What Orchids Have What Scents

[Cntry]

I know some orchids have different Scents but does anyone know what orchid belongs to which scents? I would like to get a orchid with either a vanilla or cinnamon scent for the holidays. Can anyone give me a list of the scents that belong to each type of orchid.

[tarev]

These are the ones I have that have nice scent, but they usually bloom in my area mid to late Spring.

Onc Sharry Baby - smells like chocolate
Zygopetalum - sweet floral, perfume like scent
Maxillaria tenuifolia - smells like coconut

[No-Pro-mwa]

Twinkle or Sharry baby. There both like vanilla and choc. There is a Masdevallia that smells like cinnamon but you probably know those aren't the easiest to grow.

[NYCorchidman]

I think the description of fragrance can be too subjective, misleading, or too general unless it is truly distinctive enough for most people to identify as this or that.

Sharry Baby, well marketed for chocolate scented orchids, I acutally strongly disagree with chocolate.
Maybe some vanilla or some kind of cookie or cake batter smell but not chocolate. but that's just me.

Eurychone rothschildiana is supposedly cinnamon scented, but I have to small plants that haven't yet flowered, so I can't tell you for sure.
Are you looking to get orchids for holiday décor or gift?
I don't think Eurychone will be easy to find, not to mention one in bloom during holiday. They normally bloom in the spring.

You might want to look for brassavola nodosa or its hybrid Little Stars. These are pure white flowers and they have very strong nocturnal fragrance.
I can't really describe, but they have very clean crisp floral perfume sort of scent. One of my favorite.
The fact that they are fragrant at night makes it nice when guests come in the evening.
and these are usually in bloom around December/January.

[Leafmite]

Orchids are plants and, as such, they don't always bloom reliably. Your best bet would be to consult a reliable vendor and arrange to have an orchid shipped in bud that will be ready to bloom in time for the holidays.

Here is a list someone kindly created on another forum where there is an attempt to describe the scents. Many of these will bloom in a different season than you want but this might give you an idea of the variety that is out there.

Fragrant orchids -

[Ordphien]

Some phals have a cinnamon type smell.
As mentioned some oncidium have a sweet smell.
I agree that Sharry baby doesn't smell like true chocolate.
At best it smells of cheap chocolate with lots of vanilla.
Like a crunch bar.

Some cattleyas have a cinnamon type smell.

Getting one to bloom reliably for the holidays....

[lepetitmartien]

I'm currently working on a large list of fragrant orchids, expect it sometimes not too far… (Just lost a few weeks of work in a computer HD crash, though nothing I can't redo in a week save maybe a few)

Beware of lists around: full of misnamings, taxonomy out of date, errors…

One of the version of the list there's everywhere that is a bit cleaned up:
Fragrant Orchid Species