Perfumed Paradise: Indoor Plants for a Fragrant Home Guide

Fill your living spaces with lovely, natural scents by growing these Fragrant indoor plants varieties. Enjoy floral aromas and more in your home.

indoor plants have a way of livening up indoor spaces with splashes of color and natural beauty. But did you know some varieties can also fill the air with delightful fragrances? Adding fragrant plants to your home can provide a pleasant sensory experience and make spaces feel fresher and more inviting.

If you’d like to enjoy lovely scents in your living areas, here are some of the best fragrant indoor plants to consider growing.

Jasmine

With its intoxicatingly sweet floral perfume, jasmine is an iconic fragrant plant that’s favored around the world. While many jasmine varieties grow as vines suited for outdoors, there are some excellent jasmine species for indoor growing too.

Arabian Jasmine (Jasminum sambac)

One of the most fragrant jasmine varieties, with highly scented white flowers. Can bloom year-round indoors.

Grand Duke of Tuscany (Jasminum rex)

Large white flowers have a powerful fragrance. More of a climbing jasmine variety.

Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

Star-shaped white blooms have a lovely sweet scent, not as intense as true jasmines.

Most jasmine plants need very bright light and some direct sun to encourage flowering and fragrance. Be sure to provide excellent drainage.

Gardenia

Often featured in high-end perfumes and soaps, the lush floral scent of gardenias makes them extremely popular fragrant plants. Gardenias require some attentive care indoors, but their intoxicating floral aroma is well worth it.

While there are many gardenia species and hybrids, some of the best for indoor fragrance include:

Gardenia jasminoides ‘Veitchii’ and ‘Aimee’

Classic, heavily scented white blossoms with double rows of petals.

Gardenia thunbergia

Develops lovely star-shaped white flowers with a strong fragrance.

Gardenias need lots of direct sunlight and high humidity to thrive indoors. Feed regularly with an acid-based fertilizer and allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings.

Roses

It’s hard to beat the classic floral scent of roses. While most serious rose enthusiasts grow these beauties outdoors, there are some compact miniature, micro and patio rose varieties well-suited for indoor growing.

Popular scented miniature roses include Red Cascade, Gingersnap, Scentsation and Rainbow’s End. Look for old rose varieties like Jacques Cartier and Renaissance to grow indoors. Any heirloom or English rose is likely to have a lovely fragrance.

Roses need as much direct sunlight as possible when grown indoors. Look for a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun. Water when the top inch of soil is dry and fertilize monthly in spring/summer.

Scented Geraniums

Not only do certain geranium varieties produce lovely fragrant foliage and flowers, but they’re also among the easiest fragrant houseplants to grow indoors. Their scents can range from floral, fruity, minty and even spicy!

Some popular scented geranium varieties include :

Citronella

Strong lemon/citrus scent when leaves are rubbed

Rose

Releases the lovely aroma of fresh roses

Peppermint

Foliage smells strikingly like peppermint candies

Apple

Highly fruity, sweet apple fragrance

Give scented geraniums a very bright, sunny location indoors and allow the soil to dry out partially between waterings. Pinch back the growth occasionally to keep them full and compact.

Eucalyptus

With their distinctly fresh, menthol-like fragrance, eucalyptus plants can really help freshen up stale indoor air. Believe it or not, many eucalyptus tree varieties can be grown as houseplants!

A few eucalyptus species recommended for indoor growing include :

Silver princess (Eucalyptus caesia)

Silver-blue aromatic foliage

Baby blue (Eucalyptus gunnii)

Round, bluish leaves with minty fragrance

Willow-leaf (Eucalyptus parvula)

Linear gray-green scented leaves

Eucalyptus prefer very bright sunlight and drying out moderately between waterings. Use a large, well-draining pot and fertilize occasionally in spring and summer.

Fragrant Orchids

Among the many thousands of orchid varieties, there are dozens that produce wonderfully fragrant blooms. Some have distinctly floral scents, while others may smell more fruity, spicy, citrusy or even chocolatey!

Orchids known for their intense fragrance include :

Brassavola species

Often compared to spicy cinnamon or hot chocolate scents

Oncidium species

Many varieties have very strong floral aromas

Phalaenopsis species

From citrusy to rose-like scents, depending on the variety

With their specific care requirements like limited water and increased humidity, growing orchids can be challenging indoors. But the reward of their long-lasting, exotically scented blooms is worth it.

Hyacinth

For a powerful floral fragrance that can perfume an entire room, few indoor bulbs can beat hyacinth. With their dense clusters of waxy blooms, hyacinths pack quite a punch when it comes to scent. While the fragrance only lasts a few weeks while they’re flowering, it’s heavenly!

Look for prepared hyacinth bulbs in late winter to grow indoors. Place the bulbs in a shallow container and just barely cover the base with soil or pebbles. Keep them in a bright spot indoors, water occasionally and enjoy their floral scent each spring.

Lavender

It’s hard to find a fragrance more relaxing and lovely than lavender. With its lightly sweet, floral, herbal aroma, lavender has been used for centuries as a soothing scent. Growing it indoors allows you to enjoy its calming fragrance year-round.

Since lavender originates from the Mediterranean, it prefers very bright conditions. Give it at least 6 hours of direct sun each day and very well-drained soil. Don’t overwater and make sure to provide airflow around the plant. Take care of these basic needs and it will reward you with its signature scent.

Whether you prefer floral, citrus, herb or spice fragrances, there are many wonderful indoor plant options to perfume your home’s air naturally. Of course, fragrance intensity can vary between varieties and growing conditions. But with some experimentation, you can find the perfect scented plant partners to keep your living spaces smelling fresh and inviting all year long.