon
Dwarf Deciduous - lemon
Kimo - lime
Bill Moragne - grape koolaid
Pink Pansy - grape koolaid
Lemon Chiffon - strong lemon, sweeter than Singapore
Intense Rainbow - peaches
Pink Kiss - Apricots, Sweet Olive, Osmanthus fragrans

Gardenia Scent:

Gardenia Plumeria
Charlotte Ebert
Tahitian Sunset

Floral Scent:

Aloha
Dean Conklin - carnation
Nassau
OZ plumie-'Seldom Seen'
San Germain - like honeysuckle
Just Peachy
Yolanda's White - Night Blooming Jesamine, Cestrum nocturnum

Rose Scent:

Vera Cruz Rose, stronger than Guillot's Sunset
Guillot's Sunset
Brittney
Charlotte Ebert

Coconut Scent:

Miami Rose
Charlotte Ebert
Scott Pratt - spicy coconut
Nellie's White - jasmine to coconut

Spicy Scent:

India - nutmeg
Grove Farm - nutmeg
Negril - cloves
Kauka Wilder
Josua
Cancun Pink - cinnamon
Scott Pratt - spicy coconut
Carmen

Strong Unique Scent:

White
Grove Farm
Mele PA Bowman
Nassau
San Germain - like honeysuckle
Lemon Chiffon - strong lemon
Bali Whirl

Here is a link that might be useful: Maui Plumeria Gardens Forum

flowersandthings - yep, different ones smell different AND some of the same variety may not have a scent at all. Sometimes the environmental conditions impact them...

Arl_Tom - great list!

I grew up in India with memories of plumeria scents where most of them smell of strong tropical floral perfume. I wanted something a little more fresh and a little less spicy and the one that fit the bill for me was Lemon Courtade. Smells like a tall fresh lemon squash drink on a hot summer's day. Love, love, love it!

I am visiting Zanzibar and they have the plumeria trees on the grounds here and they put the flowers in the room. It smells like cotton candy - lemon grass to me. It has to be the best smelling flower I've experienced.

Hi

Know this is a very old post but was recently looking around for Plumeria that is evergreen and the flower is not white. Went to a special nursery was blown away by the variety !! 30 different growth habits , 25 fragrances , 15 choices among the evergreens .If that isn't enough they can custom graft to the habit color and fragrance you choose lol

In my years of gardening I've always got cuttings from neighbors so have never bought one . Had no idea there was so much choice !!

While i love plumeria hate the habits, get gigantic naked all winter while I found evergreen thought they only came in white and mine is only fragrant at night .

While they were expensive settled for a dwarf in a soft yellow with an apricot aroma . Has not flowered as yet but still has leaves and a beautiful "weeping" habit ,supposedly will stay under 6 feet. Was tempted by the custom grafts but a bit out of my budget!! lol

I always thought only roses had lots of choices !! gary

Awesome! Can you tell us the name of the one you chose?

My Gold Coast Peach is still growing under the T5 lights in my bedroom (it's a small rooted cutting). It has a wonderful unique scent and I recommend you sniffing one if you get the chance. Another I'd like to replace (I have a habit of over watering and killing them during the winter) is Chiang Mai Rainbow which has a grapefruit like scent IMO. :)

-Robert

Plumeria smells sweet, good, kind of tropical, but not really anything extraordinary, in my opinion. The intensity of the fragrance is between low and moderate. It would probably make a good scent for a shampoo.

Hi Robert, How is your scentsational plumeria doing? I would want to get one soon. Is it a good bloomer and how do you describe it's fragrance?

Scentsational died long ago though when it was alive I did not find the scent pleasant up close though I've heard it smells better from afar. I went down in the basement yesterday and brought up Aztec Gold and it's got damage along the stems and this time I didn't water it over the winter. Sigh. I'm afraid I'm no good with plumies. :(

sorry to hear about your plumeria's. They are so expensive to buy and if the plant dies it's hard to buy one one again. I want to make sure I buy the right one. For me plumeria's are easy to take care as they do not need any maintenance indoors as they go dormant. The only issue they grow very big and it's hard to haul them in and out for me. Here is pic of one plant from my collection from last summer.

Gorgeous! I might try to shove some inside my room in the winter and/or try shaking off the soil and store them in pine bark or something.

Gary,

Can you please tell me which Plumeria nursery you went to.. I may want to visit it myself.. Thank you in advance..