My mahonia doesn’t smell!

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I bought a mahonia two years ago, wanting it entirely for the out-of-this-world scent of the mahonias I walk past in the park every day. Two years later and it has grown and flowered beautifully - but seems almost completely scentless! I’m guessing I got the wrong variety somehow (the arrangement of the racemes looks a bit different too). I’m so, so disappointed!

Please could you recommend a mahonia variety that has the sweet, strong lemony scent I love? (Bonus points if it doesn’t mind shade, doesn’t grow 5m high, and is easy to care for - but all of these considerations are less important than the wonderful smell!)

Anyone?

My mahonia in the front garden barely smells, but the one in the back smells lovely. I don't know which actual varieties they are though. Your best bet would be to either buy one from a garden centre where you can smell it first, or take a cutting from one of the ones you pass every day (with permission obvs!)

There's mahonia x media 'Buckland' which has lovely perfume Or "charity' both smell sweet and have spiny leaves. Both need some shade and dampness. Charity has much bigger flowers.

I grow one of them tbh I'm not that keen on them. I tried to move it , it is only happy where it was originally which is on more acid soil.

Oh sorry there's also Aquifolium and Japonica I think Aquif.is the one that'ss growing here, doesn't smell much, and keeps returning after I thought I had moved it!

Has anyone else confirmed they can't smell it?

@UnvarnishedTruth

Has anyone else confirmed they can't smell it?

Yes, none of us can smell it, so it’s not just me!

@ppeatfruit

There's mahonia x media 'Buckland' which has lovely perfume Or "charity' both smell sweet and have spiny leaves. Both need some shade and dampness. Charity has much bigger flowers.

I grow one of them tbh I'm not that keen on them. I tried to move it , it is only happy where it was originally which is on more acid soil.

I thought Charity was what I had but I’m not sure. It has very upright flowers in the middle of the plant, which looks a bit different from the ones in the park. Mind you, they are huge and have lots of flowers all over.

I could try propagating the one in the park from a cutting - any suggestions on how to do it? I’ve never been very successful doing this before, though I’ve never tried a mahonia!

You'll need to go equipped with secateurs and a bag. Park mahonias often put out suckers where branches touch the ground.
Pull at some ground-lying branches until you find a "rooty" one, then chop that off before the roots so you have a rooty branch.
Put the rooted end in the bag and cut the leafy end so you have at least one bud but aren't dragging yards of foliage home.
Poke that in your garden soil and keep it watered until it establishes.

doesn’t grow 5m high, and is easy to care for

Ah, is this what you went for originally? Because if so it’s possible you bought one of the neater growing hybrids - which have no scent! So you don’t want Winter Sun for example.

Yes Denton I've found a lot of the hybrids now may look attrractive but are not strong and have no perfume e.g. the roses and hydrangeas. Give me a decent well grown plant anytime.

No, I thought I’d gone for a scented one (pretty sure it was Charity?) and avoided Winter Sun as it was not strongly scented. I’m a bit baffled! I will have a go at propagating the park one from a cutting. Otherwise I’ll have to wait until they’re flowering next year before I go to buy one!