to think that it would be easier to deadhead religiously ... rather than be done with a plant that violently attacks your senses...

makes no sense to me...

the further thought .. that you can not find something to make your toes.. and your nose tingle with delight every time you experience it... baffles me ...

if you dont like it.. GET RID OF IT .... why invest more time in a plant you basically hate???

ken

Well it is beautiful and attracts beneficials, so it is fine otherwise. I was just wondering if those with expereince with this phenomenon could tell me if it was only the older flowers that were smelling because this was such a new discovery and I don't want to waste time experimenting.

I haven't noticed any off-odor with Shasta daisies, never mind a "stench".

Of course I've never been offended by the foliage scent of salvias, the sweet fragrance of night jessamine (currently in flower in my garden), the unusual spicy/cleaning product odor of the blooms of a certain tall Oenothera that opens in slow motion at dusk and self-seeds here, or any of the other scents that some gardeners find violently objectionable.

It'd be interesting to know if odor preferences/dislikes are ingrained at a very early age, if we're taught that certain scents are "nasty", or if it's a function of different concentrations/characteristics of olfactory receptors that lead to some being overwhelmed by fragrances that others find pleasant, interesting or neutral.

I have never noticed that Shasta daisies have any scent (I won't say fragrance) at all and happily winter sowed seeds from my neighbor's plant both last year and this year. The plants are covered with buds still to open so I'll have to pay attention to see if they stink. I've never picked any flowers for a bouquet--just waited until they were dry enough to harvest the seeds so I could grow more of them. I have a large, full-sun garden bed that needs filling up so I'm putting the effort into growing lots of things to plant in it.

I don't like the smell of them either, but I only smell it if I stick my nose in them, so I don't do that. :-)

If I pull mine out it will be because they are always covered with aphids.

Veeta, some of the shasta types have a scent very distinct to some people...I can detect it always, but I don't find it either pleasant or unpleasant, just smells like daisy to me. The flowers, either forming or spent, the foliage...entire plant can have a scent/smell that can offend certain people, not others.

Some shasta daisies are more odorous to me than others. The ones that I have kept in my gardens do not bother me if they are not cut for bouquets.

I can't say I've ever noticed a stench. I'll have to pay closer attention if it ever warms up enough for them to actually bloom.

I wonder if you may have a daisy that resembles shasta daisy. Chamomile and feverfew resemble certain shasta daisy types. There is another one that resembles shasta daisy that may have a smell but I can not recall which one.

I remember shastas growing next to fields fertilized manure. They reeked.
The ones in my garden don't smell, that I can tell. And I can tell you I was on the alert.

Now English boxwood smells like cat urine, and cilantro tastes like aluminum and has s weird smell as well.

go figga.

idabean

I agree that boxwood sometimes smells like cat urine but I LOVE cilantro!

Feverfew certainly has an odor but I like it. Can't say as I've ever noticed an odor from Shasta daisies.

you sure you didnt have one of those obscene red mushrooms around ... of which i am totally blanking on the name ...

found it thru google by asking: mushroom that smells like poop ... yeah.. you read that right ... lets see if GW lets it slip thru .. lol ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: you can find the latin name.. lol ... flip to the web side

Since daisies were my childhood favorite flower I have to defend their presence in the garden for their long season of bloom & how they fill up space. I just don't sniff 'em if at all possible.

Maybe you can counter it with the lovely smell of Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) which makes my entire front yard delightful especially in early evening. A sweet scent that doesn't overpower.

I've been told Valerian is also a "smell up the yard flower" & I'm waiting for my 1st blooms this summer. Going to be watching them though because I've been told they seed around a lot like the Dame's rocket.

Corrine

I think they stink too, but I do like them in my garden. I also do not like the stink of petunias or marigolds, so I don't grow those.

Hmmmmm, I can't say I've ever stuck my nose in one but I haven't noticed an unpleasant smell on any of the ones I have. I have about a dozen different varieties give or take one or two and still adding more as I find them.

Annette

I don't remember ever smelling anything awful coming from my dwarf shasta daisies. I'm going to check the blooms as they age as mine are in full bloom now. The next door neighbor has some Shasta Dasiy Becky that I can check too.

Although I love my May Night Salvia, I really hate the smell. But will put up with the cat pi** smell because the plant flowers almost non-stop from May to autumn if I keep it deadheaded.

But it might be an individual thing. A friend killed a stink bug while we were visiting her house, and I didn't smell a thing. Everyone there looked at me like I was nuts! Guess I didn't get the stink bug smell gene either.

Linda

I've never noticed any particular smell to a daisy, but
taste and smell are so subjective, and ability to detect scent/taste vary (I don't have great sense of either this time of year when I'm doped up on allergy meds).

My favorite summer scent is Oriental lily. I've often said if Heaven has a scent, it will smell like lillies. DH, on the other hand, can't *stand* the scent of them and thinks they look evil. Go figure.

