Scented geraniums’ lovely scent should be all around you. These fragrant plants, which belong to the genus Pelargonium, are relatives of the common garden geranium. Numerous fragrant geraniums are heirloom plants that have endured over time because of gardeners who took cuttings and shared the fragrant offspring. Like other fragrant geraniums, rose geranium produces fragrant oils in its leaves. Scented geraniums are attractive flowers that are simple to grow. Green, blue-green, and variegated tones can all be seen in the leaves as they unfold. Give plants a position in full sun, fertile soil, and well-drained soil. Provide protection from the harsh afternoon sun in southern locations.
Temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for scented geranium growth. Plants are stressed by higher temperatures, so when the summer heat comes, be sure to give them enough moisture.
Grow aromatic geraniums in pots or garden beds, such as rose geranium. Due to their lack of winter hardiness, most gardeners plant these aromatic beauties as annuals. Use a commercial soil-free planting mix designed for use in pots if you’re growing fragrant geraniums in them. These mixtures offer the superior drainage that fragrant geraniums require.
It is simple to overwinter these fragrant plants, either in containers or by using cuttings. Give potted scented geraniums a place next to a light east or south window for the optimum growth if you move them indoors for the winter. Inside, plants will slenderize. Trim them as necessary to control growth.
Another method for preserving scented geraniums through the winter is to take cuttings. Cuttings of scented geraniums are more prone to decay than other geraniums from the Pelargonium genus. Cuttings should be dipped in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of home bleach and 4 drops of liquid dish soap in 2 quarts of water to avoid this. Cuttings should be let to dry overnight before planting the following day.
Scented geraniums are adaptable indoor plants. You can use fresh leaves in the kitchen or dry them out to make potpourri. Chopping fragrant geranium leaves fresh to add to cookie or cake mixes is a typical kitchen usage. Or use full leaves to line a cake pan before adding batter and baking. Slice the leaves off the bottom of the cake after baking, or leave them on and enjoy the crunchy bite. A tasty sweetener is made by layering whole perfumed geranium leaves with sugar.
Native to South Africa, scented geraniums are from the Cape of Good Hope. Scented geraniums, such as rose geranium, gained to popularity as perfume ingredients in the 1700s. In place of pricey rose attar in perfume, the rose geranium Pelargonium capitatum, sometimes known as Attar of Roses, was utilized.
In Kenya, which was then owned by the British, rose geranium farms started to appear. Although the geraniums are grown in Egypt, China, and India, rose geranium oil is still used today to substitute expensive rose attar in perfumes. 2.5 pounds of rose essence are produced from one ton of rose geranium leaves.
Can geraniums survive the cold in pots?
Geraniums can be overwintered inside in three different ways: as a houseplant, as a dormant bare root, or as cuttings. Your decision will be influenced by the amount of room you have indoors and the range of temperatures you can tolerate. Here is a closer examination of each method.
Overwintering geraniums as houseplants
If you want to keep the entire potted plant and have lots of room close to a window that gets bright, direct light, go with this option. A drafty west-facing window would be the ideal place for your potted geranium to spend the winter because geraniums prefer it chilly (55 to 65 F is optimum).
Wash the foliage well with your hose and repot the plant in new potting soil to prevent bringing unwanted pests from outside. You might also use insecticidal soap, which is sold in most garden centers and hardware stores as well as online. Avoid taking the plant indoors if it shows any signs of pests or illness. Only strong plants have a chance of successfully overwintering indoors.
During the winter, keep the soil wet but not damp. No more humidity is required. If the stems begin to sag, pinch them back to keep the plant compact throughout the winter. When springtime comes around, you may start fertilizing once more and transfer the plant back outside as soon as the temperature reliably rises above 50 F.
Overwintering geraniums as dormant bare root plants
This is the most typical way to overwinter geraniums, but it won’t work unless you have a dark, dry place that stays around 50 degrees throughout the winter.
First, dig up your geranium before it freezes and shake the dirt off the roots. To stop mold from forming, let the plant sit and dry for a few days before storage. Before moving onto the following phase, the roots must be completely dry.
The roots should be kept in a dark, dry place that doesn’t get colder than 45 degrees throughout the winter. Geranium roots should be kept at a temperature of 50 F. You can keep them by doing:
- It has been customary for generations to hang the plants upside-down from the rafters;
- placing them on a shelf after wrapping them in newspaper or a paper bag;
- they were put in a cardboard box.
