A garden without fragrance is really no garden at all. After all, how can you create something made for the senses but leave out interest dedicated to the sense of smell? There is literally an endless supply of fragrant plants to choose from, so adding aroma to any garden should be easy. But believe it or not, I have visited gardens where fragrant plants did not exist.
With still a long way to go, I have what I consider to be a good start of fragrant plants in my garden, the most impressive being my Michellia champaca (Joy Perfume Tree). At night it can almost be over-powering at times. Another plant that I really enjoy for its fragrance is my Stemmadenia littoralis (Milky Way Tree).
Native to Central America, Stemmadenia littoralis is an open-branching tree that creates a multi-layered canopy. In the tropics these trees have a maximum height of around 25 feet. My plant is now 6 years old from a 15-gallon sized pot and is only about 12 feet tall right now. You can see from the photo below that the twisting branches and layered growth might make for some good epiphytes attachments. Maybe a few orchids down the road?
The tubular white flowers of Stemmadenia littoralis can be found on the tree from spring through fall. Only when the cool winter nights set in does the tree stop flowering. While in flower, it is a remarkably floriferous tree.
Also called “Lechozo,” Stemmadenia littoralis is one of the most fragrant flowering trees in the tropics. I can attest to this from smelling them in a few botanical gardens in Hawaii. Unfortunately here in Southern California, with its drier air, the fragrance doesn’t waft like it does in more humid climates. So the fragrance is not as strong and must be enjoyed a little closer to the tree. I have my Stemmadenia littoralis planned along the walkway to my front door. It makes for a great conversation piece, as I am often asked by guest what the aroma was they smelled walking in. While I am not very good at describing fragrance, a friend’s wife gave the best description to date. She said it smells “pleasantly musky.” Huh? Well, that works for me.
Here are four flowers in a before and after photo. The Gray Hairstreak Butterfly was kind enough to provide some colorful scale.
Honey bees enjoy the flowers as well. This early-morning worker pictured below was actually in the process of backing out. It is a lot of work for honey bees to get to the nectar, as it is a long, tight tunnel for a bee to squeeze into.
The leaves of Stemmadenia littoralis add to the overall attractiveness of the tree. The oval leaves are a dark, shiny green and glimmer in the sun.
Even the seed pods are pretty on Stemmadenia littoralis. They are double-horned orange pods that hang from the tree.
Here is one of last year’s that has opened up recently with ripe seed.
The Milky Way Tree is in the Apocynaceae family of flowering plants. However, unlike its relatives Plumeria and Adenium, it is an evergreen tree here in Southern California. Books will tell you it is strictly a Zone 10-11 plant, but I have heard of Stemmadenia littoralis doing fine in 9B here in some SoCal gardens. It might lose all its leaves and have some major die-back from frost, but once spring hits, it will grow back quickly. Here in my garden, Stemmadenia littoralis is grown in a partial shade setting but I have witnessed it easily handling full sun 15 miles inland. In fact, mine most likely would have preferred more summer sun. However, I wanted mine under the canopy of a large Canary Island Date Palm to provide some frost protection during those occasional chilly winters.
If you have a fast-draining spot in your garden that needs a smallish, fragrant flowering tree, then I highly recommend Stemmadenia littoralis. It is not an easy tree to find for sale in Southern Californian nurseries, but worth the hunt.
Ana says
October 10, 2015 at 8:10 AMGreat tribute to this lovely tree. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this one. Ana
David Feix says
March 3, 2016 at 11:38 PMQuite interesting, but somehow I suspect it wouldn’t like Berkeley zone 10a winters, nor our cool summers.
Len Geiger says
March 3, 2016 at 11:56 PMI think this is a much hardier tree than people think. I have referred this tree to a few gardeners and as long as it doesn’t freeze, the plant does well in cooler coastal areas for them.
Dulce Sueiras says
March 17, 2017 at 4:43 AMHi Len. Found your great blog and loving it. Found a Milky Way tree too and want to plant it close to a back porch–say 3-4 feet from the house. I plan on keeping the tree to about 9 feet tall. Are the roots dangerous or well behaved when close to a house? We have solid concrete homes here in Miami due to hurricanes.
PS Keep blogging. Your info and writing style are great. Do you plant natives for birds and butterflies also? Thanks
Len Geiger says
March 17, 2017 at 8:34 AMHi Dulce,
Thanks for the compliment and reading. If you were here in SoCal, I could say with certainty that you would be fine. It is not a fast growing plant and it doesn’t have aggressive roots like a Ficus for example. In Miami, I still think you will be fine. Especially with solid concrete foundation. It’s a great tree, you will love it.
Andy Collazo says
January 8, 2018 at 5:07 PMAfter admiring your beautiful tree for a bit now, I bought two Milky Way trees 10 feet tall. Both are flowering and will be place in my garden. Like Dulce, I’m in Miami, so hoping they will last for years to come.
Thank you for the blog, and all the beautiful trees and plant info.
Andy
Len Geiger says
January 8, 2018 at 5:22 PMThanks for comments. Love this tree.
Renee says
July 11, 2018 at 4:46 AMI’m in Miami too and lost my previous SL to hurricane Irma last year. I planted a 15 gallon six in March and it hasn’t stopped blooming yet though it’s not very fragrant. I notice that it has put out seed pods. Such a beautiful tree. Can’t wait until it gets larger so I can hang orchids from it. They love it because it shaded them but still lets light get to them. Enjoyed your comments!
Len Geiger says
July 11, 2018 at 8:37 AMHmmm. Never thought about mounting orchids to it.
Thalia says
May 17, 2019 at 10:23 AMHi,
I’m in 9b, beachside in Daytona. My tree is about 3 feet high with a southern exposure.. it is forming lots of blooms but just before they open they fall off the tree… help!!!
Thalia
Len Geiger says
May 17, 2019 at 11:56 AMI don’t know. Too many factors 🙁
Renee says
December 9, 2019 at 5:00 AMIt’s December now and my tree is dropping it’s leaves like crazy. They turned very light green and began to drop when we had a week of 50 degree nights. That is winter here in Miami!
I hope it recovers!
Len Geiger says
December 9, 2019 at 7:52 AMIt does this when it gets cold. It will come back
Peggy Janitz says
December 29, 2019 at 1:56 PMIt really seems dead. I’m going to wait awhile, I sure hope it comes back. Did this happen to your tree?
Renee says
February 10, 2020 at 5:56 AMYes, my tree is practically bare now. But, I’m seeing some tiny green buds pushing out from the limbs. I’ll keep you posted. Honestly, if I had known that it drops all its leaves in Miami’s mild winters, I wouldn’t have planted it.
Peggy Janitz says
December 29, 2019 at 1:52 PMMy new tree was going fine and now all leaves have dropped. They started to be some new buds, now they seem to be dead also. It has been this way for several months. We had some Florida cold days, but not freezing. It has been watered when we had little rain for awhile. It is planted in Bonita Springs, Florida. Help. It did get two seed pods. But those are gone too. This is end of.December 2019.