Aglaia odorata is one of the most popular house plants in its native land China. The current almost everblooming A. o. is most likely a compact and more robust cultivar. One Aglaia odorata plant at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Southern California looks like the original wild species and it is a small tree of over 20' high with much larger leaves. I did not see any flowers on that tree for the few times I went there.

Aglaia odorata prefers warm and moist weather year-round and is hardy only to about 28-30F. The more sunlight you can provide, the more flowers you will get. As houseplants, it can be tricky to overwinter. The key is to have well-drained soil and do not over-water. Maybe because it is not easy to propagate from cuttings, Aglaia odorata is still not very common.

Another fragrant house plant I can recommend is Calathea concinna. It is readily available and very easy to grow. Its fragrance is not similar to Aglaia odorata, but it is also very subtle and pleasant, never overpowering.

Daxin, thank you for the great information. I never realized there was more than one clone of Aglaia odorata in circulation. Is the fragrance of the original the same as the compact, everblooming form?

I noticed on a certain website that cannot be mentioned here (first word rhymes with "crop") there is a plant called Aglaia odorata var. gigantea. It is not listed for sale, just mentioned in its catalog of plants. It is supposed to have larger leaves and a more vigorous growth habit. Maybe this is the original A. odorata you mentioned?

I also remember Logee's listing a plant called Aglaia odorata many years ago that was not really fragrant. Then one season they listed a new plant simply called "Aglaia sp." which is the plant they currently sell as Aglaia odorata. It is much nicer than the old form of Aglaia they sold in every way and it is what I currently grow.

Aglaia odorata is also called Rice flower, well actually it should be Millet flower, since the flower resembles a ripe Millet grain. It's one of the most popular houseplant in China indeed. Almost every family has or had one. It's very easy to grow, but the number one enemy is the cold. It hates to stay cold and wet. Doesn't mind low humidity too much. I have one right now, it grew into a 3 X 3 feet in three years. The key is constant feeding and warmth.

Has anyone ever tried tea scented with aglaia flowers? Does it smell or taste like the scent of the flowers? I am a big fan of jasmine tea, and I have seen (but never tried) osmanthus-scented tea on various websites. But I have never encountered aglaia-scented tea. Maybe it is not produced for export?

Yellowthumb, thank you for contributing more excellent information about this plant.

As an aside note, I think Aglaia odorata has a truly interesting floral structure. The tiny blossoms look amazing under a magnifying glass.

Never tried the tea, but count me in as one whose little affair has turned into what I think of as true love!

Aglaia is the only fragrant plant IÂve grown exclusively indoors that blooms without direct sunlight and has an undeniably good scent. Have a couple of hoyas that bloom once a year without direct sunlight, but their scents have that earthy quality that hoyas are known for. And Aglaia is always either in bud or bloom. My only problem is that it has to be pretty warm in the room for the plant to waft any for me, but that improves as the plant gets bigger. I too love the shiny, healthy, disease-resistant foliage.

I like LogeeÂs description: "enduring friend." That about sums it up! P.S.-I've been digging around my house for a magnifying glass.... :)

Ispahan, as soon as I saw this forum I just had to google this plant. Thanks to you I have fallen MADLY IN LOVE with this plant!! Could I trade you for some cuttings sometime??

What does it suspose to smell like
and what time of day?
I have one, 5foot tall.
It's in almost contance bloom and
I have never smelled anything from it.
Please tell me what I'm missing!.....cheryl

I have a beautiful Perfume Plant (Aglaia odorata) it was growing just wonderful for 3 years in it's original pot I bought in it, it grew and bloomed constantly and smelled wonderful when the sun hit it, I moved to Chino, CA a colder at night area, I planted it in a shady place, it is now all brown and sad looking in just 1 month, I just pulled it out of the ground yesterday and I really don't know what to do with it, I believe it is still alive, don't know if I should put it in another place with more sun or in a pot? what should I do next, I have to do this today? HELP

Yes, I love aglaia odorata. When I first saw this post, I just had to google this plant and for me it was love at first sight. Anyways, if anyone is interested in trading some cuttings I have some coconut scented geraniums for you.

Any takers??

Hi Perennialfan,

Not to discourage you, the aglaia odorata cuttings are very hard and slow to root, I have been trying many times, all I got is a couple of rooted twigs. It takes long time. If you really want this plant, you can try logees, they should have the small plant.

I have one I bought last year at Ranch99. It grew few inches. It bloomed few times and I really likes the scents of flower.

I bought one from Pepper's Greenhouses this spring. It was tiny...only 2 or 3 inches tall. It's now a foot tall and getting bushy (I pinched it back at one point). I'm very happy with my purchase but the 2 foot tall one I managed to buy on Amazon has flowered at least 4 times so far and continues to put out flower buds. Yay!

-Robert

Count me as one. I love it. The smell is to die for and the plant when it is full of leaves, looks very handsome. There is all sweet memory attached. This had been one of the only 2 plants that we had when I was a kid at home (the other one being Jasmine).

Yes! the flowers are wonderfully scented. I think they smell almost exactly like the Cymbidium Golden Elf 'Sundust' orchid, but not as strong. I had a small one that eventually was damaged and died, but plan on getting another soon.

-Taylor

Had to bump up this thread with some input. I am starting to love this plant a lot now. It does great in pots and blooms in waves throughout the year. If you don't have one already, you need to get one now!

One thing I have noticed is Aglaia odorata scent is a great wafter here. It's scent is omnipresent at many Oriental nurseries here and you just can't help buy wallow in the sweet citrus-like scent. It sort of reminds me of the scent of Clinique Happy for Men.

It would be perfect in pots by an entry way.

This post was edited by musaboru on Sun, Jul 27, 14 at 21:06

Thanks for bumping this, Musaboru!

I love its scent though sometimes it can be hard to detect.
Hard to believe the tiny one I got from Pepper's has grown so much! :)

-Robert