Step 3: Every month or so, look for mold, black leaves, or limp stems at the roots. Remove any plant or root components that are harmful. Most of the stems should endure the winter in good shape. Before re-storing them if they become too wilted, give them a good bath in water and let them air dry.
Step 4: Reviving your geraniums involves cleaning them up, pruning the stems back to healthy green growth, and replanting them in new potting soil about six weeks before your final frost date. Where the new roots will grow, bury the stems two nodes deep. When you notice fresh growth in one to two weeks, keep the plants somewhat dry; after that, keep the soil moist until the plants are big enough to replant outside.
Overwintering geraniums as cuttings
If your light windowsill area is limited or you are concerned that bringing in your entire potted plant would also attract unwanted bugs, this is a nice technique to try. Additionally, it’s a fantastic way to multiply your existing geraniums.
To trim plants, you’ll need:
- a cutting edge.
- Most hardware stores and garden centers sell rooting hormone, which is sold online.
- Use little terracotta or plastic pots, or recycle a clear takeaway container for roasted chicken.
- If you don’t eat chicken, use clear plastic bags to cover the pans.
Can I store my geraniums for the following season?
Amazingly, annual geraniums (Pelargonium hybrids) thrive and flower wonderfully from spring till frost with little effort. The next spring, these resilient tiny plants will take off and grow once more if you dig them out in the fall and store them in a cardboard box or paper bag for the winter. Learn how to preserve your geraniums over the winter so you can enjoy them year after year by watching our video and reading the article below.
Do fragrant geraniums reappear every year?
“The phrase “scented geranium” is a general name for Pelargonium species with fragrant leaves and/or flowers.
Compared to garden geraniums, these species and cultivars often have smaller leaves and blooms (P. x hortorum).
For example, in the image below, the plant on the right is a zonal geranium, whereas the plant on the left is a “geranium with a lemon scent.
These plants have glands that produce the fragrant oil. The oils are produced when the leaves are crushed or otherwise disturbed, giving off a sweet perfume.
Although perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, scented geraniums are typically planted as annuals.
You can bring your magnificent plants indoors for the winter if you don’t live in one of these places and don’t want to toss them on the compost pile every year.
Naturally, scented geraniums can’t tolerate much cold, but some plants, especially the smaller-leaved variety, can tolerate temperatures as low as Zone 8.
Some can flourish in Zone 12. In Zone 8, plants often die back to the ground in the winter and emerge again in the spring.
A Note of Caution:
Dogs and cats are poisoned by all Pelargonium species. Any portion can cause ataxia, depression, and hypothermia in big dosages and vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea in pets when consumed in modest levels.
Are fragrant geraniums winter-resistant?
Enjoy the lemon, rose, apple, peppermint, or pine smell by gently petioling the leaves. Place the plants in locations where you can easily pat them to release and appreciate the aroma or brush past the leaves to do so.
These plants are cultivated for their fragrant leaves, but they also yield lovely flowers that are less conspicuous than the common bedding geranium. Although the majority of gardeners call them geraniums, both are actually Pelargoniums.
When there are no frost warnings, grow these as indoor plants in a sunny window or in a sunny spot outside. In zones 10 and 11, scented geraniums are hardy, but in the majority of places, they need to be brought indoors for the winter.
For optimal results, grow plants inside in high-quality potting soil or outdoors in well-drained soil. Pinch back the stalks as necessary and remove the faded blossoms.
Additional details: Take cuttings from healthy plants and start new ones. Take a 4-inch section of the leafy stem, cut off the blossoms, and then root it. Use cuttings from your plant’s back pruning, or alternatively. Listen to my audio tip on Starting Plants from Cuttings for more information.
My geraniums need to be brought inside for the winter.
Bring geraniums indoors before the first frost to overwinter them. Drag the entire pot indoors where they should stay for a few weeks while you take care of other more urgent garden tasks if you are growing them in a tub or container and have limited time (as it generally is in the fall). If they were grown in beds, simply remove them with a little dirt, place them in a pot, and water them sparingly. They will survive for a few weeks until you can deal with them.
In the winter, should geraniums be pruned back?
