Best Scented Flowers That Smell Like Lemon & Orange

Learn about 13 Best Scented Flowers that smell like lemon and orange. As citrus scents boost Serotonin (*a hormone that makes you happy), growing these fragrant plants can be rewarding.

Citrus scents are known to uplift mood and spirit. Also, they stimulate the nervous system, making you more alert, attentive, and happy. 

1. Lemon-Scented Geranium

Native to South Africa, the foliage of this warm climate plant is also lemon scented just like the flowers. Although, the flowers are very mildly fragrant and showy than bedding geraniums. The leaves are fan-shaped and look attractive because of the crinkled edges. The plant has shrubby and hairy foliage and can reach a height of around 2 feet. It becomes a beautiful container plant, and those who live in a cool climate can grow this as an annual.

Growing Tips:

• The loamy and light soil is perfect.
• Place the plant where it receives at least 5 hours of direct sun. In a dry tropical region, protection from afternoon sun is essential.
• Provide a minimum spacing of 6 inches for adequate root growth.

2. Mock Orange

Botanical Name: Philadelphus coronarius

USDA Zones: 4-7

Mock orange is a small to medium size shrub that fits well in containers. The flowers are white with a refreshing orange-like smell and start to appear from summer. In the garden, it can also be used to provide a privacy screen or as a hedge plant.

3. Gas Plant

Also, known as burning bush shrub, it is not a common plant, and you’ll rarely come across it in the garden. This low maintenance perennial is slow to establish and almost takes three long years before it starts to flower. Foliage is bushy and forms the upright clusters of glossy green color, which are lemon scented. It bears showy, fragrant purplish flowers from early summer to the end of summer. It can grow between 40-100 cm high. An interesting thing you can try with it is igniting a matchstick below the spiky flower for a burst of methane gas.

4. Orange Jessamine or Jesamine

Botanical Name: Murraya paniculata

USDA Zones: 9-11

This flowering shrub deserves the number one spot when it comes to best scented flowers that smell like lemon or orange. It is native to tropical parts of the Indian subcontinent and China, where it blooms heavily, year round. Grow this shrub in a container if you’re living in a cool climate to enjoy the warm scent!

Growing Tips:

• Growing orange jessamine shrub in a pot is easy.
• Place the shrub in sunniest site possible.
• Change the pot when it outgrows the existing container.
• Avoid overwatering and water moderately.

5. Bikovo

Botanical Name: Geranium x cantabrigiense

USDA Zones: 4-8

Bikovo is very common in Croatia. A hybrid of Geranium dalmaticum and Geranium macrorrhizum, it does not require much maintenance. The flowers appear from spring to summer and exhibit beautiful shade of white with a flush of pink at the center. The low spreading foliage gets a delightful shade of red in the fall. Both foliage and flowers have almost lemony fragrance.

Growing Tips:

• Plant it in a full sun or partial shade. It can tolerate full shade but doesn’t bloom prolifically.
• In hot climates, grow this plant as an annual.
• Plant it in the well-draining soil.
• Removing flowered stems and dead leaves regularly promotes the production.