The Only Flower You Need To Make Your Home Smell Good

Among the countless reasons home gardeners invest in flourishing indoor garden spaces, fragrance ranks near the top of the list — right up there with beauty. Of course, filling empty corners of your home with greenery, bringing nature inside, and the simple joy of taking care of plants are all great reasons, too. Those things aside, no one wants a houseplant that makes your home smell like rotting food. (Yes, those plants exist.) Small potted shrubs like begonias and lavender are popular houseplants that will fill your home with fragrance. However, there's one plant in particular that checks the boxes for aesthetics and scent: angel's trumpet (Brugmansia spp.). It's arguably the only flower you'll need to make your home smell good.

Angel's trumpet is a flowering shrub that produces large yellow, pink, or white trumpet-shaped statement blooms that will bring a colorful accent to any room. Each flower measures at least 6 inches long. When grown in containers, this pretty plant will grow 4 to 15 feet tall, making it great for empty corners or rooms with vaulted ceilings. The specific scent profile varies across species and cultivar, but broadly, you can expect notes of musk, lemon, mint, lily, hyacinth, citrus, jasmine, and gardenia. This breadth of fragrances means there's bound to be a suitable plant for your needs or preferences. A word of warning for pet owners and parents of young children: angel's trumpet is highly poisonous when eaten in large quantities. Grow it in highly controlled parts of the home where there is no risk of accidental ingestion, such as a locked sunroom.

While angel's trumpet is more commonly grown outdoors, it also does well in containers indoors. It is generally considered a low-maintenance shrub, but there are still a few things to consider if you want to grow angel's trumpet successfully as a houseplant. The most important considerations revolve around sunlight and temperature exposure, watering, feeding, and space — or the lack of it.

Proper care begins with good potting practices. When growing angel's trumpet in containers, make sure you have a pot large enough to support its vigorous root growth. When the plant is still small, sticking with pots that are about half the size of the canopy is a good rule of thumb. Eventually, however, your angel's trumpet will need a large container — at least 2 feet in diameter — to prevent overcrowded roots. It will survive the occasional root trim if needed.

Spring is usually considered the best time to plant (or repot) angel's trumpet. During the growing season, which typically runs April to November, add fertilizer to your houseplant's soil every one to two weeks. Leave it well alone, at least where feeding is concerned, in the winter. Keep the soil consistently moist. If you have dry indoor air, you might have to water daily. Once your angel's trumpet is potted, fed, and watered, place it in a room that sees bright, direct light, unless you live in a particularly hot climate. Prune this perennial shrub in November for a healthier plant in spring, especially when growing it in containers.