Wisteria smells floral and sweet. It features lilac undertones and nuances of cloves and musk. The overall sweetness of the scent depends on the type of Wisteria flower but many also feature a heavy damp-like scent.
All Wisteria flowers are fragrant. Silky Wisteria and Japanese Wisteria are among the most fragrant flowers of the genus. They are used in perfumery to evoke floral scents with a deep vintage-like aroma. Wisteria is often confused with lilac in perfumes.
Types of wisteria flowers and how they smell
- Silky Wisteria
There are multiple types of Silky wisteria. These flowers bloom in late spring or late summer. Some even live on through the fall until winter arrives. These are some of the most fragrant wisteria flowers.
- Japanese Wisteria
There are various types of Japanese wisteria such as Wisteria floribunda Royal Purple. This type of wisteria smells sweet and floral. It features lilac undertones. Best harvested in early spring, it starts to smell bad as spring finishes.
- Chinese Wisteria
Chinese wisteria or Jako Wisteria Sinesis smells sweet, white floral, with green undertones. It’s highly fragrant and highly suitable for perfumes.
What Does Wisteria Smell Like?
Wisteria smells floral, musky, and a bit like lilac. The smell can also be reminiscent of spices, cloves, and humid rain undertones. Wisteria’s floral smell is most similar to lilac, but with a sweeter nuance.
Wisteria smells sweet
Most types of wisteria flowers smell sweet. The sweetness levels vary considerably from one flower to another. Wisteria tends to grow in small flowers but they have an intense sweetness regardless.
Wisteria smells musky
A musk-like undertone is associated with wisteria. Almost all flowers of the genus have a degree of muskiness in them. This makes them perfect for perfumes, especially for long-lasting perfumes for women.
Wisteria smells floral
Wisteria’s most characteristic smell is floral. The flower of wisteria is often used to make English gardens beautiful. However, almost all Wisteria flowers are fragrant, unlike hibiscus. Wisteria is an excellent flower to make your garden smell good but it also has a special role in floral perfumes.
Wisteria can smell spicy
Wisteria can also smell mildly spicy. This is a bit rare to find when the flower grows in humid climates but since there are hundreds of types of wisteria, it can be the case you find one that is mildly spicy. Wisteria smells best when mixed with violet, lilac, and lavender. From these, lavender has a slightly-spicy nuance to it as well.
Wisteria smells a bit like lilac
Wisteria smell is often associated with lilac. It can be one of the most interesting flowers in perfumes for mature women or in perfumes for women over 30 and perfumes for women over 40. Wisteria and lilac are some of the forgotten smells in perfumes. However, they can be some of the most interesting flowers when it comes to longevity.
Wisteria can smell like cloves
The smell of wintertime cloves drinks is often associated with wisteria. These are some of the ideal scents to add vibrancy to a flower. Clove-like flowers are almost always known for their intense aroma.
Wisteria often smells heavy/damp
The heavy humid undertone of wisteria is something people can dislike. This zesty quality can also be interpreted as pleasant. It can take a lot to truly master the differences between regular and damp wisteria if you don’t know what it smells like or if you don’t have it in your backyard.
Does wisteria smell bad?
When it comes to smelling different types of wisteria there are a few to stay away from. Smelling one flower after another soon leads to categorizing wisteria by the time they bloom for the smell. Spring wisteria tends to smell the best. Summer wisteria tends to smell bad. Some people also associate the smell of summer wisteria with cat pee.
Wisteria vs lavender
Wisteria is only mildly similar to lavender. It has a sweeter profile which can be cloying at times. Its sweet nature is different from the aromatic smells of lavender. Both wisteria and lavender are used in the perfumery, however. Lavender perfumes are more popular than wisteria perfumes.
Wisteria vs lilac
Wisteria smells similarly to lilac. It might even be confused with lilac, especially in the case of spring wisteria.
Conclusion
Wisteria has a very particular sweet-floral scent. It represents one of the most interesting forgotten scents in the world of fragrances. Sure, there are some great hidden gems in the wisteria perfumes world from brands such as Jo Malone. However, the wisteria note is sometimes difficult to justify in perfumery since very few people know how it smells.
Wisteria has, on the other hand, a complex floral smell. Japanese and Chinese wisteria tend to be liked by everybody. We’ve seen Chinese wisteria making its way into gardens more, similarly to its Japanese counterparts. As it smells so good, Chinese wisteria is also found in more gardens and is often clearly described by scent as a result.
Demeter Fragrance Wisteria and Jo Malone Rain, Wisteria, and Violet are a couple of the few wisteria perfumes still worth buying today. They are among the few modern wisteria perfumes as many of them are made more than 10 years ago which doesn’t help them often being associated with perfumes that are small like grandmothers. On the other hand, wisteria is a special note many perfumes don’t know how to sell to the masses, particularly to women as wisteria is a feminine scent, in essence.