You should prune a perennial geranium after it has bloomed all season and starts to wither. This helps the plant store energy for the spring while simultaneously keeping it dormant for the winter. This could need to happen any time between August and late October, depending on your zone. Cut perennial geraniums down to 2 or 3 inches above the soil with a pair of trustworthy shears, ideally at nodes or new growth points. Take out any more flowers or foliage. You’ll have a collection of thick stems that is really ugly. But don’t panic, your blooms will return in full bloom the following spring.
How can I tell if my geranium is a perennial or annual plant?
Are geraniums perennial or annual plants? Are you one of those customers at the garden center who has to pause and clarify the difference between an annual and a perennial? Unless gardening is our one and only true love, the truth is that we have all likely experienced it at some point.
A seasonal plant dies after going through one life cycle. A perennial plant endures for at least two years. Depending on where and how they are grown, geraniums can be either annuals or perennials.
The Latin term for geranium is pelargonium. These plants are typically grown as annuals since they cannot endure cold. However, they can be grown as perennials with a few simple techniques. In the following sections of this post, let us share a few of those tips with you.
When should I trim my geraniums back?
reducing after blossoming After flowering, early-flowering perennials like geraniums and delphiniums are pruned to almost ground level to promote new growth and late-summer blooming. Then, in the fall or spring, these are again pruned.
Reduce the number of scented geraniums?
Pruning fragrant geraniums Never hesitate to cut back a plant if it becomes too big. The optimal time to prune is in the spring because the plants will have more time to develop buds and blossoms. However, large plants can tolerate some pruning at any time of year. Trimmings can always be rooted.
What are some uses for fragrant geraniums?
The care of scented geraniums is quite simple. They can be grown in the ground, in containers, or both indoors and outdoors. Although they may require some protection when the sun is at its hottest, they prefer lots of sun. They don’t care much about the type of soil, but they don’t enjoy wet feet.
While they are actively growing, fertilize them softly and sparingly. The main drawback of scented geraniums is that they have a propensity to grow lanky and require trimming to encourage bushiness. Overfertilization just makes this issue worse.
However, don’t discard those trimmings. Cuttings of scented geranium can be simply grown to replace older plants or to make thoughtful gifts for friends. You could wish to use plants that you’ve grown from cuttings to line a sidewalk or path. Grow scented geraniums where they will be handled, whether in pots or the ground, as the leaves need to be brushed or crushed to release the fragrance oils.
Dig up your plants for indoor use or collect cuttings for winter growth before the first fall frost. Geraniums with a fragrant scent thrive in similar conditions to those outside. Maintain them in a sunny window, give them regular waterings, and apply very little fertilizer.
It’s amazing that every gardener doesn’t have at least one scented geranium because caring for them is so simple both inside and out. They make the ideal plant for a balcony or patio. They are edible in addition to providing fragrant leaves, gorgeous blossoms, and exquisite fragrances. The aromatherapy is free to use and the leaves can be used to flavor drinks, jellies, or baked foods. So ignore the roses. Observe the perfumed geranium and take a whiff.
How old are fragrant geraniums?
You may divide geraniums into two primary groups. There are real geraniums, also known as cranesbill and hardy geraniums. They are frequently mistaken for common or scented geraniums, which belong to the related but distinct genus Pelargoniums. Compared to true geraniums, these offer a considerably more impressive flower display, but they are more difficult to maintain over the winter.
Only USDA zones 10 and 11 are suitable for growing pelargoniums, which are native to South Africa. They are typically only grown as annuals in most countries, despite the fact that they can live for many years in warm regions. They may also be raised in containers and brought indoors to overwinter. As long as it doesn’t get too cold, the common geranium can live for many years.
On the other hand, true geraniums can be cultivated as perennials in a considerably wider range of conditions because they are far more cold hardy. For the most part, USDA zones 5 through 8 are winter-hardy. Some types can withstand the hotter summers in zone 9, while others can endure winters that are as chilly as those in zone 3, at least for the roots.
As long as it is properly cared for, geraniums can live for many years. Additionally, they are easily overwintered. Some other kinds, like the biennial Geranium maderense, only live for two years but can withstand most winters.
In order to answer the question “how long do geraniums live,” it is important to consider both your location and the sort of geranium plant you own.