The scent is vanilla, more than lilac. Give it full sun, some Miracle Grow, pinch off the faded flowers, and you will be rewarded all summer. It's one of my favorite plants.

This is one of my favorite scented plants also... but I like the white one better than the purple one, the plant lasts all year and the scent is more vanilla.
They say the puple smells like cherry pie but I think it's more like vanilla.
My helioptrope does not like full sun all day long, it likes filterd sun, it shrivles up real fast if they don't have enough water, they are very very thirsty plants. ENJOY!
I have one by my front door and it's so nice to smell when I come home.

I agree. The white one is more heavily scented than the blue. I scour as many as I can from local garden centers and, like AngelSmell, plant them near the back door where I can enjoy their wonderful vanilla scent.

I have just rec'd a purple and white. The purple had blooms that have just a hint of fragrance remaining. I first noticed lilac. The tag and vendor says almond/baked pie. I hope that when the purple blooms again I'll be able to provide more info. The white is still small so I have to wait to see on that one. Mine will go along my driveway so that I can smell them when I come home from work. I hope they are as fragrant as they are supposed to be.
Charlene

My purple ( unnamed variety ) heliotrope smells like a mix of baby powder, cherries, and vanilla. The smell is not very strong, though. I've never seen a white one before. Is there a mail-order source? I'd like to find one with a stronger scent. Thanks for any help.

I grew the purple Marine variety from seed and I have 2 that are blooming now and a 3rd is just starting to bud. The first one to bloom has a much stronger fragrance. I was expecting it to smell like vanilla or cherry pie, but it definitely smells like lilacs to me. I was pleasantly surprised by this.

Anyone know if there is a compact or dwarf white heliotrope?

I planted a big heliotrope (purple) in a pot with other annuals and placed it on the stairs leading into the house. We had two weeks of 95 degree weather and left our front door open in the evenings to cool off. I kept smelling this heavenly vanilla fragrance and couldn't figure out where it was coming from ... it was the heliotrope.