Re cilantro: Not uncommon for folks to find the taste of cilantro objectionable (commonly described as soapy) - but I love the stuff!

I guess I am going to let them flower once more and decide if I can keep yup wit the deadheading required, or plant a lot more pleasantly fragrant partners.

Ken, some kind of stinkhorn.
There's another that doesn't smell, but the look of it will put you off your feed: dog vomit fungus.Seriously. I doubt the Latin name translates literally.

Marie

I grow shasta daisies (several varieties) right under the noses of deer and rabbits. They don't eat the daisies in my garden, so they must have a smell that they don't like -- so those plants stay. Great with Russian sage and red monarda.

Cameron

Oh yes, they stink!! I remember cutting some for a vase in the house, and then wondering where the smell was coming from. All the pets were blamed, hubby was blamed, all my garbage cans were emptied and my toilets were scrubbed thoroughly before I realized that my gorgeous vase of Shasta daisies smelled like sewers. Extremely pungent and very "number-two like."

So I don't know if it's a people thing or a plant thing.. lol, but everyone else in the house could smell them. So no more cutting, and outside they're far away from my patio.

Michelle, I LOVE cilantro!! I could smell it and eat it by the cupful, whereas hubby and son can't even be in the same room as a small bowl of chopped up cilantro.

Bumping this up......
Several of my Shastas are blooming now, glasses on to make sure there weren't any bumble bees doing their thing, I buried my nose in Aglaia, Ice Star, Snow Drift and another bought as Esther Reid but it isn't I couldn't detect any sent at all, but, when my nose got up close and personal with Snow Cap, OMG, rotten socks is the closest I can describe the smell. Summer Snowball and Cobham Gold have yet to bloom so I'll have to wait a bit on them, my guess is they won't have a noticeable scent either. Could it be it's only single flowering Shastas that smell bad?

Annette

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a distinct smell of "poo" around my herb garden. I thought the cats had done their duty there, which was unusual for them, preferring their indoor box. But, with cats, you just never know. I didn't dig around to find it, but a week or so later, smell is still there. Now husband is thinking it's something dead. Sure smells like it...maybe one of those pocket gophers we've been trying to get rid of? Then, just the other day I thought...dang if it doesn't smell like it's coming from that Shasta daisy, Silver Princess. Sure enough, I'm pretty sure that's it. Truly, it smells like something died! This plant it coming out....can't have that in the herb garden! Who knew!

What is a good smell or unobtrusive smell to some is just the opposite for others. It's just the way things work.

I have a friend who thinks the smell of laundry hung outside to dry to be one of the most vile smells on earth. When she told me this, I thought she was nuts, but what can you do.

Kevin

they are fairly low down on the pong-o-meter for me but they do have a musty niff. Several other asteraceae plants are also a bit pungent, especially tanacetum. Codonopsis foliage has to be one of the most nastily odoriferous plants I have (and I will lift up the flowers to see the insane nectaries and wash my hands afterwards) although nothing, absolutely nothing beats the smell of a flowering titan arum. Our local Botanics had one in flower and kept the glasshouses open till midnight - there was a troop of little children in their jammies, waiting with their parents - quite a festival atmosphere but we could smell the inflorescence long before we caught sight of it - grief, it was a truly carrion graveyard whiff - quite gagsome.

Sadly, my Amorphophallus konjac did not bloom this year and attract the pollinating flies, though it has vegetatively spread and I have much attractive foliage and weirdly spotted stems to admire.

Nothing smells as horrible as Shasta daisies though. I can't believe municipalities even allow them, given the horrific, stomach-churning stench. When the petition drive comes to your neighborhood, vote to ban them. We've got to think of the children.

Some Shasta Daisies do smell like Number Two's.. the ones in my last garden had a terribly heavy pungent odor that had me looking all over the house to see who had done what where. The Shasta Daisies I have now don't smell like anything at all. I was shocked and delighted to be able to have them as cut flowers again!

MX you're right about cilantro. I could eat it by the handful and LOVE the smell. Hubby and son can't even be in the kitchen if there's a bowl of it on the table.

Out of curiosity I went out to check the subject. Fiona Coghill, Aglaia and Broadway Lights do not have any detectable smell at all.

I've checked 2 additional varieties. Goldrausch does not have any detectable smell. But Phyllis Smith does. When I stick my nose into the flower and inhale deeply, I can detect a slight smell of an old Number One, definitely not Number Two.

The next door neighbor has some Shasta Dasiy Becky that I can check too.

I can save you the trouble:

I have 4 large established stands of "Becky" all 3 to 4 feet tall and each almost just as wide and I am always in the garden around these plants and never have I smelled anything...good or bad.

Leucanthemum Victorian Secret STINKS strongly of cat urin, you can detect it already at a distance of 15 cm from your nose. The worst of all I have tried so far.

