Scented geraniums (Pelargonium spp.), which are herbaceous perennials native to South Africa and grow in USDA plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, release potent fragrances from their leaves. The over 200 officially recognized cultivars are divided into groups based on their scents. Compared to real geraniums, scented geranium blossoms are smaller and lack aroma. Many fragrant geraniums give food, sugar, syrup, and hot tea flavor.
What scent do scented geraniums have?
Anita Ballek, 82, firmly believes that a perfumed geranium can provide a busy person a mental boost. The East Haddam, Connecticut, resident described it as a “pick-me-up with no adverse effects.”
Scented geraniums should also be used by people in need of a comparable spirit boost. These plants not only tickle the olfactory system but also delight the eye with attractively shaped leaves that beg to be handled, releasing the scent. They are available in more than 150 scents, which may or may not correspond to the name on the label (depending on the nose and the optimism of the sniffer).
Faye Brawner, the Beverly, Ohio-based geranium expert and author of “Geraniums: The Complete Encyclopedia,” advises against buying them solely to have every name (Schiffer). In fact, while buying a plant, she advises against paying any attention to labels or aroma descriptions.
You don’t have to macerate it; only gently”
To obtain that smell rush, simply swipe your finger across the leaves. Buy it if you like it, advised Brawner.
Some scented geraniums indeed smell as described, including lemon, peppermint, rose, and lime, while Brawner dismisses some of the more inventive or unique aromas attributed to plants as just marketing gimmicks (although the latter smells more like the leaf than the fruit to her).
She still advises rubbing and smelling the leaves before purchasing plants with these scents because some scented geranium kinds have stronger scents than others, she said.
South Africa is the origin of scented geraniums, which are actually pelargoniums and not true geraniums. According to Brawner, the wide range of kinds can include trailing sprawlers, tall, imposing examples, and bushy, little plants. And the variety of them is what makes collecting them so enjoyable.
“The variety of scents is exquisite. Beyond fruits and flowers, there is a whole world of aromas; even pine scents exist, according to Roxbury, Connecticut-based horticulturist, author, and lecturer Tovah Martin.
Why do perfumed geraniums smell so peculiarly? “I’m speculating that they evolved potent smells to deter ingestion by herbivores and insects. According to Jim Becker, co-owner of Goodwin Creek Gardens in Williams, Oregon, and co-author with Brawner of the book “Scented Geraniums,” deer and rabbits don’t bother them.
The many different leaf shapes appeal to a lot of people. The diversity is often astounding. According to Martin, because the crispum’s lemony fan-shaped leaves are so little, Victorians used them to decorate finger bowls. Meanwhile, some peppermint-scented kinds feature mitten-shaped leaves that are so seductively silky that they are the size of a glove. They can behave almost like worry stones, according to Brawner.
Brawner advised substituting aromatic geranium leaves for the typical foliage in floral arrangements.
While scented geraniums do bloom, don’t anticipate the blooms to be as impressive as those on the traditional “zonal” geraniums grown in window boxes and garden borders.
“Apple, coconut, and nutmeg kinds have little flowers, but a plant like ‘Roger’s Delight’ can have flowers an inch or more wide,” claimed Becker, recalling how when he first became interested in scented geraniums, he was taken aback by the beauty of the flowers.
But ultimately, it’s the aroma that makes the plants so well-liked and the reason why they’re employed in perfumes, cosmetics, and complementary medicine.
The appeal, according to Martin, is to pass something like this and smell something extraordinary that you would often identify with a fruit or flower.
They work well as tiny yard decorations. I’m not sure why they aren’t employed more frequently, she continued. “Nothing eats them, they grow swiftly, and they are easy, easy, easy.”
Will fragrant geraniums be available every year?
Scented geranium plants, like their hothouse counterparts, are classified as delicate perennials even though they belong to the Pelargonium genus rather than the genus Geranium. Most of Europe and the United States treat them as annuals, and people all throughout the world value their beauty. The fact that they are so simple to grow is an added benefit!
Early explorers discovered scented geraniums in Africa and brought them back to Holland. In the 1600s, the common houseplant made its way from Holland to England. During the Victorian era, when the fragrant leaves were included in fingerbowls for guests to use at dinner to rinse their hands between courses, they were very well-liked.
Horticulturists have created the great variety of scented geranium plants we enjoy today from those original African species. There are already more than one hundred kinds with various leaf shapes, textures, blossom colors, and smells.
The types of scented geraniums are initially grouped according to their perfume, as you are aware if you are experienced with growing them. Citrus, rose, chocolate, and mint CHOCOLATE with no calories, and yes, that’s CHOCOLATE, are a few of the more well-known smells. The scented geranium’s leaves come in a variety of shapes and colors, ranging from grey-green to dark and smoothly rounded to finely cut and lacy. Their small blossoms come in a variety of tints, frequently fusing pink, red, and lilac with white and other hues.
What are the purposes of fragrant geraniums?
You can grow roses, gardenias, heliotropes, or hyacinths in your garden if you’re gardening for smell. Additionally, try some scented geraniums or grow some in pots to enjoy indoors. These attractive plants, which are linked to ordinary garden geraniums, have aromatic scents that can be strong or delicate.
The genus Pelargonium, which includes scented geraniums, has been around since the 1600s, when Dutch sailors took them back to their gardens after finding them growing wild in South Africa. The plants were once again in motion by the late 1700s and had gained popularity in both America and Europe.
They gained popularity because they were, and still are, simple and enjoyable to maintain, but over time, contemporary hybrids with large, striking blooms took the place of their delicate hues and typically modest blossoms.
