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Scented Geraniums
The variety of scented greaniums are almost as plentiful as our garden or pot flowering varieties. They come with many leaf shapes, scents, and growth habits. The most popular scented geraniums is probably the rose scented variety, known botanically as Pelargonium Graveolens. It has finely cut foliage that is a soft green in color and has a gentle old rose fragrance. This is the old-fashioned variety of the rose scented type and is, in my estimation, the best.
There are other rose-scented varieties, that are interesting, with fragrances that are different but still delightful. Park`s Seed Company list four rose scented varieties: mint-rose, camphor rose, capitatum and graveolens. Besides having these refreshing scents, these plants have blossoms. They are not as showy as the other geraniums, but they are pretty and most are delicate, with colors of white-lavender and rose-pink.
The growth habits of Graveolens is upright and they will grow to three or four feet in a clay pot. They can be maintaned at ten inches with occasional prunings. The mint-rose variety has a trailing growth habit and would be a nice hanging basket subject.
Although i do love the smell roses, my favourite variety of scented geranium is Pelargonium Crispum, which smells deliciously of lemon. It has crinkly little leaves on stalks that grow to three feet outside, but inside they do well at a height of about eight inches. My two plants of this variety always look a little upset because I cannot resist pinching off little pieces to smell. After I have cleaned a stalk with this little habit, I break it back to about half its length and new little shoots continue to produce on the sides.
Other variety of geraniums smell of apples, the variegated variety of crispum smells of peaches, and one variety scabrum smells of apricots. Another plant that is a good hanging basket, Grossularioides, smells of coconut. I also like the variety fragrans that smells like nutmeg. It has small, rounding leaves that are grey-green color. The lime-scented variety probably has the showiest blossoms. They are prolific bloomers and the lavender flowers are very pretty againts the plants light green ruffly foliage.