How to Care for Citronella Plants in the Fall
Citronella plants are actually a hybrid geranium that was bred many years ago by a Dutch botanist to ward off mosquitoes. These plants are very popular during the spring and summer months, when their lemony smell discourages biting insects from hanging around in your yard. Potted citronella plants can be very happy during fall and winter months as houseplants, but you will need to prepare your citronella plant in early fall for life indoors if you want it to survive. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Determine the approximate time of the first frost. Use local weather information, available online (see Resources).
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Help your citronella plant get accustomed to indoor light. Start 2 or 3 weeks before the first frost, since your plant needs to be inside by the time it gets that cold. Each day, move your citronella plant's pot into deeper and deeper shade. This will help it become accustomed to indoor lighting.
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Place the citronella plant in your sunniest window inside. Citronella plants like lots of sun, so placing it back in the sun (even though it is now inside) should perk the plant up if it has been looking a little droopy in the shade.
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Water your citronella plant often. Keep the soil moist, but not muddy. Your plant will probably be used to more humidity from the outside air than it will get indoors, so mist it every now and then for the first week or two that it is inside.
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Keep the temperature between 60 and 70 degrees F. This is ideal for a citronella during the fall, but may be a little cool for you. Many people put their citronellas in a spare room or keep them in finished basement rooms in the fall,which may stay a little cooler than the rest of the house.
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