Nowadays, you can get scented geraniums with green, bluish-green, gray-green, or variegated foliage in white, pink, red, and lavender. Interestingly, the leaves, which contain aromatic oils, are where their smell originates.
The plants are regaining popularity because of their enormous diversity of scents. You can choose between sweet cultivars that smell like chocolate and violets or fruity varieties that smell like apples, lemons, limes, and oranges. Peppermint, cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, or pine are the common scents of spicy pelargoniums. As long as the leaves have never been cultivated or treated with chemicals, rose-scented geranium leaves can be used to flavor cakes and other meals.
Many scented geraniums are good for growing in containers and can withstand dry soil. When watering, thoroughly soak the plant and drain any extra liquid. After that, wait a little while before watering the soil once again. Use a planting medium that drains well because the plants dislike having wet feet.
Scented Geranium ‘Apricot’
The upright growth habit and delicious scent of the pelargonium “Apricot” make it the perfect plant for pots.
In Southern climes, especially, scented geraniums may require protection from the hot afternoon sun. They prefer full sun. Take cuttings or bring your potted plants inside for the winter before it becomes too cold outside. Give them a well-lit exposure; otherwise, they can slant toward the light and begin to appear leggy. Till spring, apply very little, if any, fertilizer; after that, only lightly feed. Legginess can also result from over feeding.
With the lengthening of the days, buds will begin to form. Once your plants begin to develop actively, you might want to cut or pinch them back to keep them bushy and shrubby, but hold off until the flowers are finished. In the late October, stop trimming and pinching.
Pests and diseases rarely affect scented geraniums. Depending on where your plants are growing, use a product designated for indoor or outdoor usage and follow the advice if you do notice common pests like aphids or whiteflies.
Are you ready for more scented flowers? Scented geraniums are challenging to raise from seed (and hybridized types won’t always produce offspring that resemble the parent plant). Cuttings make it simpler to recreate them. Cut a stem that is 3 to 4 inches long with a sharp knife. Insert the cutting into a mixture of sand and perlite after stripping off the leaves about an inch from the bottom of the cutting. Till roots grow, keep the cutting wet but not waterlogged. After that, you can transplant it into a 4″ container with standard potting soil. Move the potted cutting into the garden or a bigger pot once it has a robust root system and the weather is consistently warm.
How can you tell a fragrant geranium apart?
A group of species in the enormous Pelargonium genus that have leaves that release a perfume when touched or lightly injured are referred to as “scented-leaved geraniums.” These plants belong to the broad category of what are commonly referred to as “garden geraniums” or “annual geraniums.”
Despite having a common name, it’s crucial to understand that this entire group is distinct from the many cranesbill geraniums, sometimes known as “real geraniums,” which are the plants that have the most legitimate claim to the name Geranium. The plants referred to as garden geraniums were previously a part of the genus, but even after they were given their own genus, Pelargonium, in 1789, the common name has endured.
The aroma is produced by glands at the base of the leaf hairs of scented-leaved geraniums (Pelargonium spp.). The oil and smell are released when the leaves are crushed or, in some circumstances, only touched. The scented pelargonium geranium’s leaves closely resemble those of other pelargoniums seen in gardens. Shapes range from rounded to delicately carved and lacy, and the colors range from gray-green to lime green.
The majority of scented geraniums have small flowers, some of which are extremely gorgeous and others which you hardly notice. Two larger upper petals and three smaller lower petals make up each flower’s five petals.
How are fragrant geraniums cared for?
These plants can withstand dry weather. After giving them a good soaking, ideally from below, allow them to dry out considerably before giving them another good watering. Reduce watering during the winter and only keep the compost damp.
When planted indoors, scented geraniums need a lot of direct winter sun because they thrive in strong light. When they are planted in the garden, they just need a few hours of direct sunlight per day because they do not like full-on all-day sun.
With an average daytime temperature outside of 1625 degrees, try to stay away from areas of the garden that get unbearably hot. They do prefer some light and shade.
While Scented Geraniums don’t need a lot of fertilizer, it is advised to give them a regular, twice-weekly feed at half the suggested dosage for your typical pot plants when they are actively growing.
Do fragrant geraniums keep mosquitoes at bay?
Despite what the labels on the citronella or lemon-scented geranium “Mosquito Plants” marketed at big-box stores suggest, the plants don’t actually keep mosquitoes away. The oil found inside the leaves is what has the mosquito-repelling qualities. To obtain these oils, you would have to crush the leaves. You would then need to apply these oils to your skin. It won’t do anything to keep mosquitoes away if you plant them in your landscaping.
Which fragrant geranium is the best?
This hybrid P. x scarboroviae, also known as “Countess of Scarborough” or “Lady Scarborough,” has a pleasant, fruity aroma that makes me think of a Strawberry Shortcake doll I owned as a child.
It was first introduced in England before 1820 and has been around for at least 200 years.
The medium-sized, light pink flowers have a dark pink splotch of color on half of their petals. The plant grows to a height of two feet and a width of one foot.
It is suitable for rock gardens or planting along walls because it is hardy in Zones 9 to 12 and has a somewhat trailing habit.
Where do fragrant geraniums flourish?
Scented geraniums should be planted in wet, well-drained soil in either full sun or part shade. These simple-to-grow plants may easily withstand arid conditions and sandy soil. They sulk in the soggy clay. Choose a container with appropriate drainage and high-quality potting soil before putting fragrant geraniums in it. Because they allow the soil to dry more thoroughly than plastic pots, clay pots are a great option. Rarely do scented geraniums require fertilizing.
How long do fragrant geraniums stay fresh?
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.