10 Plants That Make Your Garden Stink

In the plant world, a rank smell is unforgiving, bringing misery to every day of your life. As for the plants themselves, they couldn’t care less. In fact, their stinky nature can give them an advantage in attracting pollinators and deterring predators. 

Not all flowers can be distilled into perfumes – the aptly named carrion flower comes into mind, reeking of the rancid stench of decaying flesh. And unlike in humans, there’s often no telltale sign, as some rather pretty plants can be loaded stink bombs. 

They say that smell is subjective, but there’s a line that these plants cross, and it’s the unanimous agreement of many gardeners that they smell bad. From the fetid stink of cat pee to the malodorous scent of rotting tuna, here are a few bad-smelling plants that can range from ‘use at your discretion’ to avoid at all costs in your garden. 

 

1. Prairie Dropseed      

 

Nicely put, prairie dropseed smells like burnt popcorn, but more often than not, it carries with it the scent of dirty moat water. For those averse to the scent of cilantro, hatred for prairie dropseed runs strong. Its potent scent hard to miss, it proliferates in native gardens or plantings along preserves. While prairie dropseed makes for a tenacious plant that ranks among Midwestern prairie plants, it can quickly overpower more fragrant plants and should be used sparingly, if at all. 

 

2. Valerian  

 

Its flowers may smell sweet, but its foliage and the oil derived from it is much more unpleasant. At its worst, valerian can bring back horrific flashbacks to derelict dorm rooms reeking of dirty feet, which is what purportedly valerian smells like. While repugnant, the health benefits reaped from valerian lead some gardeners to grow it along with other herbs – although caution is advised. Valerian oil is often used in conjunction with other more pleasing scents to aid in alleviating insomnia and mood disorders. 

 

3. Bradford Pear  

 

The Bradford pear’s growth pattern can best be likened to that of a feral cat who likes to piss on others’ territory. Also known as Callery pear, this unsavory specimen can be deceiving, its branches glaringly conspicuous when covered in lovely white blooms. However, its cloying scent, akin to a dead fish, its tendency to sprout piercing thorns that can shred tires, and its invasive nature – all makes it highly undesirable. This is one plant to avoid at all costs, or as the saying goes, off with its stump. 

 

4. Ginkgo Trees  

The female has been described as the deadlier of the species, a refrain popularized by Rudyard Kipling. But what about the smellier of the species? The female ginkgo tree has the misfortune of producing extremely malodorous fruit that’s been likened to animal excrement. (If you happen to step on one at the peak of ripeness, then it’s almost the same thing.) To prevent any olfactory mishaps, look for ‘males-only’ cultivars such as ‘Autumn Gold’ or ‘Lakeview’ to ensure a stink-free yard. 

 

 

5. Yellow Alyssum    

Yellow alyssum has been touted as an easy-maintenance perennial, but its flowers are notorious for smelling like cat pee, unlike its sweet-smelling white counterpart, sweet alyssum. In keeping with its yellowly appearance, it’s also said to smell like aged cheese, and not in a good way. If you’re considering a drought-tolerant groundcover, look for sweet alyssum, which thrives in full sun to partial shade. 

 

6. Hawthorn Tree           

 

Do you hate your neighbors? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then you might want to consider planting the hawthorn tree, maligned by medieval peoples, who complained that it reeked of the lingering stench of plague, of death. However, its smell is not too noticeable if you don’t get too close, and some varieties actually are said to emit a smell resembling apple blossoms. All things considered, hawthorn trees are among the less offensive plants in the list, and their high ornamental value makes them a welcoming addition to the garden. 

 

7. Sea Holly        

 

Sea holly is an attractive pollinator whose pretty flowers emit a repulsive smell that dog owners are all too familiar with – the scent of dog poop baking in the sun for too long. While some aren’t bothered by the smell, others have taken offense at its foul-smelling flowers. Commonly used in bouquets, they’re picked before the white flowers bloom and dried, which does away with its pungent properties. Its scent can be diluted if you rinse in water with a sprinkler. 

 

 

8. Paperwhite Narcissus    

Something is in the air tonight – and it’s the objectionable smell of paperwhite narcissus. Its peculiar scent can be traced to indole, a biochemical compound popular in perfumes and common in white florals. Jasmine, gardenias, and mock orange are all considered indolic flowers, yet it’s in the paperwhite where it becomes overwhelming. The rise of hybridization, prioritizing beauty over scent, has crowded the market with the Israel variety, Narcissus papyraceus 'Ziva.' With that in mind, there’s several better-smelling substitutes available, such as ‘Geranium,’ ‘Inbal,’ ‘Erlicheer.’ 

 

9. English Boxwood    

They’re short and they’re smelly. Like wrestlers, English boxwoods don’t smell all the time, but when they do, it’s game over. Most garden centers fail to disclose one thing: these stout shrubs can make your garden seem as if the neighbor’s cat has been making his rounds. A more polite term would be ‘resinous,’ but that’s not what most visitors think. With that in mind, should you choose English boxwoods, situate them further away at the back of the yard, instead of the front porch. 

 

10. White Stopper    

White stopper may be inconspicuous on the garden path, but not inconspicuous to the nose. Often described as skunk-like, its odor comes and goes, intensifying on hot humid days to hang in the air (the local zoo comes to mind). Stroll past one, and it can seem more nauseatingly insincere than your local politician. Yet to less keen noses, its smell is barely detectable, so if your nose is perpetually stuffed, the flattering blooms of white stopper can be worth the risk.