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Indoor Geraniums-Part 5: Fruit, Nut and Pungent Scents

© Diana Pederson

I am concluding this series of articles on scented geraniums with the pungent scented and fruit scenteds. These are probably the most difficult of the scents to describe because everyone seems to have a different opinion. Try them in your house or garden and see if you agree with my conclusions. These are the varieities you are most likely to find the following in your local nursery.

Pungent scents can be very strong or just a faint whisper. This scent is rather difficult to describe but it seems that people either strongly dislike or love the scents involved. Pelargonium 'Clorinda is frequently found at my local garden centers in the herb section. I find it to be a tall, rangy looking plant. It needs to have its growing tip pinched to force it to branch out. The flowers are described as dark pink although I've never succeeded in having it flower for me. Some think the plant smells like eucalyptus or cedar.

Many local stores sell 'Chocolate Mint' which has large leaves with a chocolate colored spot on them. The name refers to this spot, not to its taste or smell. The flowers are lavender. This plant is a hybrid between 'Giant Oak' and 'Peppermint' but does not have either the peppermint scent or fuzziness. To me, these have virtually no scent but that can be a result of my own growing conditions. Try it and see if you can describe the scent!

My favorite geranium in the pungent scented group is called 'Nutmeg'. It has grayish green leaves which are rounded. I've had it flower freely and it smells something like nutmeg. Another plant that looks almost identical has a spicy scent and is called 'Old Spice'. Yes, it smells like Old Spice shaving lotion! You'd enjoy either of these plants in your flower boxes or some where you can sniff them frequently.

My favorite fruit scented Pelargoniums are 'Peach' (sometimes called 'Goosebery-leaf) and 'Strawberry'. The peach variety has round leaves with wavy edges. The flowers are lilac. Some of the leaves are variegated with cream or white coloration.

'Strawberry" has crinkled, dark green, roundish leaves. The leaves have several lobes and a wavy edge. Pale pink flowers with dark spots on the top petals complements this plant. Some grow it as a basket plant because it is thin stemmed and hangs over the side of a basket nicely.

This concludes my discussion of the varieties of scented Pelargoniums. Next week I'll discuss makaing hypertufa troughs. We'll return to geraniums in a week or two. Scented Geraniums: Knowing, Growing and Enjoying Scented Pelargoniums by Jim Becker and Faye Brawner as an excellent source of information. It is available from Amazon Books.

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