Funny! I came by accident on Terra Nova's site to the description of Leucanthemum Victorian Secret. In the last sentence of the description they shout: Odor free! with an exclamation mark. It is not true! The biggest stinker ever!

My Shasta's stink. I thought they only threw their odor once cut till I realized that what I was smelling in the garden wasn't from neighborhood cats but the intact plant.

Anybody know if the sewer odor has a function, like keeping certain kinds of bugs or vermin away? Must serve some sort of purpose besides looking pretty. They don't go in any indoor flower arrangements, that's for sure.

AnnaA, sewer odor does not keep bugs or vermin away. Au contraire. It attracts flies.

There are heavenly scents eg roses, jasmine etc.

There are subjective heavenly scents eg mint, rosemary etc.

Believe me, after an unforgettable journey back from the garden centre , I can truly say.... Leucanthemum Broadway Lights STINKS!

Still going to grow it though. Will love it from a distance.

Cleome... smells like skunk. I suppose this is why the deer leave it alone :)

Duplicate post.

This post was edited by Perennial2014 on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 2:58

Isi it commonly known as the dog daisy

Stench??? In my experience, some of the cultivars are a bit malodorous. Some are not.

Re the odour and a possible explanation: have read that some shastra daisies are pollinated by flies as well as butterflies (hence to attract flies). Don't see that kind of fly in our garden.

Whatever, perfect perennials don't exist.

But I'd say shastra daisies are a very valuable July-flowering perennial for sunny mixed perennial beds in a location such as our own; probably positioned towards the front of the bed.

Below: one of my favourites, Leucanthemum x superbum 'Osiris Neige' (last July 13).

Pretty combination.

A couple of years ago, Annette, was talking about finally giving up on echinaceas too; the reason, however, was coneflower rosette mite. Over the last couple of years, the problem seems to have fortunately been resolved (both in our garden and with the growers).

Still we haven't had any lily family perennials because I feel that dealing with lily beetles wastes too much time. It's the toadlilies I particularly miss, because they were an attractive addition to our fall garden. Now feel we don't really miss them. Lots more fish in the sea!

But lucky with echinacea: A somewhat degenerate (?) Echinacea 'Doubledekker' backed by garden phlox (last July 26). I'm sure it's around ten years old.

I'm glad to find this thread. I ripped my Shasta daisies out last year because I couldn't take another summer of our whole patio smelling like dog poo (and no, we don't have dogs). It was the distinct smell of walking through a fresh pile of it, and the smell filled half the yard.

It was a gorgeous patch, but it stank to high heaven. Proof? The main bugs attracted to it, year after year, were flies.

Thank you to those who sniffed out different cultivars-- I may try one of those at some point.

Interesting. My Shastas don’t stink. I lost my incredible patch to hurricane Harvey and just finished replanting. I can only grow Becky successfully in Houston area. Tried other cultivars and none survived past initial season.

It makes me wonder if there's a genetic component to how strong the smell is for some poeple-- the way roughly 10% of people think cilantro tastes like soap, because of their genes.

There are a few mentions out there of them being stinky flowers:

"Old-fashioned daisies are a must-have plant in cottage gardens and make a great addition to bouquets, at least as far as looks go. Not all, but some daisies bring a stink to the garden and bouquets that resembles either cat urine, toe jam or cow manure, depending on whose nose is sniffing. This makes sense, since flies visit the blossoms to help with pollination. Not all varieties are malodorous. Buy daisies in flower so you can test drive the scent."

(https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/14-stinky-plants-pictures)

...and several mentions of them being pollinated by flies. Which makes the smell make sense, I guess. Things that smell like poo will attract flies.

Buying shasta cultivars in flower and "test-driving" the scent before bringing them home seems to make sense. I'm glad not all of them stink. I know it will be a long while before I bring home another batch!

I've never met a flower that smelled anything other than pleasant to me. I'm utterly baffled by those who describe marigolds as bad-smelling. Then again the smell of horse manure evokes pleasant associations and is perfume to my nose.

I think you are correct, Magpie, that people's olefactory hard-wiring differs widely from person to person. (Most sauvignon wines taste literally like furniture polish remover to me. When I remark on this to those who like those wines, they just say "Oh I like a dry wine." But it isn't because it is dry. Lots of dry wines taste great. It's because, to me, it tastes like furniture polish remover. On the other hand cilantro tastes like an innocuous Italian herb to me, not much different from basil or oregano, so I'm not among that 10%.)

I know Veeta's original question is years old, but I came looking for the same. My daisy plants stink--they stink like dirty socks and a windowless football locker room. At first I thought I was overwatering it and causing mildew or rot, but find that's not it. They smell terrible and I'd love to know what can be done, if anything. Maybe it's fly dung sitting and rotting on the flowers? I can't say I noticed the smell in the first few years after I planted, but they have gown and I need to think them. Maybe that will help.