Fof, my C.' Aphrodite' is several years old, perhaps 10 years? The scent is variable, from none to strong. It seems to depend on time of day, humidity, and general growing conditions. But I have to say, that sometimes it's a mystery, as under what seem to me to be identical conditions sometimes it is scented, and others, it isn't. Who knows?

I love mine. I have it planted adjacent to a Kerria 'Golden Guinea', and the wow factor is an 11. I've never seen this combo anywhere else, but it's amazing. The kerria starts to bloom just a bit before the calycanthus, but both hit their stride at the same time.

Another thing about my C. Aphrodite' is that after that first glorious flush, I get very little rebloom. I suspect it gets too hot, too fast, here.

Can anyone else comment on tbe simultaneity of kerria bloom?

I think you are in Tennessee. I’m wondering if they bloom together in NY or zone 7..

Calycanthus chinensis has no fragrance, but Calycanthus floridus has a strong fragrance. Aphrodite is form over fragrance.

Just lost a post with photos of this year's pitiful bloom on my calycanthus and kerria. I'll try again...

We had a severe frost about 10 days ago, down to 20F for hours, after a couple of weeks of much above normal temps...even multiple days in the mid- to upper- 80's (in March!). The kerria lost all of its early buds that were just beginning to show color. Today I managed to get a couple of photos where the surviving sparse kerria and spice bush blooms were adjacent. It's pitiful compared to a normal year, but I hope you can envision a 10' calycanthus next to a 7' kerria, loaded with simultaneous bloom. It's among my very best "accidental" pairings, in a two acre garden with over 2000 varieties of plants.

Photos to follow (hopefully). They won't load in this post.

EDIT: as of today (another record setter, apparently) it has been in the UPPER 80's for days, so yes, the blooms are already fading. This has been a hellacious Spring. Even the narcissus were ruined this year, too, lasting mere days instead of for three weeks...

Kerria 'Golden Guinea' and Calycanthus 'Aphrodite'

Remember, these are just leftover blooms that survived the freeze, nothing like the show they would normally put on. I struggled to get in a position where I could get blooms from both in the same frame. Normally, I could stand back 20 feet, or as close as two feet, and fill the photo edge to edge with color. :(

I bought two "Simply Scentsational" last summer, planted them right off my sort deck and am I'm looking forward to enjoying their scented leaves.

fig it is still a sensational pairing! Your 2 acres must be gorgeous.

@peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada Thank you. I can't really take credit for this pairing, since years ago I just plopped the calycanthus in the only spot in my border (more an area of slightly controlled vegetative chaos) that was large enough to accommodate its mature size, lol. It just so happened the kerria was its neighbor. The first year they both bloomed, I was pleased. As they grew into each other, I was amazed. I can't believe no one else has stumbled across this pairing. I recommend it to anyone needing Spring color that is absolutely effortless. I prune out dead kerria canes when I get around to it, throw a little fertilizer down when I have some left over from fertilizing something else, water a bit in a drought. That's it.

Unfortunately, I'm having to cut back on gardening. Between back issues, and just aging, I'm not up to maintaining it all anymore. I'll keep gardening as long as possible, but I'm "re-wilding' parts already :(