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Rounds leaves, dainty white flowers, and a trailing habit make the apple-scented geranium a favorite for hanging baskets. Photo by Susan Belsinger

Recently, gardeners have been exploring their use as tender perennials in the garden, much like Coleus, Caladium, and Swedish ivy plants. Their highly distinctive foliage adds color and texture throughout the summer, providing a pleasing backdrop to flowering plants. 

Native to South Africa, scented geraniums are members of the geranium family, but they are not true geraniums, they are actually a species called Pelargonium. Often gardeners call them scented pelargoniums or pelargoniums for short, but not all Pelargonium plants have scented foliage. In this country, these shrubby plants have been used as herbs since colonial times and have been hybridized extensively for scent and foliage. There are now hundreds of cultivars available—apple, lemon, rose, coconut, pine, lime, nutmeg, strawberry, orange, apricot, almond, and peppermint to name a few. By rubbing or crushing their leaves, you release fragrant oil, located in small beads at the base of the tiny leaf hairs. The small but pretty flowers don’t have a scent but can be used to garnish a cake or fruit salad.

P. Quercifolium has an oak-like, pungent scent and perfuse blooms. Photo by Susan Belsinger for International Herb Society

There are many uses for scented geraniums in the kitchen. Typically, rose, lemon, orange, peppermint, and apple scented geraniums are used. For example, add a freshly cut peppermint-scented leaf to a pot of hot black tea for a delicate mint flavor, or put a few fresh apple-scented leaves in the sugar jar for a few weeks to add a delicate taste when using sugar in tea or cake batter. Crush rose- lemon- or orange-scented leaves and add them to pound cake batter for flavor, then line the cake tin with a few whole leaves to create an imprint on the loaf’s sides. You can also place leaves in the hot syrup when making jellies, or put a whole leaf in a glass decanter of herbal vinegar.

In Pennsylvania, Caroline Amidon and Joyce Brobst, both current members of their respective local Herb Society of America (HSA) chapters and past presidents of the HSA, have studied and grown scented geraniums for over 15 years. For the past 10 years, they have lectured across the country at various garden clubs, accompanied by their “Show Girls,” a collection of 40 different varieties of scented geraniums, each in a 6-inch pot. Amidon and Brobst encourage the audience to touch and sniff the Show Girls to illustrate the variety of scents and textures. After each show, the Show Girls relax in Amidon’s greenhouse, where they are pampered and groomed for their next appearance. Forty potted plants may sound like a lot to put in a car and take on the road, but the many plants in same-size pots help illustrate the vast array of shapes and scents available among scented geraniums.

“There are a great variety of leaf textures, shapes, and colors,” says Amidon. “‘Charity’s’ foliage is green and yellow. ‘Mabel Grey’ grows 4 to 5 feet tall and has large, wonderful, lemon-scented leaves. Fern Leaf has a ferny effect that is great in the garden if you can’t grow real ferns.”

“Peppermint’s leaves are like velvet—it is a ‘must have’,” says Brobst. “Children love to pet the soft leaves, and the fragrance is wonderful.” The leaves, which can range from 1/2 inch to 6 inches long, can be smooth, coarse, hairy, velvety, and even sticky. Their shape can be circular; lobed, like maple leaves; or finely cut, like fern leaves. They come in many shades of green, as well as yellow or white variegated and blotched with dark patches.

Jim and Dotti Becker sell over 75 varieties of scented geraniums at Goodwin Creek Gardens, an Oregon-based mail order nursery. Jim Becker and another scented geranium expert, Faye Brawner, wrote one of the only books on the topic: Scented Geraniums: Knowing, Growing, and Enjoying Scented Pelargoniums (Interweave Press). “What attracted us to scented geraniums in the first place was the shape of the leaves,” he says, “especially the finer cut leaves.”

“I have the smaller forms, such as coconut and apple, in strawberry jars,” says Brobst. “Coconut is a lower growing plant with small, smooth, round leaves; trailing branches; and tiny, light purple flowers.”

“Apple is a lovely one for hanging baskets,” says Amidon. “It has smooth, tiny leaves and multiple white flowers that bloom almost continuously.”

Pink flowers and a upright growth habit, 'Mable Gray' has a strong lemon scent. Photo by Susan Belsinger

In the garden, scented geraniums are most effective where people can either walk against them along the garden path or reach out to touch the leaves. “‘Mabel Grey’ is a very upright grower with rough leaves,” Amidon says. “It has the strongest lemon scent—you can walk past it and get a lovely aroma.” Placing rectangular troughs of scented geraniums along the sides of garden benches allows guests to touch and enjoy the fragrance while resting. Large containers of scented geraniums, grouped together, can be used to delineate a pathway or hide the garden hose and electrical box. “What is nice about pots is that you can move them around,” says Jim Becker. “You can place them around a pool, on a deck, or on a porch—anywhere people like to sit and congregate.” They are also excellent deer resistant plants and are ideal for fragrance gardens, herbal gardens, children’s gardens, and horticultural therapy gardens because of their intense textures, aromas, and ease in growing and propagating.

Scented geraniums need as much sun as possible in the summer except for the velvety-leaved peppermint plant, which needs protection from afternoon sun. However, as South African natives, they will not survive cold winters, so pots will either have to be brought indoors in late fall, or plants can be “overwintered” by taking several stem cuttings in late summer.

“If you want to bring your scented geranium indoors, take cuttings in August. It is very simple and easy to do,” says Jim Becker. “You don’t need rooting hormone; just use regular potting soil.” He recommends filling a small, 2-inch pot with commercial, sterilized, potting mix. Water the soil and insert a pencil to make one hole. Take a cutting from the top of the bush, making sure the stem cutting has at least 3 but preferably 4 to 5 stem nodes (a node is the point on the stem where the leaves are attached). Cut just below the node, remove bottom leaves, and bury the stem about 2-3 nodes deep. Press the soil firmly around the stem, water again, and place the pot in a warm area, out of direct sun and drafts. Keep the soil evenly moist for the next several weeks. When new growth emerges, gradually decrease the watering and increase the light.

Scented geraniums enjoy their winter stay in the house; in fact, they are great houseplants. Next year, when day temperatures reach 60 degrees, bring them outside again and plant them in larger containers or put them in your perennial bed. This year, try your own chorus line of scented geraniums. Start off with a few plants in containers that can also star in the kitchen, and then put a few more in your perennial bed for texture and aroma. By taking cuttings in the fall, your “Show Girls” can perform again next season.

Peggy Riccio is a Contributing Editor to ChesapeakeHome.

Contacts:
Herb Society of America herbsociety.org or 440-256-0514
International Herb Society: iherb.org
Interweave Press:interweave.com

Nursery Sources:
Many local nurseries will have scented geraniums in their herb section. For a more extensive selection, contact the nurseries below.
Geraniaceae: geraniaceae.com or 415-461-4168
Goodwin Creek Gardens: goodwincreekgardens.com or 800-846-7359
Logee’s Greenhouses:logees.com or 888-330-8038
Papa Geno’s Herb Farm And Prairie Home Perennials: papagenos.com or 402-794-0400
Sandy Mush Herb Nursery: sandymushherbs.com or 828-683-2014
Well-Sweep Herb Farm: wellsweep.com or 908-852-5390