How to Plant Citronella
The citronella plant is a warm weather favorite for porches, patios, decks, and flower beds. It's known for deterring mosquitoes and other pesky insects. Citronella is an annual plant with lavender blooms, and it has a vibrant fragrance of citronella when the leaves are rubbed or crushed. It can grow to up to two feet tall, and it is the distinct fragrance of citronella that purportedly repels mosquitoes and other insects. The following instructions are for planting citronella in a flower bed.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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How to Plant Citronella
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1
Plant citronella in the spring after all danger of frost. Although citronella is a hardy plant, frost exposure can kill citronella even when well-established.
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2
Select an area where the soil is well-drained and receives at least six hours of full sun each day.
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3
Dig a hole twice the size of the container that the citronella plant is in.
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4
Place the citronella plant in the hole and cover with one part dirt and three parts potting soil that have been well combined. Promix potting soil (available at most garden centers) comes in an organic mix (Promix Ultimate Organic Mix) if one wishes to avoid synthetic ingredients.
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5
Water thoroughly.
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6
Remove yellow leaves as they occur. Citronella does not require a lot of extra care. However, watering may be necessary if dry periods are experienced.
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7
Remove citronella in the fall before frost. Return it to the indoors in a pot or other container.
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Tips & Warnings
Citronella grows best in nitrogen rich soil. Yellow leaves are symptoms of low nitrogen levels. If this occurs, treat with an organic fertilizer.
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- Photo Credit Photo by: Creative Commons: www.melbournemigrant.com/2007/12/getting-acqu..
Comments
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The true citronella plant is a perennial grass similar to Lemon Grass, to which it is closely related. It is not the little scented geranium you find in some stores labeled as a "mosquito plant." Those may smell like citronella but are about as close to citronella as the lime-scented geranium is to a lime tree. Citronella is a clumping grass that grows five to six feet tall. The coarse, grasslike leaves are gray-green and aromatic and are borne on cane-like stems. Other names for citronella are Nardus or Nard grass.
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Glad to find out its name...I have been using it to flavor my black tea, it has a lemongrass scent, like it!
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Shhhh, don't tell the mosquito's, they don't know the difference. I bought two and they seem to be working.
