Mignonette is a sweet-scented perennial flower with a romantic history, few others can match. Although a true perennial mignonette is usually treated as an annual. French Emperor Napoleon, saw the plant growing along the banks of the Nile during his attempted conquest of Egypt. He was fascinated by its delicious fragrance and collected some seeds to send to his empress, Josephine. She was an avid gardener and grew the new plant under her bedroom window in a window box. She loved its unusually strong fragrance so much that she made it fashionable throughout France to grow the new plant. Soon it was made popular throughout the world
Mignonette is not a display flower, but its distinctive fragrance is reason enough to grow it. In some gardens some difficulty is found in its cultivation, while in others it flourishes with little attention. To ensure successful results its needs must be carefully provided for. It must be grown in a sunny place in firm, well-drained soil which is not deficient in lime. Clayey soil can be made suitable by digging and raking to make it friable, and by adding sand and a bit of lime. When the soil is reasonably dry it should be prepared as above then walked over to firm it as Mignonette does not flourish in loose soil. A final raking to ensure a fine surface and you are ready to sow the seed.
The seeds are very small, and care is needed to avoid sowing too thickly. They need a very light soil covering much the same as petunias. While we have not grown these plants from seed we believe screening a very light covering over the seeds and covering the area with a bit of black plastic to protect from the wind will hasten germination. The seedlings must be thinned to five or six inches between plants. If the plants are crowded, bloom will be sparse and the display will be poor and short-lived.
Mignonette is excellent when grown among scentless, more showy annuals. It is also greatly enjoyed when, like Josephine it is grown near a bedroom window where the scent can be enjoyed as you drop off to sleep. There are many varieties of mignonette with larger flowers than those found growing on the banks of the Nile by Napoleon. The flowers are of various colors: reddish, light yellow and greenish white and all are richly scented. Some may be found on the seed racks at the local nurseries and others will need to be searched out in the various seed catalogs.
Although gardeners usually row Mignonette as an annual it can be kept growing from year to year and even trained into a tree or standard. To make a standard, make cuttings during the summer and fall much as you would a fuchsia. Cuttings with a heel (bit of the main branch) root more easily. When rooted, pot separately in small pots and when well rooted move on to six-inch pots. Keep the cuttings in a protected place that is well ventilated and water carefully.
All side shoots should be taken off until the stem reaches the desired height or two to three feet high. If the top is then pinched out, side shoots will form and in time these shoots will flower. The best growing medium consists of two parts good top soil, one part leaf mold plus a small amount of sand and a light scattering of lime. This needs to be well pressed down before seeds are sown.
Mignonette Plant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mignonette_(Reseda)
