Does the Red Poinciana Flower Smell?

Royal Poinciana

• This tree's flowers are a gorgeous, showy red or orange and carpet the entire top of the tree between May and July. While these blossoms do have their own characteristic scent, by which many people who are familiar with the trees would recognize them, they are not typically regarded as fragrant. The tree, winter hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10b and 11, usually grows to between 35 and 40 feet, with a spread of 40 to 60 feet. Royal poinciana can also have yellow blossoms.

Dwarf Poinciana

• The dwarf poinciana doesn’t have any smell to speak of, either good or bad: it is neither planted for its fragrance nor detested for it. Also called peacock flower or Barbados Pride, the dwarf poinciana is winter hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11. It is named for its similarity to the royal poinciana, with red, orange or yellow flowers that take on the same shape and bloom seasonally. Native to tropical America, the plant generally grows to between 10 and 20 feet.

Yellow Poinciana

• Of all the poincianas, yellow poinciana has the most distinct fragrance. The scent of its flowers, which blanket the tree between May and September, is often compared to that of grapes. Native to India and Australia, the yellow Poinciana is winter hardy in USDA zones 10 and 11. It’s a little taller than the royal Poinciana, growing to between 50 and 60 feet, so take into account its mature size before planting it. As the name suggests, its blossoms are yellow, but when they mature to seed-pods in the fall, the tree takes on a dark wine-red cast.

Landscape Uses

• All poincianas are trees, though dwarf poinciana can also be grown in a small, shrubby fashion. All prefer full sun, so find spots for them that can accommodate their full size and won’t offer competition from other large trees or the sides of buildings. Due to their glorious, long-lasting flowers, all these trees work best as specimens, planted alone where they can shine.