12 Best Smelling Houseplants As Natural Air Fresheners
Making sure your house smells good is very important, but why keep using those highly wasteful and chemically filled air fresheners when you can get yourself some best smelling houseplants to do the job for you naturally?
These best smelling houseplants don’t just smell good, they are beautiful and make great decorations for your home. From subtle scents to stronger ones, here are ten best smelling houseplants you are sure to want in your home!
1. Plumeria
Plumeria plants are tropical plants that have a beautiful and strong scent. They are known for Hawaiian leis and come in a variety of colors such as yellow, white, red, orange, and pink. Because this is a tropical plant, make sure this plant is at a consistent 75 degrees F during the day and 60 degrees F during the evenings.
These best smelling houseplants need a lot of sunlight so make sure you put them in a window with full sun. Plumeria need lots of water during the blooming seasons, spring and summer. But you will want to avoid root rot so try not to overwater it.
2. Jasmine
Not all jasmine plants produce fragrant flowers. For this best-smelling houseplants list, the jasmine I am talking about is Jasminum polyanthum. The scent is strongest in the evening and when you smell it, you’ll feel like you are in the tropics.
This is a vine plant, so make sure you have a place that it can grow up or down. It needs a lot of light so that the flowers can fully bloom and only water when the top 1/2 inch of soil is dry. Jasmine plants do not like sitting in soggy soil.
These best smelling houseplants are slow to bloom the first year so don’t think you did anything wrong if you don’t get any of the flowers. By the second year, you’ll have plenty of blooms that will naturally fabreeze your home.
3. Lemon Balm
With best smelling houseplants like the lemon balm, you want to keep them by open windows so that the breezes will help release the scent of the leaves. This plant does not bloom flowers but is such a cute houseplant to have anyway.
This best smelling houseplant needs bright light to stay growing. Bright sunlight also encourages thick and bushy growth. Water this plant to keep it at consistent dampness. In the hotter season, place a few bark chips on top of the soil to keep it from drying out.
4. Sweet Olive
This best smelling houseplant has beautiful glossy leaves and their cute flowers blossoms bloom in clusters. The flowers produce the fragrance that is said to smell like orange blossoms. This plant needs a lot of light but not too much during the hotter summer months. Make sure you move the plant to a place that gets partial shade during the day so you don’t dry this plant out.
This plant needs to be watered about once a week. Check by seeing if the first three inches of the soil is dry. During the hotter season, you might want to water a little more as the soil will dry out a bit faster.
5. Mint and Spearmint
Many of you will know what mint and spearmint are. These plants are among my favorite best-smelling houseplants as they have a wonderful scent. If a slight breeze or wind brushes them, their scent becomes very strong and can even fill an entire room. The only thing is they do not flower if that is something you are looking for.
These best smelling houseplants need indirect sunlight. So, find a window that gets indirect sunlight and that is also cool in the morning. Water this plant so that is consistently damp, but do not soak it. Not only do these plants smell wonderful, but you can also use their leaves in the kitchen to add a mint taste to some dessert dishes.
6. Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley flowers is quite unique in their flowers and scent. These best smelling houseplants have a pretty strong scent and the cute little bell-shaped flowers grow in clusters. If you get the care just right with this plant, you could grow it all year round making it an ideal naturally fragrant houseplant.
Like many other blooming plants, this houseplant needs a lot of light. It also needs plenty of water in its growing season, spring and summer, but not enough to drown it. Just make sure the soil is damp. If you notice new shoots coming from the soil, water the plant a little less.
7. Hoya
Hoya, or the wax plant, is known for its dark green, waxy leaves. But the leaves are not the reason why they are on the best smelling houseplants list. It is their beautiful and fragrant flowers that make them some of the best smelling houseplants. The flowers bloom in clusters and give a pop of pink and purple in the middle. The scent becomes stronger in the evenings.
This plant needs a lot of light for the flowers to bloom. Let the soil become dry between watering. And to fully let these flowers to bloom, do not cut off the new long tendrils as those are where new leaves and blooms start popping up.
8. Eucalyptus
Here is another best smelling houseplant that does not produce flowers, however, has a very interesting structure. If you are looking for a fuller look with this plant, make sure to prune and keep it trimmed so that it does not shoot out tall and thin like in the photo below.
To take care of these best-smelling houseplants, make sure it is in either indirect sun or full sunlight. Let the soil dry out just a little bit in between watering. A great place for this plant is in a bathroom where the scent is drawn out by the humidity of a hot shower.
9. Angel Trumpet
Angel trumpets are some of the best smelling houseplants as their scent can fill an entire room. The way the flowers bloom is quite fascinating and beautiful as the flowers bloom as trumpets and cascade down.
Something to watch out for with these best-smelling houseplants is the pests that are extremely attracted to this plant. Because this plant is producing flowers, it needs a lot of light to grow. In an Angel Trumpet’s growing season, you must water the plant every few days to keep consistent dampness. Never over-water though.
10. Gardenia
Gardenias are among the strongest best-smelling houseplants and the white petals look so beautiful in contrast to the dark green and glossy leaves. Gardenias are normally grown outdoors, however, they can also be successfully grown inside as long as you care for them right. They’ll bloom for you during summer and maybe into fall.
Gardenias need a lot of light. They do well in places that will have warmth in the day and be cooler in the evening. Never over water gardenias as these best smelling houseplants should have consistently damp soil.
11. Lavender
The list of best smelling houseplants will also include lavender plants. This plant is so beautiful and brings a splash of purple into your home, but it also smells so refreshing! Lavender not only smells great and looks beautiful, but it is also a relaxing agent that soothes nerves.
English lavender has a better time growing in smaller pots as well as has a stronger scent than French lavender. These best smelling houseplants need a ton of light. Also, make sure to let the soil dry in between waterings.
12. Citrus Plants
Citrus plants are among some of the best smelling houseplants because they give off that natural citrus scent. You have a few kinds to choose from with lime, lemon, and orange. The plant themselves are beautiful and they bear fruit!
These best smelling houseplants are pretty easy to take care of. Just make sure to put them in a spot with lots of sunlight, a little humidity, make sure the soil is easily drainable, and water them lots! A bonus is if you have cats and want them to stay away from something, in particular, put the citrus plant around that object and your cat will stay away. Cats cannot stand the smell of citrus, up close of course!
